Spielberg: Victories for Zeller, Hotz and Stucki
GOOD SWISS At the Leeb Circuit Trophy at the Red Bull Ring, Sandro Zeller in Formula 3 came away with only class victories for once. Beni Hotz won in the sports cars, Andreas Stucki in the Renault Clio Cup. In cooperation with the FIA Zone Championship (FIA CEZ) and the TOPJET Italian F2000 Trophy, the second round of the Drexler-Automotive Formula [...]
In cooperation with the FIA Zone Championship (FIA CEZ) and the TOPJET Italian F2000 Trophy, the second round of the Drexler-Automotive Formula Cup at the Red Bull Ring produced a remarkable starting field of 37 race cars from the Formula 3, Formula Renault, Formula Master and Formula 4 classes. Overall victory in both sprint races went to Paolo Brajnik in a modern Dallara F318-VW. The Serb also captured the pole position in each case, but the better start to the first race was recorded by Sandro Zeller in a Dallara F312-Mercedes.
Four Swiss ahead
Initially, there was a huge crash between several cars behind them in the Remus curve. After a safety car phase, Zeller dueled with Brajnik for several laps, with the Eastern European, who has a stronger engine under CEZ regulations, coming out on top. However, as the winner of the Formula 3 classification, the man from Zurich only let himself be distanced by 3.3 seconds.
With a gap of 18.6 to 24.7 seconds, Antoine Bottiroli (Dallara F312-Mercedes), Marcel Tobler (Dallara F308-Mercedes) and Kurt Böhlen (Dallara F309-VW) ensured a quadruple Swiss victory in the Drexler Cup (formerly Remus Cup and Austria Cup).
Zeller for once only second
Two minutes before the start of the second race over 25 minutes, it began to rain, whereupon the teams changed the race cars to rain tires in a flash. After the start behind the safety car, Paolo Brajnik took the lead. Sandro Zeller was involved in a short jostle at the flying start, spun and lost ground. Because he was also unaccustomed to the Michelin rain tires on his Dallara F312, which has only been in use since 2019, Zeller had to settle for an unfamiliar fourth place overall at the finish and second place behind the Czech Tom Beckhäuser in the Drexler Cup standings. In the separate Swiss Formula 3 Cup, both wins went to Zeller.
The chasing pack was led by Marcel Tobler, who drove home a good fifth and third place in class respectively, followed by Italian Andrea Cola and Kurt Böhlen. In the Trophy for Formula 3 race cars up to 2007, Urs Rüttimann took both race wins in the Dallara F306-Mercedes, which is also run by Jo Zeller Racing. In Formula Renault 2.0, Thomas Aregger took 3rd and 4th place.
Beni Hotz lone sports car class winner
The season opener of the Sports Car Challenge would have been staged with only seven cars if the field had not been filled up with GT cars from other racing series. With Beni Hotz, there was only one Swiss competitor.
With the Onroak Ligier Turbo developed in-house at Horag Hotz Racing in Sulgen, the Thurgau native outshone the only two competitors in Division 2. At least Hotz was able to contend with some GT3 sports cars on the way to the two class wins.
Stucki wins again after two years
Andreas Stucki had more equal opponents in the Clio Cup Central Europe. Still in 5th place in the first race over 30 minutes, the St. Gallen native, who started from 2nd place, immediately took the lead in the second race. His pursuers kept up the pressure, but were unable to snatch Stucki's first victory in two years and his third overall in this Central European Renault Cup.
In doing so, he also settled a score that had been open on this circuit for three years: back then, Stucki lost by just six thousandths of a second in a photo finish, which remains the closest finish to date. After four rounds, the only Swiss in the field is fourth in the standings with 74 points behind the Czech Tomas Pekar (99) and the Dutch Sebastiaan Bleekemolen (91) and Melvin de Groot (75).
