T SPORT BERNAU FINISHES LE MANS WEEKEND ON THE PODIUM

T Sport Bernau completed the penultimate round of the 2026 Goodyear FIA European Truck Racing Championship at Le Mans with a strong podium finish, as Antonio Albacete brought the weekend to a close with P3 in the final race on Sunday.

It was a weekend of mixed results for the team, with strong pace not always reflected in the final classifications, but valuable championship points and a podium on Sunday mean there is still everything to fight for heading into the season finale at Jarama.

FROM HANNOVER STRAIGHT TO LE MANS

The Le Mans weekend came at the end of another busy week for T Sport Bernau. Following our appearance at IAA Transportation in Hannover, the team travelled directly to France.

After several busy days at the exhibition, everyone enjoyed a much-needed day to relax, recharge and give the trucks a thorough clean before entering the Le Mans paddock on Thursday morning.

The team then got straight to work setting up the paddock, race truck and hospitality area ahead of the penultimate race weekend of the season.

Following all official technical and administrative checks, track action began on Friday with one Free Practice session. The first running of the weekend looked promising, giving the team confidence heading into Saturday.

STRONG PACE BUT A DIFFICULT SATURDAY QUALIFYING

Antonio showed good pace during Saturday morning’s qualifying sessions and looked set for a strong starting position.

Unfortunately, during the final qualifying session, Antonio hit a penalty marker, resulting in his fastest lap time being deleted. This dropped us back to P5 on the starting grid for Race 1.

It was a frustrating way to finish qualifying, particularly after showing promising pace, but the focus quickly turned towards the first race of the weekend.

TWO P5 FINISHES ON SATURDAY

Race 1 was hard-fought from start to finish.

Antonio came under plenty of pressure throughout the race but remained focused, defended well and held his position all the way to the chequered flag, bringing the truck home in P5 and collecting valuable championship points.

For Race 2, the reverse-grid format put Antonio P4 on the starting grid.

He made a strong start and quickly moved up into P3, putting himself firmly into the battle for the podium.

A few laps later, Antonio attempted to overtake Bradley Smith. During the battle, there was slight contact between the two trucks following a move from Bradley, which unfortunately resulted in Bradley spinning and losing his position.

Antonio continued his strong drive and crossed the finish line in an excellent P2.

However, following the incident with Bradley, Antonio received a five-second penalty, dropping him back to P5 in the final classification.

Two P5 finishes still gave us a solid haul of points, but after showing the pace to fight at the front, they were not quite the results we had hoped for.

AN INCREDIBLE SATURDAY ATMOSPHERE AT LE MANS

Away from our own results, Saturday once again showed why Le Mans is such a special event on the Goodyear FIA ETRC calendar.

The grandstands were absolutely packed, with thousands of spectators coming to watch the racing. During the races, the stands were so full that fans were struggling to find a seat.

The atmosphere continued long into Saturday evening with a spectacular show and night race from the French Truck Racing Championship.

With thousands of fans around the circuit, music, lights and the incredible sound of racing trucks in the darkness, the atmosphere was electric and made for a very special Saturday night at Le Mans.

BACK STRONG ON SUNDAY

After the frustrations of Saturday, the team returned on Sunday morning determined to fight back.

Antonio produced another strong performance in qualifying and secured P3 on the grid, behind Norbert Kiss and Jochen Hahn.

The result put us back towards the front of the field and gave Antonio a strong starting position for Sunday’s racing.

Starting from P3, Antonio unfortunately didn’t get the best start. With the starting lights difficult to see and Norbert Kiss directly in front of him also getting away slowly, Antonio lost one position in the opening moments of the race.

From there, he pushed hard but was unable to regain the position, eventually crossing the line in P4 and adding more valuable championship points.

PODIUM TO FINISH LE MANS ON A HIGH

The final race of the weekend delivered the result we had been fighting for.

Antonio produced a fantastic drive under plenty of pressure and held his position to bring the truck across the line in P3, securing a well-deserved podium and ending our Le Mans weekend on a high.

There was even more reason for the team to celebrate as Bradley Smith finished P2.

Bradley competes with T Sport Bernau’s 2025 race truck, and his second-place finish alongside Antonio’s P3 made it a particularly strong result for our combined efforts in the Teams’ Championship.

EVERYTHING STILL TO FIGHT FOR AT JARAMA

We leave Le Mans P4 in Overal Drivers Championship, with only a few points separating us from P3 and P2.

With just one race weekend remaining, nothing is decided yet.

The 2026 Goodyear FIA ETRC season will conclude next weekend at Circuito de Madrid Jarama-RACE – and there could hardly be a more fitting place for the finale.

It is Antonio’s home circuit, and we head to Spain determined to finish the season as strongly as possible in front of his home crowd.

After a long season, countless kilometres on the road and six race weekends completed, it all comes down to one final round.

One more weekend. Four more races. Everything still to fight for.

We will fight until the very end.