Mountain championship: New records at Gurnigel 🎥
ALL CLEAR At the penultimate race of the 2023 Swiss Mountain Championship, on Gurnigel, the die is cast. The new champions Marcel Steiner, Bruno Sawatzki and Stephan Burri were all smiles at the finish line.
Marcel Steiner, Bruno Sawatzki (center gallery) and Stephan Burri had every reason to be happy at the finish line. The trio did (almost) everything right at the 52nd edition of the hillclimb race on the Gurnigel and were able to celebrate as the big winners at the end. Steiner won the title in the racing sports car category for the sixth time, Sawatzk i secured his first title in the touring car category and Burri won the Swiss Hillclimb Cup for the first time for lower-displacement vehicles up to 2 liters.
A single point was missing for victory
That Burri would take the title in his VW Scirocco was to be expected. The man from Bern, who lives in Thurgau, needed a single point at Gurnigel to secure the title. In the end, it was 20 - as in all previous races. Burri is and remains unbeaten in the current 2023 Mountain Cup standings. For the sixth time in the seventh race, he drove a class record and relegated Jürg Ochsner and Ludovic Monnier to 2nd and 3rd place in the IS up to 2000 cm3. Burri is also unassailable at the top of the Interswiss ranking.
Sawatzki made it a little more exciting than Burri in the touring cars. He also started the penultimate race in a good position. But his seventh class win in the seventh race was suddenly on the line after the second race. After an accident in the finishing bend, it was initially unclear whether the Rheintaler would be able to start at all in the third race. But Sawatzki got his Porsche 991.1 Cup back on track and secured class victory in the IS plus 3500 cm3 with a solid third run.
Bruno Sawatzki on the safe side
Roger Schnellmann with his 800 hp Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 8 also remained unbeaten as the fastest driver of all closed vehicles in his category (E1 over 3500 cm3). However, because the man from Schwyz decided not to take part in the Massongex hill climb in July and, unlike Sawatzki, has not yet been able to score any additional points for a new group record this season, he will no longer be able to displace him from the top of the standings at the last hill climb in Les Paccots next weekend.
Marcel Steiner set new records
In the racing cars, Marcel Steiner made the most of his match point at the home race on Gurnigel. Steiner had to be faster than Eric Berguerand to take the title. And he achieved this already in the first heat with a track record. The garage owner from Oberdiessbach covered the 3734-meter course in the first race run on Sunday morning in the new record time of 1:39.420, which corresponds to an average speed of 135.2 km/h. Berguerand was 0.212 seconds slower in the first run. In the second run, Steiner was again fastest - this time almost half a second ahead of Berguerand.
A third trial of strength did not take place. Bergus had to pack up after the second race: "The engine was already making strange noises during practice. We still have to analyze what exactly is broken. But the engine is losing oil. That's why I have to do without. Congratulations to Marcel! He has driven a great season."
The winners of the classes at a glance
The other class winners at Gurnigel included: Daniel Kammer (Toyota Yaris, Super S up to 3000 cm3), Martin Bürki (McLaren 765, Super S over 3000 cm3), Anton Büeler (Mitsubishi Evo RSC, N/ISN up to 3500 cm3), Beat Rohr (Audi 50, E1 up to 1400 cm3), Mike Bürki (VW Polo, E1 up to 1600 cm3), Christian Bralla (Fiat X1/9, gallery on the right), who held his own in E1 up to 2000 cm3 against Reto Steiner (Ford Escort RS) and Sébastien Cocquoz (Opel Kadett GTE), Benoit Farine (Honda CRX, E1 up to 2500 cm3), Hermann Bollhalder (Opel Speedster, E1 up to 3000 cm3), Simon Wüthrich (VW Golf Turbiene) who defeated Bruno Ianniello (Lancia Delta S4) and Mario Bertocchi (BMW E36) in the E1 up to 3500 cm3, Stefan Schöpfer (Audi 50, IS up to 1400 cm3), Rolf Jungi (Citroën Saxo RS, IS up to 1600 cm3), René Aeberhardt (Opel Kadett GTE, IS up to 2500 cm3), Martin Oliver Bürki (BMW E33, IS up to 3000 cm3).
TCS class on the grid again with synfuel
Victory in the TCR class, which was once again contested with Synfuel, went to Mathias Schläppi in the Hyundai i30. In the Renault Classic Cup, Thomas Zürcher (left gallery) secured class victory ahead of Dario Zutter and Philipp Krebs. In the 2-liter formula race cars, Joël Burgermeister in the Tatuus F4 was the fastest despite a slip in the second race run. Second place went to Marcel Maurer, third was Roland Bossy.
Photos: Cornevaux, Eichenberger, Kaufmann, FreeCampLife (video)
Source: Auto Sport Switzerland
The last round in the mountain championship will start on September 16 and 17 in Châtel-St-Denis - Les Paccots. More info is available on the Internet and in time also at AutoSprintCH.
