The second event on the 2016 FIA European Truck Racing Championship calendar takes place at the Misano track, near Riccione on the Adriatic coast, this weekend.

Known as the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli, in tribute and memory to the great Italian Moto GP racer, the track will see a full grid of FIA ETRC trucks ready to battle it out over the full 4.064 mile circuit.

As the Red Bull Ring opening rounds suggested, with three different winners from four races, 2016 is set to be a vintage season of FIA ETRC action.

Say ciao to new combatants

There have been some notable changes to the starting entry for the Misano weekend.

Coming in to the FIA ETRC paddock for their first race of the year are Steffi Halm (in a Reinert Racing-run MAN truck) and André Kursim (Tankpool24).

Young German charger Kursim will be aiming to build upon a solid learning season in 2015 with Tankpool24 Racing and is confident of continuing his improving pace in the FIA ETRC.

The eyes of the paddock will also be on Kursim’s teammate Norbert Kiss as he gets ready to debut the newly developed Mercedes-Benz truck this weekend, after some fighting performances in the older version in Austria.

Steffi Halm too, is feeling confident about her first FIA ETRC race weekend. Read what Steffi has to say on her 2016 campaign by clicking here. 

Lion Truck Racing expands for Misano with the additional Renault truck entered for Jean-Claude Labadie. The Frenchman, who also races in the French Truck Racing Championship, is a race-by-race entrant this weekend.

n the Team Robineau camp, Jérémy Robineau will deputise for his brother – Thomas, undertaking his first event of the year at the wheel of the red MAN unit this weekend.

An additional late entry for Frenchman, Dominique Orsini is waiting to be approved by the panel of stewards. Should Orsini race in Italy there will be 16 trucks present at Misano.

• Click here for the entry list
• Click here for the Misano Timetable

Red Bull Ring refresher
2016 exploded with a roar of excellent trucking action at Red Bull Ring as Jochen Hahn, René Reinert and Adam Lacko emerged victorious after four very different and exciting races.

Hahn appeared to have the measure of the field in dry conditions and was close to securing a Saturday double but René Reinert held on to take the race two silverware.

Sunday dawned wet, very wet, which was good news for Adam Lacko and the Buggyra International Racing System team. The Czech ace dominated both Sunday races, utilising the Buggyra Fat Fox superior traction and handling in the treacherous conditions.

Also showing excellent speed in Austria was the Team Schwabentruck pairing of Gerhard Körber and Markus Altenstrasser. The pair notched up three podiums in total with their distinctive orange IVECO trucks.

Other star performances included Ryan Smith and Norbert Kiss. The British driver scored his best ever FIA ETRC result in second position on Sunday, while Kiss showed his famous pace and fighting spirit in the old spec Mercedes-Benz truck.

As the dust settled on the first weekend of the year, Jochen Hahn enjoyed a slender six points advantage over Lacko heading in to the Misano weekend.

Click here for latest points standings

What happened last year?
Race 1 : Hahn, Lacko, Kiss
Race 2 : Kiss, Lacko, Janiec
Race 3 : Kiss, Hahn, Lacko
Race 4: Lacko, Vršecký, Kiss

Guest Expert, former truck racer, Fabien Calvert says:
“Normally weather is always idyllic for the FIA ETRC meeting except the last year! Jochen (Hahn) was fantastic in the tough conditions last weekend and for 2016, teams are expecting the sun after the Austrian crazy weather too!

“Misano is a mix of speed and technical challenges; it really tests the drivers in skill and stamina. Drivers enjoy it on dry conditions but can also be really hard on rain conditions and nobody forget crash at the start last year.

"Misano is recognised worldwide for MotoGP but also by a lot of passionate racing fans. Truck Racing has run in Misano for more than 20 years now and it’s one of the most popular for the trucking family to visit.”