Ronnie Bratschi: New car, new goals

On September 8, 2019, two days before his 33rd birthday, Ronnie Bratschi survived an accident at the Gurnigel hill climb caused by a technical defect with absolutely no injuries thanks to the robust safety cell. Since then, the trained polymechanic from Altdorf has completely rebuilt a Mitsubishi on his own based on an Evo VII chassis.

The race-free Corona year 2020 gave him more time to get everything right from the start according to his own plans instead of constantly developing it further.

Touring cars according to new FIA regulations
He was able to take over some components, such as the sequential transmission, from the accident car. Compared with the previous model, however, the result was a racing touring car that had been improved in many details in line with the new FIA regulations.

This divides closed vehicles in the European Mountain Championship from 2021 according to a so-called performance factor (Pf). Classification will no longer take place - as is still customary in all national championships - after modification of the vehicles in different groups according to displacement classes, but according to their performance factor (PF) in a single category in six different classes.

The ambitious racer and constructor built his Mitsubishi Evo 7 RS for the top class (Pf1) in order to be the first Swiss to hunt for titles in the European Mountain Championship for many years.

It's not just about power
It is not just the engine data, which Bratschi deliberately keeps quiet about in public, that plays a role in the Pf calculation. Parameters such as aerodynamics, weight and certain vehicle dimensions are also taken into account. Anyone who knows the Eggenberger Motorenbau (Egmo) company is aware of their capabilities.

Ronnie Bratschi: "The most important thing for us in developing the new engine was its better power delivery and driveability. The airflow is now also aerodynamically designed so that the new radiator package is more efficient for longer hill climbs."

Nordschleife-tested KW chassis
The suspension was developed in collaboration with KW. A new technology that has proven itself at Manthey Racing (Porsche 911 GT3 R) on the Nordschleife and should also work on the mountain.

Ronnie Bratschi: "I'll certainly need a few runs to find the best chassis settings. After all, there was nowhere to really test."

Factory driver for Michelin
The touring car record holder on many hillclimb circuits is particularly pleased with the new partnership with Michelin. For the French, the man from central Switzerland is now something like the official factory driver.

This guarantees him full technical support from the factory, so that the Mitsubishi will have full grip in a wide range of temperatures.

Fulfillment of a long-cherished wish
Bratschi brings great international experience from the FIA Mountain Cup for Group E1 cars, which he won three times. He is now taking the next step in his career by chasing the European Championship title in the touring car category, which was previously not possible with E1 cars.

Ronnie Bratschi: "The European Championship is the greatest thing we can compete in and win as mountain racers. It involves a lot of time and money, which I can now afford thanks to many loyal and new partners. I'm looking forward to many new interesting and challenging mountain race tracks."

Season opener in Portugal and Spain
The first of these will be the Boticas mountain race in Portugal and the Al Fito in Spain next weekend and the weekend after. For Bratschi, this means a two-week journey, during which he will cover over 4,000 kilometers in his specially equipped truck.

Thanks to an overtime and vacation account accumulated in 2020, these and future absences can be arranged and compensated for with his employer. The third EBM race is scheduled for the end of May in Sternberk, Czech Republic.

Much is new territory
Which further hill climbs will take place due to the constantly changing health situation in the individual countries is still uncertain. The only thing that is certain is the destination of the Uri.

Ronnie Bratschi: "Many of my opponents already know some of the tracks, I've only driven at the Swiss European Championship race in the Jura and in Ascoli in Italy. Therefore, I hope that these will also take place in 2021. I'm therefore taking it race by race and would like to race for victories and course records, as I did before the long enforced break. Then we'll see what comes of it."

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