Bergrennen Osnabrück: Merli against the Swiss elite 🎥
HIGHLIGHT IN THE NORTH With an attractive field of participants, led by European champion Christian Merli and the Swiss armada with Berguerand, Faustini, Steiner and Volluz, the largest mountain race in Germany awaits. You can also watch it live on YouTube.
It's a mountain race of superlatives, high up in Germany in the so-called Borgloher Schweiz. This is shown in the trailer for the 2018 event.
In the years before the Corona pandemic, between 20 and 30,000 spectators came to the idyllic area of Hilter-Borgloh near Osnabrück to watch the racing action at Uphöfener Berg. Whereby Berg sounds a bit exaggerated...
FIA Cup final run on challenging hill
The track, which is only 2030 meters long and starts at an altitude of 95 meters above sea level, has a difference in altitude of just 73 meters. With its blind curves surrounded by guard rails or tire piles, it is nevertheless very demanding, so that the wheat is separated from the chaff here among the mountain specialists, just as on the well-known Swiss courses.
Around 180 drivers from 14 nations are entered for the 54th staging of this race, which, in addition to the German Hill Climb Championship as the final round, also counts towards the FIA International Hill Climb Cup. Thanks to the sponsors, the organizing MSC Osnabrück with the enterprising Bernd Stegmann at the helm is always able to persuade many foreigners to take part in this hill climb with entry fee bonuses and/or travel subsidies.
Swiss top quartet in pursuit of podium
Among these are also the currently strongest Swiss. Eric Berguerand (1st 2014), Robin Faustini, Marcel Steiner (1st 2012) and Joël Volluz (1st 2015) will be at the start this weekend with a claim to the overall and/or category victory.
In the order Berguerand (Lola-Cosworth, upper gallery left), Steiner (LobArt-Helftec-Honda-Turbo, upper gallery right), Faustini (lower gallery right) and Volluz (both Osella FA30, lower gallery left) they last occupied the top four positions (gallery) at the hill climb Ayent-Anzère.
Joël Burgermeister joins them in his Tatuus-Abarth-LRM F4. The Thurgau native is thus a contender for class victory in the two-liter race cars. And Kyrill Graf in his BMW M3 GTR is the only touring car driver to fly the Swiss flag.
All against the European champion
Even for Eric Berguerand, who is still undefeated in the 2022 Swiss mountain racing season, the path to the stage win primarily leads via Italy's Christian Merli. The reigning European champion, who is likely to remain in 2022, traveled directly from the previous EBM run in Poland.
Merli holds the absolute track record with 50.055 seconds (exactly 146 km/h). Since this was set in 2019 and his Osella FA30, as well as the Trentino himself, have gained in power since then, the 50-second mark is likely to fall on Sunday. Especially since pleasant and not too hot summer weather is forecast.
Other contenders for the overall podium besides Merli and the four Swiss are Frenchman Sébastien Petit in the Nova Proto (winner of the day in 2018), the currently strongest German Alexander Hin (Osella FA30) and Czech Petr Vitek (Osella PA30).
Attack on Bratschi's touring car record
Because Ronnie Bratschi is unlikely to race his Mitsubishi Evo RS this year after an engine failure during dyno tests, the three-time FIA Hill Climb Cup champion will also be unable to defend his 2019 Osnabrück Touring Car record (57.338).
The Czech Dan Michl in a Lotus Elise or the Frenchman Nicolas Werver in a Porsche are most likely to improve on this this year. With Pieter Zeelie in a monstrous Toyota MR2 with 850 hp, even the South African "King of the Hills" is in the game, which underlines the internationality of this event.
Livestream from both race days
As a special service, MSC Osnabrück offers a free livestream on YouTube on both days. On Saturday this is from 8 to c. 18 clock under this Link on Sunday from 8 a.m. until the end of the race - four scoring runs are planned - under this Link.
