Mountain race Gurnigel: The last master freestyle

The traditional event with international participation, organized by the association Bergrennen Gurnigel, is the final race for the Swiss Mountain Championship 2022. In the various categories, about 220 drivers are expected at the start in Rüti near Riggisberg.

The winding, medium-fast mountain race course ends after 3734 meters in the Gurnigelbad and is considered technically demanding. In the starting area, on the Laas and in the finish bend, the audience enjoys a beautiful view of the racing action from the natural grandstands.

Eric Berguerand as good as champion
The focus of the 51st National Hill Climb on the Gurnigel - regardless of the weather - will be the battle for the day's victory. The favorite is Eric Berguerand with his approximately 500 hp Lola FA99. The 43-year-old family man from Charrat has already won four Swiss hillclimb races in record time this year.

Since 2018, the Valais native has also held the track record at Gurnigel (1:39.81 = 134.67 km/h), which will undoubtedly fall if the outside conditions are good. Berguerand is practically set as the 2022 Swiss mountain champion of the racing sports cars, as he mathematically only needs one more point, but this is already available for the finish alone.

Marcel Steiner does not give up
Local hero Marcel Steiner therefore has no great hopes of being able to prevent him from winning his seventh title (if you count the 2005 Berg Cup) at the wheel of his LobArt sports car.

However, because the Honda-based turbo engine developed in collaboration with Helftec Engineering from Hildisrieden LU is finally running well after a long trial period, Steiner will be giving his all to secure the first Gurnigel victory since 2012. After that, Berguerand won continuously before Thomas Amweg prevailed in the rain race of 2019.

Although the chance is minimal, the homeowner does not admit defeat yet.

Marcel Steiner: "I came pretty close to Eric last time in Oberhallau, but at Gurnigel I think he has more of an advantage with his optimal race car. At the home race, however, I'm always particularly motivated, so anything is possible."

Other contenders for the coveted overall winners' podium include Robin Faustini in the Osella FA30, who is confirmed as third in the championship, and Thomas Amweg in the Lola F3000 once driven by his father, mountain king Fredy Amweg, and now freshly restored. Amweg won the Arosa Classic Car hill climb for the sixth time last weekend in the Martini BMW F2 also formerly driven by his dad.

Joël Grand from Valais, on the other hand, will only start with the Reynard F3000 borrowed from Simon Hugentobler if it does not rain.

Fight for the third SM rank in touring cars
In the touring cars, Reto Meisel in the self-built Mercedes SLK 340 has been the champion since Oberhallau. Roger Schnellmann in the monstrous Mitsubishi Evo VIII needs only a handful of points to secure second place. Theoretically, Bruno Sawatzki and Frédéric Neff with their Porsche from the InterSwiss special car group are also still eligible for the second SM place, otherwise they will settle the third SM place among themselves. Only four points separate them.

Romeo Nüssli (gallery left, photo Cornevaux), whose strength at the wheel of the Ford Escort Cosworth in the rain is well known, also has a theoretical chance. In the event of success, however, Sawatzki and Neff would have to fail almost completely for Nüssli to advance from ninth to third SM place with the E1 group victory over Meisel and Schnellmann.

15th championship title ready for Martin Bürki
Only one more retirement can thwart Martin Bürki's fourth win of the Berg-Pokal for smaller displacement vehicles (Gallery right). Only defending champion Philipp Krebs (center gallery) and Sébastien Coquoz in the Opel Kadett C from the E1-2000 can still score the maximum number of points (80) if they win their classes again like Bürki.

Because he also has two zeros (absences in Hemberg and Oberhallau), Coquoz is out of the game. If the leader of the standings were to drop out, Krebs, like Bürki, would have a zero (for the absence in La Roche) and a fifteenth as his first strike result. As a further distinguishing criterion in the six mountain races counted, of which the four best results count, the number of opponents beaten is used - and then Krebs would be the mountain cup winner.

However, if MB only finishes and thus has at least one point credited to him as a second strike result, he secures title numbers 14 and 15 in his career, 13 with the optimal VW Polo 1600, nine of them in the slalom championship. The 54-year-old from Bern won two more titles in the Opel OPC Challenge in 2006 and 2013.

Philipp Krebs: "Martin does that. But it's always counted up at the end. You don't wish a failure on anyone, but my chance is still real."

Cancer takes leave of the Clio II
The Renault Classic Cup has already been decided in favor of Denis Wolf in the Clio III. In the one-make cup dominated by drivers from the Equipe Bernoise, however, the only way to victory is via the aforementioned Philipp Krebs, who has already won many times in his Clio II, which is more suitable for the track.

For Krebs, it will be the last race with the black car he has successfully driven since 2004 (!), as he is switching to a Clio RS III Cup and wants to show it to his opponents in 2023. Michael Schläpfer (Clio III) is also already runner-up and with only seven results from 13 possible races Krebs will probably be third.

Added value for drivers and the public
On Saturday, three practice runs for all categories are on the program from 7 a.m. until about 5:30 p.m.. On Sunday morning, the first race run will start at the same time. The classification will be based on the addition of the two fastest times.

The last time there were three races on the Gurnigel was at the unforgettable 100th anniversary race in 2010. Twelve years later, they want to offer riders and the public more again. But there are no more historic racing cars.

Tickets can be purchased most easily and quickly with a discount in advance via the homepage. There you can also find more information and a lot of interesting facts about this mountain race on the Gurnigel, which was already held in the pre-war period.

gurnigelrennen.ch