Cometh the hour, cometh Marco’s MAN

“I wanted to see how my MAN would fare.” There is no exhilarating story behind Marco Maurer’s reason for entering his truck in the MAN Truck Champion 2023 competition. However, it has become an exciting tale. In fact, the MAN TGX 18.640 did so well that it came third in the competition involving Germany, Austria and its homeland, Switzerland.

“I never thought I would do so well, because there were so many magnificent MAN trucks in the competition,” he says. Marco’s vote actually went to Decker’s silver MAN lion. “I was just absolutely gobsmacked for the first few minutes after receiving the call from an MAN employee. But was incredibly excited once the news had sunk in.” And of course, the success was also duly celebrated: “With good friends and good drinks,” laughs the 32-year-old. Together with friends, he also honed his golden MAN lion’s fantastic look over a number of hours. “I would never have managed to achieve this without them,” says Marco resolutely. The group of friends has since grown even closer by working together on the truck.

Marco’s own fascination with trucks has been with him as long as he can remember, and also explains why he chose the profession of driving such a vehicle. He started his vocational training in 2007 and has been working as a professional driver ever since. He currently drives refrigerated trucks and supplies supermarket stores and distribution companies. However, it’s not always easy for him to stay as cool as his cargo. Especially when it comes to the scores of traffic jams, huge parking problems and the fact that, in his opinion, professional drivers are regarded and treated as simple far too often and too quickly. He would like a little more respect. Nevertheless, his choice of profession remains exactly the right one for him:

“I like being on the road, meeting lots of people, seeing something off the world and having fantastic experiences.”

And his MAN is also the perfect choice for him. This was already the case before his success at MAN Truck Champion. “My MAN is great just as it is.” Handling, comfort and, of course, the design are exactly what this driver wants. And his MAN lion, in whose appearance he has invested so much time and passion, is also a hit with others, something now impressively demonstrated with its success at MAN Truck Champion.