Weekend tip: Oberhallau or Ollon-Villars?
MOUNTAIN RACING The great late summer weather should attract many spectators to the two international hill climb races in Oberhallau and Ollon-Villars this weekend. At one in Vaud, the focus will be on fast modern racing cars, while the other in Schaffhausen will be on attractive historic racing cars and their drivers. As the two events are geographically far apart, they hardly take any spectators away from each other. Lovers of hill climbs are [...]
As the two events are geographically far apart, they hardly take any spectators away from each other. However, hill climb enthusiasts are spoiled for choice - would they prefer the modern events in Oberhallau or the historic ones on the legendary race track in Vaud?
One hill climb in Klettgau in Schaffhausen is all about best times and points for various championships, the other is all about the visual and acoustic pleasure of seeing vehicles from the era of one of the biggest Swiss hill climbs from 1953 to 1971 in action once again.
Both are impressive in terms of the number of participants. After the schedule of the last two hill climb races in Anzère and St-Ursanne was severely strained due to the high number of participants, the organizing association Bergrennen Oberhallau (VBO) is hoping for fewer incidents. Of the approximately 250 registered vehicles, around 220 to 230 are expected to show up to complete three runs each on Saturday (practice from 7.30 am) and Sunday (first race from 7.30 am).
After defeats in Hemberg and Reitnau, defending champion Eric Berguerand wants to return to the top step of the podium. Normally, only Marcel Steiner, whose title chances have increased further after his unchallenged victory in the Swiss classification of the St-Ursanne-Les Rangiers hill climb last weekend, can dispute this.
In Berguerand's favor is the fact that he has new tires ready for his Lola-Cosworth (which he lacked at his home race in Valais), but Steiner will have to resort to used rubber due to Avon's supply problems with the really good tires. A handicap that is difficult to make up for.
No fewer than seven cars are entered in the largest displacement racing car class up to three liters. The battle for second place in class and third place behind the leading duo Steiner/Berguerand (the Bernese driver drives a three-liter sports car) promises to be exciting.
Thomas Amweg has solved the engine problems on the Lola F3000 provided since the short premiere in Reitnau and Robin Faustini returns to the Reynard F3000 after the Formula Renault intermezzo in Les Rangiers, in which he finished a brilliant third overall in Anzère.
Dad Simon Hugentobler then had to accept a narrow defeat against his motivated and talented son in his newer Reynard 97D at the Osnabrück hill climb in northern Germany on August 6 and is therefore looking for inter-family revenge...
As in Anzère and also at Gurnigel on September 9/10, Frenchman Joël Roussel will bring his Lola with the flashy Zytek V8 engine to the start. Grégoire Siggen (Lola F3000) and Markus Bosshard (Reynard F3000) are the other competitors in this class.
Four motorcycle world champions at the start in Ollon
The seventh edition of the Ollon-Villars International Motor Race also features so many illustrious names and vehicles that we can only list a few. Among the cars are Le Mans legend and ex-F1 driver Henri Pescarolo (F) in a 1968 Matra MS11 F1 and Stuart Rolt (GB) in the Ferguson P99, the only four-wheel drive Formula 1 car in history (ex Stirling Moss).
Both race cars were already a popular sight at the start of the last event here in 2013. Daniel Müller, once a successful son of the legendary "Stumpen-Herbie" himself, drives a former Tecno F2 of Clay Regazzoni.
Unique in Switzerland, however, is the appearance of four former world champions from motorcycling. Freddy Spencer (USA), Phil Read (GB) and the Swiss sidecar duo Rolf Biland/Kurt Waltisperg are the stars of the motorcycle field. Bruno Kneubühler and Roland Freymond are two other Swiss ex-GP riders at the start of the demonstration runs with historic racing motorcycles.
On Saturday and Sunday, the cars and motorcycles, divided into six fields, will drive from Ollon up to Villars twice (from 9.30 to 12 and 14 to 17).
