Bratschi: The third FIA title is done
TWO WINS IN ONE WEEK One week after Osnabrück, Ronnie Bratschi also scored full FIA points with his Mitsubishi at the Lučine hill climb in Slovenia. Now the title in the 2018 FIA International Hill Climb Cup can no longer be taken away from him. With two victories within eight days and the maximum 50 points, Ronnie Bratschi secured [...]
With two victories within eight days and the maximum 50 points, Ronnie Bratschi secured the FIA International Hill Climb Cup in Category 3 for Group E1 touring cars ahead of schedule. This is his third title win at international level after 2015 and 2016.
On the first weekend in August, the man from Uri had two serious opponents in his 700-plus hp Mitsubishi Evo VIII Egmo at Germany's northernmost hill climb near Osnabrück: Nicolas Werver in a Porsche 991 GT2 and Nikolay Zlatkov in an Audi S1 quattro.
After the first run on the only 2030 m short track, the three fastest from Group E1 were still within one second of each other. In the second run, the Swiss then missed the touring car record held since 2008 by multiple German champion Norbert Brenner in an Opel Astra V8 Coupé by just 28 thousandths. And this despite a loose fender.
Since the Frenchman and the Bulgarian were unable to improve in the same way, Bratschi's lead in the addition was already more than 1.3 seconds. Due to a defective sensor, he did not take part in the final race run, but the overall victory of all vehicles with roofs (incl. Group E2-SH) could no longer be taken away from him.
Ronnie Bratschi: "If the second run hadn't been repeated, a new record would have been possible. I was a little faster up to the red flag than I was during the run repetition, before which the tires had picked up splinters on the way back. The record would have been nice, but unlike in Switzerland, there are no points for that. After all, Brenner's Astra was developed by top engineers for the DTM, while I built my car myself. What's more, the tires were allowed to be preheated back then."
From Northern Germany to Slovenia
The multiple French champion Werver ("Ronnie is obviously unbeatable without technical problems") did appear in second place in the classification of the Osnabrück hill climb. As a two-seater, however, his Porsche does not count as a Group E1 car under FIA regulations, so Zlatkov, who had traveled from Sofia, some 1900 km away, received the FIA championship points for second place.
This made the situation more difficult for Bratschi for the immediately following hill climb in Lučine, Slovenia. Only another victory could secure the 2018 FIA Hill Climb Cup ahead of the finale in Esthofen (A), where the man from central Switzerland no longer necessarily wants to travel.
With the Czech Trneny (Skoda Fabia) and the Pole Duda (Hyundai i20) in two power-unlimited WRC cars as well as the Slovenian Bubnič in an equally potent Lancia Delta, three more strong opponents joined Zlatkov.
Finally, the defect witch also reported back in practice in the form of a broken differential lock. As a result, Bratschi was only able to complete two of the three practice runs on the 4km-long and technically demanding track near Ljubljana.
But the Swiss was not able to stop them either. With 2'12.305, Bratschi distanced the competition led by Trneny with the touring car best time of the day by one second and more already in the first run. Because the Mitsubishi engine switched to the emergency program in all three races due to a renewed electrical defect, the only Swiss in the field was unable to achieve top times thereafter.
Now follows the title fight in Switzerland
However, it was enough for second place in Group E1 behind Trneny (in the addition of all three times) and the third win of the season in the FIA standings (two best runs) after Verzegnis (I) in May and Osnabrück. With 108 points now earned, Bratschi has an unassailable lead over Zlatkov (75) and Trneny (68).
The day's victory in a new record time - the first under two minutes - was taken by Italian Federico Liber on a Gloria C8P Evo.
Ronnie Bratschi: "I've achieved the first goal of the season - after all, that's all there is to win for us Group E1 drivers. But the constant problems with the electrics are troublesome and put us under time pressure again before St-Ursanne. If the car doesn't run cleanly there, it will be difficult to score top points for the Swiss championship as well."
At the halfway point, Bratschi leads the series with three wins in record time. However, with defending champion Frédéric Neff (Porsche 996 GT3 R) and Andy Feigenwinter (Lotus Exige), who is always victorious in the SuperSeries, the two people who dominate their groups remain hot on his heels.
The second half of the season begins next weekend with the St-Ursanne-Les Rangiers hill climb (where Werver will also be competing again), immediately followed by Oberhallau. Ronnie Bratschi and his team will certainly not have time to rest in August.
