Swiss teams: points galore in many classes

Toyota factory driver Sébastien Buemi successfully defended his leading position in the World Endurance Championship at the third race in Spa-Francorchamps. The driver from the canton of Vaud "only" managed second place after teammate Brendon Hartley had an accident in qualifying and Buemi had to start from the very back. But ahead of the season highlight, the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the reigning WEC world champion and his two teammates are five points ahead of the sister car with the #7 in the overall standings.

Good preparation for Le Mans

Sébastien Buemi (center right gallery, photo: Toyota): "To come back from 36th on the grid to second place after we were actually fighting for victory is a strong performance. The win for #7 makes the day perfect and I'm very happy for the team. It was an eventful race, especially at the beginning with the rain, but I tried to stay out of trouble and just keep moving forward. This is good preparation for Le Mans."

Two Swiss drivers were also on the podium in LMP2. Louis Delétraz continued his winning streak and, following his opening triumph in the ELMS, celebrated his first WEC win of the season at Spa. Third place went to Fabio Scherer, who claimed his second podium this year on his favorite track.

Julien Apothéloz celebrates first victory

Another Swiss LMP driver, Julien Apothéloz (gallery left, right in picture, photo Annette Flavia Matt) celebrated a top debut. The Zurich native won his first LMP3 race at Hockenheim in the opening round of the Prototype Cup Germany together with Colombian Oscar Tunjo. In the second race, the former Young Driver winner finished in 3rd place.

Yannick Mettler and Dexter Müller

The opening round of the GT Open in Portimão, Portugal, was also successful from a Swiss perspective. At least in the ProAM classification. This was won by Yannick Mettler and his team-mate Dexter Müller. In the second race, the duo finished 6th with a 15-second handicap, but Mercedes brand colleague Alain Valente secured 2nd place - with teammate Florian Scholze.

Mike Müller remarkable third

Topcar driver Mike Müller made his racing debut in the ADAC Touring Car Junior Cup. The three-time Swiss karting champion acquitted himself more than respectably against the veterans Leon Arndt and Linus Hahne, finishing third in the first race and 11th in the second (after a harsh penalty). The fact that he even took the lead in the first race suggests that Müller will be delivering even more headline performances this year.

Newcomers with strong performances

Léna Bühler (right gallery, left picture, FIA photo) is likely to be the talk of the town quite a few times this year. At the F1 Academy opener at the Red Bull Ring, the driver from Vaud finished second on the podium in the second race.

Marcel Steiner was also on the grid for the first time this year at the hill climb in Rechberg. With 5th place, 1.3 seconds behind fourth-placed Corentin Starck, the Bernese LobArt driver can be satisfied at the start of the new season. Victory in Styria went to Christian Merli on Osella FA30.

Ouelle: Auto Sport Switzerland
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