Renault Classic Cup: Hunting the Wolf
VICTORY FOR KREBS IN REITNAU After Denis Wolf's last five successes, Philip Krebs was celebrated as the winner of the Reitnau hill climb. However, the chase for Wolf, who is the clear leader in the Renault Classic Cup, will last only five more races. After the tragedy at the Red Bull Ring in mid-May, where only three of the 14 [...]
After the tragedy at the Red Bull Ring in mid-May, where only three of the 14 registered drivers from the Renault Classic Cup competed with their former Clio Cup cars, the three subsequent races in Switzerland again recorded significantly more participants.
There were 13 in Hemberg, ten in the Romont slalom and a good dozen in Reitnau. This is good for the respective winner, because from 2018 the maximum number of points will be determined by the number of opponents beaten.
Thus, Denis Wolf scored 34 points in Hemberg thanks to his two best run times and 31 points with his fifth consecutive victory in Romont. A points haul that has never been achieved before.
The wolf shows its strength
Philipp Krebs also started his hunt for points with the hill climbs, having previously only competed in the slalom in Interlaken. As in the previous year, however, Denis Wolf was the fastest in Hemberg, followed by Krebs in the proven older Clio II, where René Schnidrig celebrated his first podium finish in third place.
In Romont, Wolf underlined his growing strength between the pylons by once again clearly outclassing Krebs and all his other club colleagues. With Marc Beyeler, there was once again a new face on the podium. For the Bernese, who entered the Cup in 2016, the best result of his career so far.
A not entirely unexpected and narrow defeat
On Sunday afternoon in Reitnau, the inevitable happened - Krebs killed the wolf. It was a clear-cut chase, especially since the older Clio II is at least equal to the newer and more powerful Clio III on the mountain due to its lighter weight with a top driver on board.
Otherwise, Philipp Krebs would not have been able to win four of the six hill climbs that count towards the Cup in 2017 against class drivers such as champion Denis Wolf and runner-up Ralf Henggeler.
Denis Wolf: "I expected it to be close in Reitnau and that Philipp could be faster. So he was only eight hundredths ahead of me in the first run and nine hundredths in the second. But I was very happy with my victory in Romont. There, I already achieved a time in the first practice that no one else did in the race, while I was able to improve further."
Since only ten of the possible 13 results from each individual make it into the final standings, nothing is theoretically lost yet for Krebs in the championship. However, he would have to win all of the other five hill climbs and Wolf would have to slip up in between.
Philipp Krebs: "This was a great fight! Hemberg and Reitnau are not necessarily my favorite tracks, these come in Anzère, Oberhallau and Gurnigel. Les Rangiers is more for Denis again. He would have to make a mistake somewhere, otherwise he can't be caught up. So it will be difficult - but I'm not giving up".
Zbinden's return to the podium
Stephan Zbinden was at least as happy as Krebs and Wolf about his third place in Reitnau. The longest-serving member of the Classic Club has not been on the podium since October 2015, the first of the last two lap races at the Nürburgring.
René Schnidrig and Marc Beyeler, who enjoyed this honor in the two previous races, followed with a few hundredths of a second behind. In sixth place, Angelo Figus was able to finish in the first half of the Classic Cup rankings for the first time.
The Renault Classic Cup may be the only official one-make cup within the framework of the Swiss championship in slalom and hillclimb - but it is truly not uniform.
