Motorsport: Bern's winning streak continues
Let someone else dare to say that the Bernese are slow. Eight days after Neel Jani at Le Mans, Nico Müller won the DTM at the Norisring and on the same day, Kris Richard took the lead in the FIA European Touring Car Cup (ETCC) standings with a victory in Portugal. "I wouldn't have bet a million [...]
"I wouldn't have bet a million that this would happen on Sunday," says the 21-year-old from Bern in Gwatt, looking back on the fourth ETCC weekend in Vila Real in disbelief. Due to an oil leak in the Honda Civic TCR, the Rikli team removed the gearbox twice before qualifying to get to the root of the problem in the form of a leaking oil seal and another cover in the drivetrain. The day and night's work paid off, as Richard took victory in the second race on the spectacular street circuit after finishing fifth in the first race.
After the one-two at the Slovakia Ring and the triumph in the preliminary program of the Nürburgring 24 Hours, the touring car rookie has already won half of all ETCC races in 2016. Team-mate Peter Rikli climbed onto the podium in third place after the first race, but retired in the second after a bump from Petr Fulin. The Czech received a pit drive-through penalty for this, which dropped the three-time winner to sixth place. As double ETCC points were awarded due to the long journey to the north of Portugal, Richard took over the lead of the standings with the best result of the weekend.
Will Kris Richard achieve what Peter Rikli failed to do?
Richard is now two points ahead of Fulin (74 to 72) and already 25 ahead of Rikli. "I'm not really interested in points, so I'm trying to continue riding as carefree as before. I'm not even thinking about the possibility of winning the title yet, so I'm not putting myself under any pressure," said the fast junior, setting out his motto for the last two double races on July 10 in Magny-Cours (F) and on October 2 in Imola (I). Perhaps he will achieve what Peter Rikli (several times European Championship runner-up and third) failed to do - he will be able to count on his support if necessary.
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Photos: Archive
