Hemberg: Duel of the Lotus drivers
WINTSCH CHALLENGES FEIGENWINTER The most attractive touring cars come from Group E1. In 2019, however, the SuperSeries Competition is now also providing excitement. Thanks to Andy Feigenwinter and Dino Wintsch. Last year, Andy Feigenwinter dominated the SuperSeries and SuperSeries Competition at will with his new Lotus Exige 430 Cup. If the man from Basel had been in Massongex and [...]
Last year, Andy Feigenwinter dominated the SuperSeries and SuperSeries Competition at will in his new Lotus Exige 430 Cup. If the Basel native had not had to settle for half points in Massongex and Les Paccots, as the combined series car group did not have at least eight participants, the mountain championship title in the touring cars would have gone to him straight away. A new track record for production cars in the final race was the icing on the cake of a good season for Feigenwinter, earning him the bronze medal in the championship.
Here comes the Lotus champion
Envious people belittled his performance, as they considered it no mean feat with such a sports car. Feigenwinter couldn't care less, as everyone was free to do the same or test him. This will now be the case for the first time at the start of the 2019 season on June 15/16 in Hemberg.
Dino Wintsch, otherwise the benchmark in the Lotus V6 Cup Suisse and in the IKSM, contested several national hill climb races in 2019 with an identical model. At Lotus-West in St. Gallen, everything was done to ensure that the Exige complies with the SuperSeries regulations. Feigenwinter's sports car also comes from there.
Among the fastest
The Zurich architect and wine expert (Dinovino) from Hombrechtikon has experience of mountain slaloms in Vorarlberg, where the gates - with the exception of braking chicanes - are more or less on the ideal line. Wintsch impressively demonstrated his speed compared to the nationals this year at the Frauenfeld slalom: Behind Simon Wüthrich's "Turbiene" (VW Golf Turbo 4WD with 550 hp), he achieved the second-best overall touring car victory - and this with the Yokohama semi-slicks prescribed in the Lotus V6 Cup instead of treadless racing tires!
Dino Wintsch: "I want to see how it goes on the mountain. It's difficult for me to assess Andy. But I don't think it's unrealistic for me to finish in the top ten of all the Hüsli cars. I'm excited and looking forward to it."
2020 in the Swiss championship
Due to time constraints, Wintsch is only competing in the Hemberg hill climb for the time being. For Oberhallau, he is still weighing up whether he will only be a race taxi driver for Lotus-West or whether he will also be allowed to take part in the race. After that, he plans to take part in the Gurnigel hill climb.
The 43-year-old has already made a decision for the future.
Dino Wintsch: "In 2020, I want to compete in the Swiss championship, in slalom and on the mountain. Unless I'm now racing behind... That's why I'm now gaining experience to see how it works."
What does experience count for?
The person being tested is looking forward to the confrontation. Even if there is a risk of going under the knife.
Andy Feigenwinter: "I think it's great that Dino is coming. That way we can both see where we stand. I can certainly learn a lot from him. He has done more work on the Lotus chassis than I have, so I hope that our duel will still be somewhat even. I have the advantage that I already know all the tracks. That's why I'm taking a more relaxed approach than in 2018. I'm also unencumbered, as I've insured the car against accidents for this season."
