SM 2020: Two annoying date clashes
The calendar for the Swiss Championships 2020 is fixed. Unfortunately, there are two date overlaps for slaloms and hill climbs. We explain the reasons. The good news: none of the eight races each for the 2019 Swiss Mountain and Slalom Championships will be dropped from next year's schedule. And now the bad news: Two events each [...]
The good news: None of the eight races each for the 2019 Swiss Mountain and Slalom Championships will be dropped from the schedule next year. And now the bad: Two events each definitely overlap.
Castles because of Kerenzerbergrennen
The trigger in the case of Hemberg/Romont was the Kerenzerbergrennen. The organizers from Aargau (ACS Mitte) and Glarus have long since set their periodic revival for June 13/14, 2020 and insisted on this date, even though the second weekend of June 2019 was occupied by Hemberg and also scheduled for the next season.
For the Bergrennen Hemberg club, a clash of dates neither with Kerenzerberg nor with the Lenzerheide Classics, which can only take place on the first weekend in June due to the availability of infrastructure, was out of the question because of the relative proximity. In fact, the Toggenburgers reached an agreement with Lenzerheide to avoid a date collision like in 2019 in the future, and they are sticking to it. Here, too, the interests of potential sponsors, spectators and participants are too common.
Two consecutive races on the same date each
So the overlap with the Romont slalom in French-speaking Switzerland is the lesser evil for the people of Hemberg. The event, which will be held for the 50th time in 2020, already took place this year on the same weekend as Hemberg and now also has to go back a week because the Drognens armory is not available beforehand.
It is also unfortunate that Reitnau is on the calendar just one week after Hemberg and cannot be shifted either, so that it now coincides with Chamblon. From the point of view of spectators, both date clashes are not particularly tragic, since these events take place in different regions of the country.
On the other hand, drivers with an interest in both championships will have to decide who they prefer. Martin Bürki, who has already managed the one-two punch of slalom championship and Berg-Pokal three times, will therefore have to accept two zeros from the outset. As he sets his sights on Fritz Erb's ten slalom titles, he and some of his MB Motorsport team members are likely to be absent from the first two hillclimb races. Unless, of course, the first slaloms go completely against his grain...
Hope for weather luck at the autumn races
All slaloms and hill climbs are scheduled in the same order as in 2019. Because the Oberhallau hill climb, which is always held on the last weekend in August, takes place five days later than in 2019 due to the leap year, the organizers of Arosa Classic Car moved their historic hill climb to the first weekend in September.
Therefore, next year the Gurnigel and Les Paccots will be held a weekend later than this year. For the Bernese, who are plagued by rain, the weather can only get better, for the Fribourgers, who are spoiled by imperial weather, it can only get worse.
The Equipe Bernoise, which is holding its slalom in Ambri as late as never before since 2013, will certainly have to worry - back then, the LOC slalom on October 12 fell victim to the nightly snowfall. Only with a feat of strength was it possible to race for SM points one last time on Sunday between walls of snow...
Mont Blanc instead of Northern Italy
Only five rounds still count for the rally championship. The early March opener around St-Etienne (Rallye Pays du Gier) is no longer on the schedule. The national rally season will therefore not start until April 17/18 in the Jura.
After the bad experiences with the previous races in northern Italy, these will be renounced until further notice. Because the "Ticino" moved back to June and one wants to keep it in the SM calendar despite the shortness, the championship commission looked for a French event in September.
The cross-border Mont Blanc Rally is a rather expensive affair due to the length of the route. Some drivers rent their rally cars and pay a considerable sum for each kilometer covered. However, quite a few teams from French-speaking Switzerland and from the Clio R3T Alps Trophy have already taken part in this top event around Morzine, so that the interest of participants should be greater than in Italy.
