Turckheim: Learning from damage

OUT WITH ENGINE DAMAGE Marcel Steiner suffered damage to the new Honda turbo engine at the Turckheim hill climb in Alsace. Martin Bürki also did not get far with his VW Polo. Philip Egli shone instead. For Marcel Steiner, the first race weekend in 2020 was already his last. In the only practice run for Saturday's race, the Helftec Engineering [...]

Editorial - September 6, 2020

Marcel Steiner completed only two uphill runs on time with the newly motorized LobArt. Then his first was also his last race in 2020 (Photo: Team Beyou).

For Marcel Steiner, the first race weekend in 2020 was already his last again. In the only practice run for Saturday's race, the Honda turbo engine developed by Helftec Engineering in Hildiesrieden still ran passably in the LobArt sports car.

Recurring problem
The fact that the garage owner from Oberdiessbach was still unable to keep up with the fastest French and foreigners was more down to him than the new engine, whose characteristics and power delivery he still has to get used to on the mountain. Steiner felt better in the first race run, but the engine no longer worked properly.

As a result of valve damage, the continuation of the race weekend in Alsace, which was intended as a functional test under racing conditions, was therefore out of the question for Steiner Motorsport.

Marcel Steiner: "We already had this kind of damage during the first dyno test. During the functional test at the Anneau du Rhin and on the test day in Bresse, other minor problems occurred, but we solved them together. Otherwise, I was already faster with the car than before with the naturally aspirated Mugen V8 engine."

The new racing helmet and the newly motorized LobArt now in the white basic design did not yet pay off for the five-time Swiss champion.

Early end of season
For the five-time Swiss mountain champion, who was the only one from the national racing elite to take part in the French championship race, the racing season is thus already over again.

Marcel Steiner: "Actually, I would have liked to start in another race in Italy, but that's no longer necessary. Instead, we'll just do the winter work. The plan was to completely dismantle the engine again anyway.

The future belongs to the turbo
For Steiner and Helftec, it is to be hoped that they will get to grips with the difficulties with the 1750cc turbocharged engine, which is permitted in the E2-SC class up to three liters, by 2021. The Frenchmen Geoffrey Schatz and Sébastien Petit proved at the 64th Int. hill climb Turkheim-Trois Epis just how well such a 600 hp Aggegat performs and what can be achieved with it.

Without having contested the practice run (cardan shaft damage), the defending champion in his optimal Norma sports car with Oreca turbo engine remained in the first race run with 2'21.995 for the 5.95-kilometer track (average 150.85 km/h) just 1.3 above his own record from last year.

Geoffrey Schatz has been the new number 1 in France since 2019. He wins his stage victories with an Oreca turbo engine in the rear of the Norma (photo: Team Beyou).

First Geoffrey Schatz...
The second race run had to be stopped shortly after 8 p.m. on Saturday evening due to an accident involving a two-liter race car driver and the onset of darkness before the start of the fastest people. It was resumed on Sunday morning, with Schatz no longer aiming for a time improvement. His third win of the season was assured.

With his only time from Sunday morning, Sébastien Petit in the Nova NP01 - another French sports prototype with four-wheel drive and a Honda turbo engine - finished second, 3.191 seconds behind. Marcel Steiner was classified 30th, half a minute behind - his only and inglorious result in the 2020 Corona season.

Sébastien Petit is the first sports car driver to use all-wheel drive in his Nova. Following initial victories in Eastern Europe, he has now also won in Turckheim.

...then Sébastien Petit
In Sunday's race, Petit triumphed with his first running time of 2'23.365 ahead of the previous day's third-placed Fabien Bourgon on the Revolt homebuilt with Cosworth V8 engine. Geoffrey Schatz, who had not been beaten for a long time, damaged his Norma M20 FC so badly during Sunday's practice run for the second race that he had to pack it in afterwards.

Philip Egli surprises himself
Fastest Swiss on both race days was Philip Egli in the Dallara F393 with the self-developed EPR engine. He was less interested in the results (18th and 15th place on the day and 7th and 6th in the large two-liter class) than in the times. With these - 2'41 twice - he surprised himself on Sunday.

Philip Egli: "I was motivated and the car was running perfectly. I was looking forward to this race because this long track is simply brilliant. I'm mega happy with this weekend. Now I would be ready for a Swiss racing season..."

In total, Egli covered more than 40 kilometers at race pace in seven runs, including a run repetition! As much as two or three Swiss mountain races put together

As a multiple slalom day winner, Philip Egli not only mastered the chicane after the fast start straight brilliantly.

Early exit for Martin Bürki
Martin Bürki, on the other hand, experienced a brief driving pleasure in Alsace during the functional test with his second VW Polo, which had been beautifully prepared with a lot of effort. Shortly after the start of the first practice run on Saturday, the oil pump in the 1600cc 16V engine jammed, after which his first and only race weekend in 2020 was over.

Thus, in the small field of the "Trophée des 5 Nations" with vehicles of Group E1, which is not permitted in the French mountain championship, there was no comparison with the competition. Against the Belgian Philippe Dewulf, who won twice with a Citroën Xsara WRC (ex Loeb), Bürki would have had no chance and against the German Erwin Buhk in a VW Scirocco with a 2.0-16V Spiess engine a very difficult stand.

The first start with the VW Polo purchased from the German Wolfgang Glas and tuned up by Martin Bürki ended after a few meters.

But the multiple Swiss champion would undoubtedly have disputed third place with Frenchman Vincent Lagache in the Ferrari F430 Challenge.

Thus Bruno Ianniello in the Lancia Delta S4 was the fastest Swiss with a touring car on both days, followed by the Romands Ludovic Monnier (VW Golf), Nicolas Cattin and Bertrand Favre (both BMW). In the first race, the Nunninger finished third behind Dewulf and Buhk, in the second behind the two as well as Lagache in fourth place overall of the E1 drivers.