Slalom: Water games in Saanen
SCHWEIZER SPORT The third round of the slalom championship in Saanen produced this year's third winner of the day, Marcel Maurer in the Tatuus Renault. There were also two new season winners in the touring car category. After the weather in Saanenland was still quite friendly in the morning, heavy rain set in in the afternoon for the national races. In similar conditions [...]
After the weather in the Saanenland was still quite friendly in the morning, heavy rain set in during the afternoon races of the Nationals. Marcel Maurer won the season opener in Bière last year in similar conditions, but later confirmed his victory in Saanen in good weather conditions.
On Saturday, the Bernese driver felt right in his element on the uneven and wet airfield track. After the technical problems in Interlaken and Frauenfeld, his team had put a lot of work into preparing the Tatuus-Renault, which gave him the necessary confidence. His aggressive driving style paid off and Maurer set the fastest times in both races, clearly beating his two opponents Philip Egli in the Dallara-Opel and Yves Hängärtner in the Tatuus-Honda.
After Interlaken (Hängärtner) and Frauenfeld (Egli), this was the third different winner of the day, and this also applies to the touring car classification. His name is well known, but the person behind it has only been known for three years. Back then, Martin Bürki - the namesake of the four-time slalom champion - first attracted national attention with his self-prepared BMW E33 with a three-liter inline six-cylinder engine. At the same venue, Bürki was once again the fastest driver with a roof over his head.
Albin Mächler, the winner of the first race in Interlaken, won the over three-liter class in his BMW M2 ahead of Jürg Beiner. The best driver from Frauenfeld was unable to fully exploit the potential of the 600 hp all-wheel-drive car in his first race in the rain with the Ianniello-Lancia.
Daniel Kammer wins the E1 two-legged competition
There was also a new winner in the most heavily populated class, Group E1 up to two liters, although this change had become apparent following Danny Krieg's change of vehicle (from Audi to Porsche) before the start of the season. At the wheel of the Honda Civic, Daniel Kammer put in a magnificent performance as fifth fastest in the day's classification, distancing Frauenfeld winner Daniel Wittwer in the lightweight Golf by six hundredths.
In the tricky conditions, Martin Bürki put in a safe first run with his VW Polo. The defending champion then unpacked the hammer and set the fourth-best touring car time with the 1600 Polo.
Bürki is now the only one without a point loss and continues to lead the table by 5 points. Stephan Burri is the new sole runner-up in the interim standings of the slalom championship. He won the entire InterSwiss group with his VW Polo, although many of his colleagues from the IS Trophy were not at the start. Egli and Wittwer, together with IS two-time winner Thomas Rüesch (Renault Clio), are equal third on points. Standings: 1st Bürki 60 points, 2nd Burri 55, 3rd Egli, Rüesch and Wittwer 50 each.
