OPC Challenge: Hat trick by Marcel Muzzarelli
THIRD WIN IN CHAMBLON Marcel Muzzarelli's third and final start in the 2018 OPC Challenge also earned the Metropol team full points. Rolf Tremp and René Zogg jointly lead the individual standings. Third start, third victory - task fully accomplished. Multiple champion Marcel Muzzarelli gave his all at the wheel of the Opel Adam [...]
Third start, third victory - task fully accomplished. Multiple champion Marcel Muzzarelli once again showed no signs of weakness at the wheel of the Opel Adam S from Metropol Garage AG. On the 4.3 km long course with 66 gates on the barracks area of Chamblon, the man from eastern Switzerland set two almost exactly equal running times.
Already three years ago, the first and until 2018 the only year with this Challenge sports equipment, Muzzarelli was equally fast to the tenth of a second. Back then, however, this was only enough for fourth place, while the winner's time (Fabian Eggenberger) was a good two seconds faster.
Muzzarelli's satisfaction with the third win of the season, with which he once again secured the full 20 points for the Garage Metropol team from Amriswil, was therefore limited. "It should actually go faster," he was aware.
Two strong Adam newcomers
The closest to him was Christian Zimmermann, who took over at the wheel of the colorful Opel Adam S from and with Andreas Riedl. In his first start with this car, the man from Glarus improved from run to run and in the end was only 1.5 seconds behind Muzzarelli.
The fact that the car did not have a bucket seat and that he therefore slid back and forth in the corners was not something Zimmermann wanted to accept as an excuse... Riedl himself classified himself twelfth - he now knows how fast his car is.
Roland Graf was also faster than the car's owner. With his second running time, the OPC newcomer passed his friend Rolf Tremp from Toggenburg to take third place. In doing so, he secured Auto Bollhalder valuable points in the Team Cup.
Normally Graf races a fast Renault Clio in Group E1 and was therefore very satisfied with his performance on the pure production car.
Roland Graf: "It's completely different driving. I tried to drive clean and not overrun the car with the semislicks. Obviously, I found the good mix."
Two drivers tied at the top of the table
Tremp finished nine tenths behind ("The stall order didn't work...") in fourth place, making up two points on fifth-placed René Zogg. With 142 points each, they jointly lead the standings in the individual standings at the halfway point of the championship.
Since the previous race winners Muzzarelli and Tschaggelar (opening winner in Frauenfeld) only take part in the Team Cup (three starts per driver), Tremp and Zogg will probably decide the title between themselves. However, none of them could win a race yet...
In the Team Cup, Metropol Garage is clearly ahead of Auto Bollhalder (144) and Auto Germann (140) with 160 points from four full scores.
Second half after the summer break
Fabio Gubitosi was beaten below his value. After a botched first run, his clean second run only earned him seventh place behind Simon Urech in his first Adam event.
After the summer break, the OPC Challenge 2018 continues at the beginning of September with two rounds at the ACS Zurich slalom on the Anneau du Rhin in Alsace.
