Renault Cup: Philipp Krebs soars to new heights
FLIGHT TO WIN Philipp Krebs swung to the top twice in Anzère. First he enjoyed a paragliding flight, then he sailed away from his competitors in the race, just like last year. In second place, Denis Wolf took another step towards the title. Before Philipp Krebs sat down in his tried-and-tested Clio RS II, on Thursday before the mountain race he [...]
Before Philipp Krebs sat down in his trusty Clio RS II, he cashed in his prize for the 2017 class win - an accompanied paragliding flight - on the Thursday before the Ayent-Anzère hill climb. This sparked a similar amount of adrenaline in him and the same enthusiasm as the rides in the touring car afterwards.
However, this adventure did not necessarily make him faster, as he had hoped, considering that there was a new, more even layer of asphalt in places. In his best run, the Bernese was six thousandths faster than in the previous year, but in the addition of the two better runs, he was one thousandth slower...
Places taken
Theoretically, the first two places in the class of the unbrokenly attractive Renault Clio Classic had already been awarded. For Philipp Krebs, Anzère is, next to the home race at Gurnigel, the favorite track par excellence, especially since he knows how to fully exploit the weight advantage of the lighter and therefore more powerful Clio III over the more modern Clio III on both tracks.
Table leader Denis Wolf therefore did not have high hopes for victory. However, the defending champion could live well with second place.
Denis Wolf: "The Clio IIIs are too heavy for Philipp's best times, I can't compensate for that in terms of driving. I tried it in the second run, but overdid it a bit everywhere and in the third run there was a cleaned oil track. To drive like him or Thomas Zürcher at his former record 1'53, everything would have had to fit."
The wolf wants to bite back in two weeks
However, the winner is well aware that Wolf will bite back at the next opportunity.
Philipp Krebs: "I think Denis will fight back in St-Ursanne. It might have gone a little faster for me, but then I let it go. Because I already had to really stretch for my personal new record."
Theoretically, Wolf can close the bag on August 19, otherwise a week later in Oberhallau. After seven events and nine races, Krebs is exactly 100 points behind his cantonal rival.
However, the pursuer can still score full points in the last four hill climbs, while Denis Wolf, as the most diligent and successful Renault driver in the current season, can only do so once more with ten results counting.
Early end of season for Thomas Zürcher
René Schnidrig was also more than satisfied with third place, as he was last time in Reitnau, on the penultimate Sunday evening in Anzère. He improved continuously from practice to the race and thus clearly relegated the other Bernese Stephan Zbinden, Marc Beyeler and Meverick Gerber in their Clio III to the places.
Schnidrig is now aiming for third place in the championship, which is still held by Thomas Zürcher. The 2012 to 2016 champion started solo with his Clio IV Cup in the 1600cc turbo class, which has been newly announced for 2018, and set a great time of 1'52.087 in the second run.
Nothing more and nothing less was his goal, as he took his cue from Michel Zemp's previous best time from 2016 in Group E1 and beat it by two tenths with the car prepared according to Cup regulations.
For Zürcher, however, Anzère was the last race of the season, as he will have to undergo a long-overdue shoulder operation on August 14. We wish him all the best and a speedy return!
