Hill climb: Steiner against the Osellas 🎥
IT'S HORRIBLE On the weekend of August 19 and 20, the St. Ursanne - Les Rangiers hill climb will be held for the 78th time. In addition to the Swiss Championship, the classic in the Jura also counts towards the FIA European Hill Climb Championship.
The summer break is over! 114 male and female participants have registered for the Swiss Championship. They are joined by 34 drivers who have registered for the FIA European Hill Climb Championship.
Christian Merli is one of them. The four-time European mountain champion set a new course record last year in his Osella FA30 and is also considered a firm favorite for this year's edition.
The 2023 European Championship leader in Category 2 (race cars), who is still unbeaten, can even close the title bag in Les Rangiers under favorable conditions if he can extend his lead (with two races left after Les Rangiers) to 50 points. In category 1 of closed cars, Macedonian Igor Stefanovski on Hyundai i30 TCR is leading. He will also be on the grid in Les Rangiers.
Ronnie Bratschi is at the start
Five Swiss drivers are also registered in the field of European Championship participants. Among them are Martin Bächler (VW Lupo), Alphonse Kilchenmann (Suzuki Swift), Jérôme Nicolet (Peugeot 308), Fabien Houlmann (Peugeot 205) and two-time Les Rangiers winner Roland Bossy (Dallara F3). Also on the grid: Ronnie Bratschi. The man from Uri, already a three-time race winner in the 2023 European Championship, is driving with a Czech license this year, however.
Victory for Marcel Steiner?
Back to the Swiss championship: there, the battle for the day's victory may be somewhat closer than in the European Championship standings. Although Marcel Steiner on his LobArt-Honda/Helftec has the best chances of winning in the absence of SM leader Eric Berguerand, the competition, above all the two Osella riders Robin Faustini and Joël Volluz (gallery right), are within striking distance. While Faustini is used to good performances, the fast rider from the Valais in particular has made huge gains in recent races. Last year, Volluz' gap to Steiner was still five seconds per run. Volluz will certainly not lose that much this time.
Opportunities for Joël Grand
In the formula race cars up to 2000 cm3, Joël Burgermeister Galerie (left) is considered the hottest candidate for victory. And that's despite the fact that the Thurgau native recently didn't feel entirely at ease at the hill climb in Osnabrück. Another of Burgermeister's opponents will be competing in Les Rangiers in the smaller displacement class (up to 1400 cm3): Joël Grand. The Valais native, who is competing this year with Wolf racing cars, is switching to the Thunder model for Les Rangiers (and Les Paccots), which is powered by a 1.15-liter motorcycle engine.
Roger Schnellman hopes
In the touring cars, Roger Schnellmann (center gallery) is the favorite in his Mitsubishi Evo 8 (cat. E1 plus 3500 cm3). The man from Wangen has so far won all the races in which he has taken part. However, because Schnellmann decided not to take part in the race in Massongex, he is only in second place in the overall standings, with Bruno Sawatzki in the Porsche 991.1 Cup from the highest-displacement Interswiss class in the lead. Will Schnellmann be able to catch up? One of eight results is cancelled out at the end of the season; in this respect - yes. But Sawatzki not only scored the 25 points for the class win last time out in Anzère, he also secured the two extra points for a new class record. And that could be the deciding factor at the end of the year.
Stephan Burri in the lead
In the Swiss Mountain Cup for touring cars up to 2000 cubic centimeters, Stephan Burri is the sole leader in his VW Scirocco. Burri is the only one to have scored the maximum points in all four races so far. Michael Schläpfer has also been able to extend his lead most recently in Anzère. Ahead of Les Rangiers, the Appenzeller is 27.5 points ahead of Thomas Zürcher in the Renault Classic Cup. "I'm looking forward to the race," says Schläpfer.
50 meters height difference
About the route: The route from St.Ursanne to Les Rangiers measures 5.180 kilometers. The difference in altitude is 350 meters. The average gradient is 6.8 percent. The absolute course record is held by Christian Merli in 1:39.201 min (= 188.0 km/h). It dates from the previous year. The record winner of the St.Ursanne - Les Rangiers hill climb is Simone Faggioli with nine overall victories - ahead of Fredy Amweg (7), Marcel Tarres (6), Lionel Régal (5) and Jo Siffert (4). Of the Swiss drivers currently competing, Marcel Steiner and Roland Bossy are the most successful participants with two victories each.
Saturday starts at 7 o'clock
The practice runs will take place on Saturday, August 19, from 7 a.m. (1st run), from 10:30 a.m. (2nd run) and 3 p.m. (3rd run). On Sunday, August 20, the first race heat will start at 7 am. The second heat will take place from 1 pm. The times of the two heats will be added together. The ticket costs 20 francs on Saturday, 25 francs on Sunday. A weekend ticket is available for 30 francs. Under 16s are admitted free of charge.
Photos: Kaufmann myrally
Video: @highprod422
Source: Car Sport Switzerland
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