Suzuki Racing Cup: Redemption for Michaël Béring 🎥

After the end of the second race, even before the official ranking list was out, Michaël Béring sent a prayer to heaven. The man from Le Locle was certain that he had not made a goal error and had thus achieved his first victory in the Suzuki Swiss Racing Cup, notably as the first rider ever from French-speaking Switzerland.

Yes, his dad Jean-Claude Béring, who passed away on February 14, 2020, and who was European mountain champion in GT cars in 1975 and 1976 and Swiss production car champion in 1977, would probably be proud of him. Actually, nobody had Michaël Béring in mind after Sandro Fehr and Marcel Muzzarelli had dominated the wet practice.

Changing conditions
In the first practice run on Saturday morning, Fehr set the first best time, which the runner-up topped in the second trial run. In the wet (gallery on the right), Muzzarelli achieved the fifth-fastest time of all the 140 competitors at the LOC event! By the time of the first race run in the afternoon, the 4.1-kilometer course with 77 gates had dried almost completely, so that new conditions prevailed for all 15 drivers with their Suzuki Swift Sport 48V Hybrid.

With 3'03,79 Sandro Fehr (left gallery) achieved the first best time. With about seven tenths on Muzzarelli and more than one second on Béring (center gallery), his cushion was considerable - but in the end just not big enough. Despite a slight drizzle, the man from Neuchâtel improved to 3'03.00, whereby his early starting number was at least a small psychological advantage. Despite the slight uncertainty regarding the grip conditions, the man from Grisons, who has made his home in Thurgau, was a full 1.1 seconds faster than before - which also speaks for the impeccably adhering Yokohama semislicks. On the other hand, the St. Gallen driver, who started two places behind Béring, was unable to improve.

Everything has fit
This is how Michaël Béring achieved his long-awaited first triumph in the third year of his participation with the mild hybrid model from Safenwil. Two third places in 2022 were his best results to date.

Michaël Béring: "In my head I knew I could do it, now I've also been lucky for once that everything fell into place. I think dad would be proud of me..."

Muzzarelli and Fehr, beaten by 37 and 79 hundredths respectively, congratulated him spontaneously and without envy. The leader from the first run, who was displaced to 3rd place, did not hide his disappointment, but paid respect.

Sandro Fehr: "I had counted on Muzz, but never on Michaël. He really let out a shot. It's always interesting what comes out in the end, you can never be sure."

Fourth rank for the boss
Christian Zimmermann (lower gallery, left) also showed an impressive performance. As a double starter with newcomer Patrik Gallati, the man from Glarus started last in light rain and still missed his first time by just twelve hundredths. It was enough for the coordinator of the one-make cup to secure fourth place for his newly formed Team 77. So far Chrigi has only contested one race with the new Suzuki.

Christian Zimmermann: "The routine is still missing, but it's coming slowly. After all, I've never driven on this course before. The braking points aren't right yet."

His best result was achieved by Cédric Moulin (lower gallery center) as fifth in the same second as Zimmermann.

Promising premiere by Stefan Glanzmann
Only two tenths of a second longer was Stefan Glanzmann (lower gallery on the right), who in sixth place was thus the best newcomer in the Suzuki Swiss Racing Cup 2023. So far, the 30-year-old from Huttwil was one of the winning drivers in the LOC1 on a Toyota Yaris GR also distributed by the Emil Frey Group.

Stefan Glanzmann: "Everything is new for me, the Suzuki is completely different to drive. That's why I'm satisfied with the first result. It's fun, I also feel very comfortable in the Suzuki family."

Fabio Gubitosi, active in the OPC Challenge until 2019, was pushed down to 7th place by Glanzmann in the second run. Because he also missed the targeted 3'05 time, the man from Graubünden was therefore only halfway satisfied with it.

A botched start to the season
Gauthier Henchoz, Alexander Ullrich and Rico Thomann completed the top ten within seven tenths. Having already placed far better in 2022, the latter was anything but satisfied with his start to the season.

Rico Thomann: "P4 would have been possible, but it didn't go well enough from the start. Because I hit a pylon in the first run, the pressure was too great in the second run."

Marcel Landolt, Jean-Luc Janz, Flavio Corezzola, who came much closer to the midfield, Rolf Tremp, who was beaten below value without scoring a goal, and Patrik Gallati took the other places.

The race continues on the last weekend in April with the double race at the Ambri airfield.

Photos Action: Ruedi Menzi

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