Monza: Victories for Aregger and Zeller
LAST F3 RACE At the final rounds of the Drexler Formula Cup in Monza, Thomas Aregger celebrated his first Formula 3 victory after Sandro Zeller retired. The champion took revenge in the final race. Unlike in Hungary, the final round of the 2020 Drexler-Automotive and Swiss Formula Cup in Monza not only saw the strongest regular drivers back on the grid, but [...]
Unlike in Hungary, the finale of the Drexler-Automotive and Swiss Formula Cup 2020 in Monza saw not only the strongest regular drivers at the start again, but also the race cars from the Topjet F2000 Italian Trophy. This resulted in a respectable field of more than 30 race cars from Formula 3, Formula 4 and Renault 2.0.
Premature abandonment
After the fastest Italian Bernardo Pellegrini had to refrain from starting due to damage to his more powerful FIA engine in the Dallara F313, two Swiss drivers, Thomas Aregger and Sandro Zeller, occupied the first row of the grid in both races.
Zeller, who was already established as the champion, seemed to turn pole position in the first race, which lasted just under half an hour, into another victory. However, after a late safety car period, the Zurich driver unexpectedly turned into the pit lane instead of accelerating because the Mercedes engine in his Dallara F312 ran out of puff.
First victory for Aregger
Thomas Aregger then took the lead and celebrated his first victory in the Formula 3 class with a Dallara F309-Volkswagen of series organizer Franz Wöss.
After twelve laps, five Italians were running in the next positions with a large gap, before Urs Rüttimann in the Dallara F306-Mercedes of Jo Zeller Racing was the runner-up in the Drexler classification.
Faster than Rüttimann and all the Italians would have been Kurt Böhlen in another Zeller-Dallara. However, the man from Berne stopped at the start and was immediately one lap down.
Böhlen had his fun anyway, as the safety car did not wave him past after the last yellow period and so he stayed in the lead with Aregger after the clearance.
End of season as desired
In the final twelfth race of the season, Sandro Zeller set the hierarchy straight again. Although Aregger was at the front this time, the veteran from Oetwil am See, who turned 29 on November 15, was soon unable to hold off the runner-up on his way to his ninth victory of the season.
After Zeller had hesitated for a long time as to whether he should start at all because of the effort involved - with Papa Jo he looked after a total of four race cars - the season ended for him as he wished.
GP2 starts from Böhlen
Kurt Böhlen had a much better start from 6th place on Sunday, but had to swerve over the curbs in the first corner and lost several positions in the process. In third place in the Drexler standings, he was one lap short of passing Italy's Franco Cimarelli to move into third place overall.
Böhlen, also a former race winner, only competed in two events in 2020. In the Maxx Formula Series for large-displacement race cars (a counterpart to the BOSS GP Racing Series created after some drivers split off), the excavator and transport operator from Riggisberg enjoyed himself at the wheel of a potent GP2 race car and won his class there.
Swiss ahead
As a good sixth Urs Rüttimann ensured a fourfold victory for the Swiss in the last race of the Drexler Cup. For 2021, the Wöss series would be well served by more good participants and not just field fillers. There would still be enough usable race cars.
Final standings Drexler Cup 2020 Final standings Swiss Formula Cup 2020
