Hemberg: Widmer's home game in the new car
BERGRENNEN HEMBERG The 2017 Swiss Mountain Championship kicks off this weekend in Toggenburg, where spectators will be able to witness the mountain premiere of Michael Widmer's new Mitsubishi Mirage Proto. But he has no ambitions yet. The stars of the Swiss hill climb are Eric Berguerand, Marcel Steiner, Reto Meisel, Roger Schnellmann and Ronnie Bratschi. In the field of 200 [...]
The stars of the Swiss hill climb are Eric Berguerand, Marcel Steiner, Reto Meisel, Roger Schnellmann and Ronnie Bratschi. However, there are other fast and interesting people with attractive cars in the field of 200 participants who will be at the start of the Swiss Hill Climb Championship in Hemberg this weekend. The general public will even see one of them in action for the first time ever.
Michael Widmer lives and works in Mühlrüti, 24 kilometers from Hemberg. His new racing car, which he will be demonstrating at his home race, comes from Nysa (Neisse) in Poland, 700 km away as the crow flies. Using a few components from his white Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X, whose chassis he sold to Germany, Dytko Sport has created a new bullet of the same brand.
The basis is the Space Star model, which for legal reasons may not be called that in this version, but will run in competition as the Mitsubishi Mirage Proto. Its looks and technology are reminiscent of a World Rally Car, which was also Widmer's wish. "Basically, I always wanted to have a car like this with a lot of power and this look."
Under the hood is the tried-and-tested 2-liter turbo four-cylinder engine, which delivers 580 hp with the tuning from Gassner Motorsport. In terms of performance, Widmer can just about keep up with the best in Group E1, but at 1250 kg - no carbon parts are used for the bodywork for safety reasons - the car is one of the heavyweights here.
For the 54-year-old entrepreneur, however, this is secondary. "I ride for myself," says Widmer. During the test run at Slalom Bure, the Toggenburg native is a little shocked at first by the enormous thrust. "I also have to get used to shifting gears with the sequential but mechanical gearbox with thrust interruption and make adjustments."
After setting several category records in Group N, some of which still stand, Michael Widmer no longer has to prove to anyone how well he can drive. "At 54, I no longer want to compete with a Meisel or Bratschi. I just want to have fun with a great car and achieve good lap times."
As the Mitsubishi Mirage Proto will be an eye-catcher and cannot be ignored acoustically, the spectators at the Hemberg will certainly enjoy it. One or two fingers will certainly be crossed for the Toggenburg native.
