Bernina GT: An unrewarded day winner 🎥

ONE AMWEG TO OVERCOME Thomas Amweg won the Bernina GT 2020 in record time. Because he was without competition in his Martini F2, Porsche driver Florian Feustel was proclaimed the day's winner. Short scenes from the winding curves before the finish - at 2330 meters higher than at any other mountain race in Europe - in the last race run on Sunday. On the way [...]

Editorial - September 20, 2020

Short scenes from the winding curves before the finish - at 2330 meters higher than at any other hillclimb race in Europe - in the final race run on Sunday. Amweg's sputtering engine can be heard clearly.

Like the mostly local organizers of the Arosa Classic Car two weeks ago, the primarily German organizers managed to stage the sixth edition of the Bernina GT for historic sports and racing cars despite Corona measures. Bravo!

A beautiful international field
The fact that the weather in the idyllic, high alpine region was also on its best side on the first afternoon of the race, with the exception of clouds and fog, lifted the spirits of the 80 or so participants.

Despite certain travel restrictions, quite a few came from several European countries, and most of the vehicles were really worth seeing, even from the Regularity classes. Only one was not as happy in the end as he would have deserved - but we'll get to that later.

The weather in the Puschlav and in the Engadin played along on all three days. This offered the best conditions for the participants in the Bernina GT 2020 (Photos: Peter Wyss).

Up the Bernina Pass in three minutes
In the eleven-car Competition field with FIA car passport, Thomas Amweg in the 1988 Martini-BMW Mk50 F2 was the only race car driver. The Aargauer thus pulverized the existing record on the 5700-kilometer route from the former post and mule station of La Rösa (start at 1871 meters above sea level) to the 2330-meter Bernina Pass. In the second race run on Saturday afternoon he set it at 2:58.62.

In the third and fourth runs early on Sunday morning, Amweg was no longer able to get under the 3-minute mark. Engine misfires in the upper part of the track prevented a possible time of around 2:55, but since only the best time from the four compulsory runs counted for the classification, this did not matter.

"Mountain King" Fredy Amweg and son Thomas in the Martini BMW F2. They have never camped so high up in the mountains.

Fast choice Swiss on Porsche
Amweg naturally distanced the fastest GT drivers by worlds, although they managed to improve. Among them, Florian Feustel showed the best performance.

In the true-to-the-original replica of the 1975 Carrera RSR IROC from Kannacher Racing, the 32-year-old managed to beat the record time set by Ronnie Kessel in 2019 in the deliberately restrained Ensign-Cosworth F1 by six tenths as well in the final race. No driver with a roof over his head has ever been as fast as the German, who lives and works in Neunkirch SH, at the Bernina GT.

As in Arosa, Florian Feustel drove his Carrera to victory in the Competition class. Only a few drove such an ideal line over the gully.

Feustel was also 6.5 seconds behind the already victorious Daniele Perfetti in a Carrera RSR 3.0. Only Thomas Kern was able to break up a Porsche quartet with his briskly moving Shelby Cobra 427.

Feustel, not Amweg
At the beautifully staged prize-giving ceremony in front of the Ospizio Bernina, including an aperitif, came the disappointment for Thomas Amweg. Because he was so lonely and oppressively superior, the organizers decided, with the okay of the sports commissioners (did anyone watch how Amweg attacked and his mechanic crew struggled?), to score him solo in a Formula Competition class. The separation of formula cars and closed race cars has been common practice at the Arosa ClassicCar for years.

Both would have earned the challenge cup and the engraving of their name. But for one year it goes to Florian Feustel in the canton of Schaffhausen.

To his own astonishment, Florian Feustel was therefore proclaimed the day's winner. The Swiss by choice may now display the challenge cup with the engraved names of the first famous winners Hans Stuck (1929) and Louis Chiron (1930) at his home for a year.

Thomas Amweg: "Already in Arosa I felt unfairly treated in the last years, because not me, but the fastest from the Competition class as well as the Regularity winners received a nice watch. It's not my fault that I don't have any competition."

The 5700 meter long track from La Rösa to the Bernina Pass is in perfect condition. Riders are happy about it as well as spectators who enjoy a great view.

Great backdrop for fluid track
For the event itself, its unique ambiance and especially the route, the supposed winner of the day has only great praise to spare

Thomas Amweg: "In this exclusive field of participants, I felt like a greenhorn. The atmosphere is very nice and the course is a dream - a highway compared to Arosa. I also enjoyed the scenery every time I went down to the start."

Profitable slowness...
Alexander Boller demonstrated that you can also win with slowness, because you can't go faster uphill. Always with Silvia Steidinger in the passenger seat of his Bentley 4.5 Litre, he took first place in his regularity class with times around six minutes.

Because the six other pre-war Periuode A to D cars were much faster, they also received more penalty time with a target time of 6:51.22.

For Alexander Boller (rear), it didn't matter that he was caught up. He won in the pre-war cars.

...and indifferent speed
Among the 52 Regularity drivers in the younger periods E to J2, Tom Beck in an Alfa Romeo 2600 Sprint Zagato came closest to the benchmark time of 4:16.50 in two of four runs. Many, however, did not care about this classification.

Marco Lazzarini, for example, would have taken third place overall in the competition with his best time of 3:13.21 in the Lancia Delta S4 rented from Bruno Ianniello. However, the 50-year-old garage owner from Zernez does not have the necessary license. The male and female drivers of the two original Audi Quattro Group B cars also really stepped on the gas.

Bruno Ianniello could be satisfied with his customer Marco Lazzarini. The Engadine skier clocked the third-best running times.

Famous names without ambitions
The fact that with Arturo Merzario on Abarth 2000 Sport and the Swede Stefan Johansson on Saab V4, who had come from England, two former GP pilots were classified among the farthest-flung, as was Fredy Lienhard in the Alfa Romeo TZ2, which was being driven for the first time, reflects the Olympic spirit of many of the participants.

Alpina boss Andreas Bovensiepen was also among them with the 1988 BMW M3 DTM (ex Danner and Oberndorfer). Active himself for years at a high level in touring car racing, he contested his very first mountain race at the Bernina - it is quite possible that it was not his last.