Swiss Race Academy: With a lady again 🎥
FOURTH YEAR At the sifting in the Eventcenter Seelisberg seven newcomers qualified for the Swiss Mountain Championship Junior 2020. For the second time after 2018 a young woman is included. The number of candidates unfortunately declined somewhat. Despite the short-term opening for female and male drivers with NAT license, some of whom registered their interest for this event [...]
Unfortunately, the number of candidates decreased somewhat. Despite the short-term opening for drivers with NAT license, some of whom had registered their interest in this case, no further applications came from this side. It is a pity that often only talk and not action is taken.
Thus, the fourth cohort of the Swiss Race Academy also consists of nothing but newcomers between the ages of 18 and 28. That's just as well and as ex-touring car mountain champion and founder Hans Schori of the Eventcenter Seelisberg wanted, in order to bring ambitious new blood to the Swiss mountain race tracks.
On ice and on the simulator
All six candidates and the female candidate had to master several tasks at the sighting on January 26 at the Event Center Seelisberg. The most difficult test was the individual time trial on the circuit covered with artificial snow and ice.
With a Toyota GT86 with Nexen road tires, as they will also drive it in the hill climbs, the best possible times had to be set - with rear-wheel drive and normal winter tires without studs no child's play. The fact that a Finnish-Swiss dual citizen was the fastest in the process is not really surprising...
Talent at the wheel was also allowed to be shown on the racing simulator in the virtual DTM touring car without any driving aids.
From driving school to drift car
The jury was made up of the well-known racing drivers Ronnie Bratschi and Röbi Wicki as well as Hans Schori and Yves Meyer from Driving Event Seelisberg. All of them had to appear for an interview with AutoSprint sports editor Peter Wyss, where some of them were already very talkative.
All of them solved their tasks satisfactorily and thus qualified to take part in the Swiss Junior Mountain Championship 2020. Fortunately, Vanessa Knöpfli is once again among the finalists for the second time since 2018. Born in August 2001, she is also the youngest ever - the Zurich native had only had her driver's license in her pocket for 22 days on the day of the assessment...
Three people from Thurgau and for the first time one from Ticino
These are the seven participants in the Berg-SM Junior 2020 (in parentheses their age at the start of the season in summer):
- Massimo Conti (26) from Cadenazzo TI
- Patrick Frei (27) from Guntershausen b. Aadorf TG
- Jon Matthias Heuscher (20) from Winterthur ZH
- Vanessa Knöpfli (18) from Adlikon b. Regensdorf ZH
- Samuli Nieminen (20) from Binningen BL
- Luca Parisi (28) from Zihlschlacht TG
- Riccardo Pfister (19) from Balterswil
The list of participants is definite only when all contracts are signed and the participation fees are paid.
Motivated and qualified group
Course instructor Yves Meyer, together with Joshua Reynolds owner and managing director of Eventcenter Seelisberg AG and Swiss Driving Event GmbH, which is responsible for the Race Academy, is delighted with the fourth cohort.
Yves Meyer: "In terms of driving as well as communication, we are very satisfied and surprised at what a motivated and qualified group took part in this sighting. They have convinced us. Now we are curious to see how they develop. We are already looking forward to the new season."
Same race program as 2019
As before, uniform Toyota GT86s will be driven according to SuperSeries regulations. The season kicks off on June 28 in Reitnau, when Luca Parisi will celebrate his 28th birthday as the oldest participant.
Subsequently, the fourth Swiss hillclimb champion Junior will be chosen at the hillclimb races Ayent-Anzère (July 25/26), Oberhallau (August 29/30) and Châtel-St-Denis-Les Paccots. Predecessors are Rolf Reding (2017), Thomas Schmid (2018) and Rico Thomann (2019).
What awaits the new participants is shown by a look back at last year's final in Les Paccots, where Rico Thomann from Winterthur secured the championship title.
