Slalom Ambri: New day winner wanted
EGLI'S RECORD DAY WINNER Philip Egli has to miss the two SM runs in Ticino due to a defect. Now Eugster and Hängärtner will decide the victories between themselves. In the Suzuki Cup, meanwhile, the high-profile title duel continues.
A defect discovered during a check-up of the Dallara F393 EPR-5 on Tuesday evening forces Philip Egli to cancel the two National Slaloms of the Equipe Bernoise in Ambri next weekend. The Glarner, who lives in the canton of Zurich, still has a Dallara F394 with an Opel engine at home.
Philip Egli: "Unfortunately, I can't prepare the replacement car in such a short time and have to use the next weekend for it. But the Sunday after next in Bure we'll be back on the grid, then with the original Formula 3 car."
End of a winning streak
Last Sunday, Egli celebrated his already 40th day's victory at national level during the ACS Auto Race Days in Frauenfeld. He suffered his last defeat on October 6, 2019, then against Marcel Maurer.
The Bernese is taking a break from racing in 2022 and would have accompanied his long-time adversary as a helper, as Philip's dad Rolf was off on a vacation trip to Frauenfeld.
Maurer would have beaten Egli in the first of the two slaloms in Ambri last year. However, he was blamed for a scoring error that he had not committed, which we will see in this Report explained in detail.
Great opportunity for Egli's opponents
So it is certain that there will be a new winner of the day. This will probably be either Lukas Eugster or Yves Hängärtner. No question, both would rather fight out the bouquet with than without Egli.
Frauenfeld pechvogel Eugster has often been on the overall winners' podium, but never at the top. Hängärtner already took stage wins in 2017 with a Tatuus-Honda F-Master, but with the ex-Jenzer-Dallara GP3 with a specially developed 1750cc turbo engine from Eggenberger Motorenbau (around 500 hp) it would be a first.
The 2730-meter, fluid course on the Ambri airfield, which is driven clockwise on Saturday and counterclockwise on Sunday, suits Hängärtner's new overall package better than Bière and Frauenfeld. However, this also applies to the Ligier-Honda sports car of the aggressive St. Gallen native, which is designed for aerodynamics and is just under half as powerful.
Tiziano Riva and Tom Zürcher could also be the winners. However, the Ticino driver has too little slalom experience at the wheel of the old Reynard F3000 to seriously challenge the aforementioned duo. And Zürcher has yet to recover from a meniscus operation and also doesn't have much practice with the Tatuus-LRM-Abarth.
Reversed signs in the Suzuki Cup
Points are also at stake twice in the Suzuki Swiss Racing Cup. In Frauenfeld, Marcel Muzzarelli suffered two narrow defeats against the completely unleashed Fabian Eggenberger, who thus snatched the top spot in the standings from him.
Marcel Muzzarelli: "I had no chance, even though Fabian did a double start with Heiko Leiber and put more strain on the car. I've always had a hard time in Frauenfeld. I think a slightly rougher driving style is better there."
In Ambri, where he secured the title with a win in October 2021, the Thurgau native could turn the tables again. But the Cup leader wants to use the momentum.
Fabian Eggenberger: "Now Muzz is under pressure. For me, it's different than always having to catch up."
Watch out for Fehr, Flammer and Steiner
Sandro Fehr is also feeling the wind in his sails after finishing 3rd and 4th in Frauenfeld. And Patrick Flammer ensured the first victory of a hybrid model last October in Ambri, which he wants to confirm this weekend. Rico Thomann's place in the second Swift, scored for the Flammer Speed Team, will be taken by Reto Steiner, who amazed with his performances in Ambri in 2021.
A total of around 400 riders are registered for both race days. Start lists and schedule are available on the homepage of the organizer, a livetiming under this Link.
