Motorsport: Dream success for Rikli team
Kris Richard and Peter Rikli secured a double victory for the Bern-based team at the second round of the European Touring Car Cup in Slovakia. This is the kind of day you normally only dream of, but at the Slovakia Ring it became reality for the two drivers from Rikli Motorsport. Team newcomer Kris Richard won both races over 25 and 20 [...]
Team newcomer Kris Richard won both races over 25 and 20 minutes ahead of his mentor Peter Rikli. It was a third Swiss rider who initially looked like a possible winner. Christjohannes Schreiber from Graubünden had already surprised everyone with pole position in qualifying and led the first race ahead of his team boss Petr Fulin from the Czech Republic. However, because their Seat Leon Cup Racer TCR had set off without a rear diffuser in order to achieve more top speed, the race jury immediately took them out of the race with a black flag. This allowed the two red Rikli-Honda cars to take the lead of the field without a fight.
Rikli Motorsport now leads the ETCC standings
In the second race, the Rikli-Hondas, which had started from the fourth row according to the regulations, immediately overtook their six TCR rivals to take the lead. Because Richard again proved to be the faster driver, Peter Rikli let him pass without much resistance, as previously agreed. As a result, the 21-year-old driver from Bern took a sensational one-two victory on only his second ETCC weekend, while Peter Rikli's second places put him ahead of Petr Fulin and Kris Richard at the top of the standings. Meanwhile, Christjohannes Schreiber and European champion Petr Fulin started from the pit lane in their now correct cars, but were unable to catch up with the leaders.
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Photo: Peter Wyss
