Renault Cup: Two friends have their fun
A TIGHT DECISION Two hundredths of a second decided victory in the Renault Classic Cup at the Hemberg hill climb. As in Interlaken, this went to Philipp Krebs ahead of his buddy René Schnidrig. They are close friends, sometimes spend vacations together and both drive in the Renault Classic Cup. Not that the fun stopped then - but gifts do [...]
They are close friends, sometimes spend vacations together and both drive in the Renault Classic Cup. Not that the fun stops there - but Philipp Krebs and René Schnidrig don't give each other presents. The most recent example is the first of the seven hill climbs on the calendar of the private championship sanctioned by Auto Sport Switzerland.
Battle for fractions of a second
After the morning's first race in Hemberg, Schnidrig in his stronger but heavier Clio III led by 14 hundredths ahead of Krebs in the older and more agile Clio II, who took the lead in the second sprint with the only time under 1'09 minutes, now nine hundredths ahead.
Schnidrig did set a personal best time in the all-important third run. However, when the two fastest runs were added together, he was two hundredths short of finally landing a victory in the fourth season of his comeback.
René Schnidrig: "I messed things up a bit at the third start. It's a shame, because I was faster than Philipp in all three runs put together. I've never been so close to my first win since my return. But it was still fun."
Cancer new frontrunner
The winner, who could have lived with second place behind his friend, is of the same opinion.
Philipp Krebs: "That was crazy, I had to give it my all. I knew it would be tight, because Hemberg is not one of my favorite tracks. These come first."
With his second win of the season after the Interlaken slalom, Krebs, who had skipped the first two circuit races in Hockenheim, took the lead in the standings with a two-point advantage over Stephan Zbinden and Meverick Gerber (both Clio III). The previous leader and Hockenheim double winner Patrick Gerber was not at the start.
Schläpfer learns quickly
Michael Schläpfer was third in Hemberg. The Cup newcomer impressed in his first hill climb with the Clio RS II, whereby this was more or less a home race for the driver from Aussenrhoden. Like Zbinden, Gerber and Marc Beyeler (Clio III), he improved from race to race and in the end only lost a total of 18 hundredths to the winner. A promise for the future, having already finished second once in Hockenheim.
It remains exciting
Just 15 hundredths also decided fourth place between Zbinden and Gerber. However, at 1.6 and 1.75 seconds respectively, their gap to the top was more significant. Like Schläpfer, they will have the chance to score points again in Hockenheim in July between the next two hillclimb races, where Krebs and Schnidrig will not be racing. So the title fight will remain as exciting as it has been for years.
