Legends Cars: Room there for the little ones đ„
RACE PREMIERE IN ROMONT The Swiss Legends Car Cup has been in existence since 2019. At the slalom in Romont, the silhouette racing cars made their first big Swiss appearance. They are to be given their permanent place. They look like oversized toy cars and are currently the cheapest racing cars in Switzerland. The Legends Cars are based on the American stock cars from the [...]
They look like oversized toy cars and are currently the cheapest racing sports cars in Switzerland. The Legends Cars are modeled on the American stock cars from the 1930s and 1940s. Silhouettes of the Chevrolet Coupé (1934), Ford Sedan (1934), Ford Coupé (1934), Chevrolet Sedan (1937), Dodge Coupé (1937), Ford Sedan (1937) and Dodge Sedan (1937) can be placed over a tubular frame chassis.
The little runabouts are manufactured by US Legend Cars International in Harrisburg, North Carolina (USA) and imported into Switzerland by the Swiss Legends Racing association based in Wichtrach BE. They can be rented inexpensively or purchased ready to race with FIA safety package at a price of 19,900 Swiss francs and then used in the newly launched Swiss Legends Car Cup.
https://www.facebook.com/SwissLegendsRacing/videos/1809515275827383
The special sound of the unified motorcycle engines in the Legends Cars is reproduced in this teaser.
Time Attack in France and Slaloms in Switzerland
The sealed three-cylinder, four-stroke engines with 847 cubic capacity come from a Yamaha MT09 and produce 135 horsepower, which is transmitted to the rear axle via a sequential 6-speed reverse gearbox. With the similar size of the original Mini (3.2 meters long and 1.5 meters wide) and a combat weight of just 580 kilograms including the rider, it's quite a ride.
Thanks to the efforts of the club, it was possible to obtain a permit from Auto Sport Switzerland to race in Switzerland. For this purpose, a special class was created in the field of racing sports cars. The 2019 racing calendar included the first circuit races on the Circuit de Bresse in bordering France, where the fastest lap time (time attack) of each driver was scored as part of track days.
https://www.facebook.com/SwissLegendsRacing/videos/2543104162583999
Urs Böhlen plays out his experience
The first race in Switzerland that counted towards the championship was the Romont slalom on June 16. Although there were only six participants, after there were about three times as many in Bresse (some double starters), this did not detract from the quality of the sport.
In this country, Urs Böhlen already appeared with his Legends Car in April at the indoor race in Roggwil and Slalom Frauenfeld. The garage owner from RĂŒti near Riggisberg, close to the start of the Gurnigel race, set the best time in both runs. Thus, for the first time, the former Formula Ford driver was ahead of FrĂ©dĂ©ric Cotting from DĂŒdingen, who had won the Bresse time trial twice.
Urs Böhlen: "These cars are simply awesome to drive. Toys without high-tech, like Formula Ford used to be. You're constantly sliding. Because of the short wheelbase and the rigid rear axle, you have to react before the car swerves."
Increased demand
Cotting, for his part, relegated newcomer Thomas KrÀuchi (formerly successful in the OPC Challenge) to third place by just three tenths. The Cup organizers Alain Chatton, Hanspeter SÀgesser and Peter SÀgesser occupied the places in the second half of the ranking list.
gvi-timing.ch/documents/pdf/2019/romont/Legends.pdf
Regardless of the result, everyone enjoyed it - and so did the spectators, apparently.
Alain Chatton: "Except for Urs, we've only driven on circuits and demo rides so far. But even a slalom was fun. We felt warmly welcomed and were supported from all sides. After this performance, the demand has suddenly increased enormously. Next year, we will probably start more at Swiss slaloms."
Final at slalom Ambri
After two more Time Attacks in France in the second half of the year, the Swiss Legends Racing Cup returns to Switzerland on the first weekend of October at the Slalom Championship finals in Ambri. It is quite possible that by then there will already be a dozen or more starters. Because more driving fun with racing technology for less money is almost impossible, emphasize and promise the organizers.
Approval for hill climbs soon?
In order for the vehicles to be allowed to compete in hill climbs, a crash test is prepared that must pass the FIA standards. Only when these are fulfilled can the ASS give the go-ahead for this.
European Legend Car championships on circuits have otherwise existed for some time in Scotland, England, Finland, Sweden and France. Canada and Russia even hold ice races with spikes and lots of snow flurries.
More information can be found on the homepage of the association.
