Thomas Schmid: "I let it go".
TWO SEASONAL GOALS Thomas Schmid got off to a perfect start to the 2018 racing year with a superior victory at the Rallye Pays du Gier in the Junior SS. He also wants to become champion in the Berg SS Junior. A short interview on the successful start to the season of the talented driver from eastern Switzerland. Thomas Schmid laid the foundation for his opening victory in the 2018 Swiss Rally Championship Junior in the first [...]
Thomas Schmid laid the foundation for the opening victory in the 2018 Swiss Rally Championship Junior in the first and only special stage on Friday evening. In wet and dark conditions, the driver from St.Gallen set the tenth-best time in the entire international field with the small Peugeot 208 R2 and thus already outclassed his direct opponents.
On the second stage, Schmid managed his lead and celebrated his first victory on the third start with an R2 car. In 2017, he retired twice (at the "Chablais" before SS1), and where he otherwise finished with the Renault Twingo R1, he also won. Ten rallies, five wins, five retirements - a remarkable, albeit mixed, record.
Thomas Schmid: "I don't know myself how this time in SS1 came about. I just drove and hadn't planned anything in particular. One of my strengths is that I can quickly achieve good times on cold tires. That's where my experience from autocross races on gravel, which I competed in until I switched to rallying, helps."
His performance was also impressive because he had not been able to test with this car before. Due to delays in parts procurement, the Peugeot 208 was not ready to race until the day before the rally after a night shift by the people from EB Technologies.
Thomas Schmid: "The car was perfectly set up right from the start, I felt comfortable right away. That's why I let it run. As the race went on, there was only one tricky situation when the rear end broke out on a wet track. I was lucky there."
The collaboration with Quentin Marchand from St-Ursanne, who stepped in as a replacement for his regular co-driver Cornel Frigoli, also played well. Since the Jura native speaks some German, Marchand read the write-up in German with a French accent.
This top result is now helpful in the search for further sponsors. The next event at the Critérium Jurassien (April 13/14) is secured, and Chablais (June 1-2) is probably still on the cards. But the further season of the biggest rally talent from German-speaking Switzerland for years has not yet been financed.
Favorite in the Berg-SM Junior
Another certainty is the participation of the 22-year-old from Jonschwil in the Swiss Junior Mountain Championship. Schmid himself doesn't think it's entirely fair that he should be allowed to do so. But the regulations only exclude NAT-licensed drivers with experience in hill climbs, although he has enough of that from the rallies.
Thomas Schmid: "I saw this as a good chance to win an SM title. Of course I'm the favorite, but I don't underestimate my opponents. I'm also aiming to become a bit better known in German-speaking Switzerland. Many people here don't know that we also have rallies in Switzerland. Conversely, they only really know my name in French-speaking Switzerland after this victory..."
