The end for the ACS slalom Saanen
MOTORSPORT Since 1976, the Saanen slalom has been a fixed item on the Swiss motor racing calendar. For 2018, the ACS Bern section has cancelled it. This might have been the end of this recently controversial event. Since 1976, the ACS section Bern organized the slalom on the airfield of Saanen every year. The first staging 41 years ago even had to be cancelled twice [...]
Since 1976, the ACS section Bern organized the slalom on the airfield of Saanen every year. The first event 41 years ago even had to be advertised twice, because the premiere planned for April 24 fell victim to heavy snowfall during the night of the race day. It was then made up for in August.
Saanen was initially part of the Swiss Automobile Championship (with circuit and hillclimb races), then the Slalom Cup and since its introduction the Swiss Slalom Championship.
Some loved it, others avoided it. The increasingly poor condition of the track has kept some drivers from taking part in recent years. On no other course did so many drive shafts break. "Rüttelpiste" was the buzzword for many.
On May 5, 2018, the 43rd edition should have taken place, but it will not happen for the foreseeable future. The board of ACS Bern decided to cancel for several reasons. One main reason was the financial risk. Another internal personnel changes, which will involve the resources differently.
In addition, construction work has begun on a new groundwater well on the airfield site. The Office for Water Protection would not have given the permit from 2019 anyway. However, flying is still allowed...
The last winner of the day was Marcel Maurer from Bern on his Formula Renault Midland last May. The superior winner of the premiere on August 28, 1976 was Fredy Amweg on his Amweg-BMW F2. The man from Aargau won the Saanen slalom a total of six times until 1989, more than anyone else since then.
There is also a question mark behind Slalom Interlaken as of 2019
As organizer, however, the ACS-Bern remains the slalom sport. One week before the planned and cancelled race of Saanen, the slalom of Interlaken is scheduled. The organizational double burden with two events within eight days is therefore eliminated.
There will certainly be no shortage of participants for the second SM race in 2018 (one week after the opener in Frauenfeld) on the fast and popular airfield course on April 28, 2018. Unfortunately, there is also a question mark behind its staging from 2019 onwards, as a major redevelopment with drastic zoning changes is planned for the upper half of the site (Wilderswil).
