Weekend tip: Highspeed show in St-Ursanne
The St-Ursanne-Les Rangiers hill climb is the highlight of the SM calendar. In 2018, the 75th edition will once again be dominated by the Italians Faggioli and Merli. The duel between the record winner and the course record holder promises to be exciting. For the anniversary of the biggest mountain race in Switzerland, the Jura organizers did not have to come up with anything special. The 75th [...]
For the anniversary of the biggest hill climb in Switzerland, the Jura organizers did not have to come up with anything special. As last year, the race, which is being held for the 75th time, is dominated by the duel between the two Italians Simone Faggioli and Christian Merli. In sporting terms, nothing better can be offered on European hillclimb circuits.
Duel of the two best
Last year, still European champion Faggioli celebrated his seventh stage win at the Swiss European Championship round with the Norma sports car. Shortly after 8 p.m. (!), however, arch-rival Merli snatched the track record away from him by a few thousandths in the shuttered Osella race car.
Since then, this has stood at 1'41.530, which corresponds to a horrendous 183.67 (!) km/h average. Thanks to further resurfacing in the area of the Les Grippons high-speed curve, it should go even faster in 2018 - perhaps even below 1'40 for the first time?
Faggioli vowed revenge - and seems to actually be competing next weekend. Since the Pikes Peak Hill Climb in the USA in June, the Florentine has made himself scarce in Europe. So he will definitely be getting rid of the title - the only question is to whom?
After nine European Championship rounds, Christian Merli, who competes in the E2 race cars, and his compatriot Andrea Bormolini on an Osella-BMW, who dominates Group CN, each have eight wins with one absence to his credit. Because Bormolini was once too few opponents, the score is 200:187.5 for the arrow-quick Merli.
Who will be third?
Under normal circumstances, the first two places are taken. Best of the Rest in 2017 were, by a huge margin, Marcel Steiner in the LobArt-Mugen and Fausto Bormolini in the Reynard K02. Steiner not only wants to finish third overall and best Swiss, but also reduce the gap to the European top duo.
However, the focus for the Bernese is on the 25 ready points for the Swiss mountain championship, as Anzère winner Eric Berguerand has never competed in St-Ursanne since his serious accident in 2007. Another Swiss can't stand up to Steiner on this course.
Robin Faustini will not take any risks on this ultra-fast lane at his first start with the Reynard-Nippon K01. His dad Simon Hugentobler, who finished fifth overall last year with his Reynard 97D, will not return to the track until Oberhallau after injuring his shoulder in May, then with the newly acquired Osella PA30.
And Joël Volluz only signed up for demonstration runs with the rebuilt Osella FA30 with which he crashed two years ago, in order to get the feel for the comeback planned in Oberhallau.
Reto Meisel lets it rip
The E2-SH (Silhouette) and GT groups are also treats for fans of hillclimb racing. Reto Meisel will be driving his Mercedes SLK340, which is only permitted under Swiss regulations in Group E1, in Group E2-SH, as is otherwise the case at foreign guest events. He may therefore not only sporty, but also acoustically (without muffler) really let it rip.
With 1'57.875, the 2016 Swiss champion has held the absolute touring car record since last year, which he will now also bring under two minutes in the E2-SH.
With the Czech Vladimir Vitver (Audi TT-R DTM), who is third in the European Championship, his compatriot Jaromir Maly (Mitsubishi Evo VIII) and the Frenchman Nicolas Werver (Porsche 997 GT2), Meisel will have strong opponents who are normally easy for him to beat.
The French GT mountain champion comes, Schnellmann is missing
Pierre Courroye's start in St-Ursanne is also a premiere. The young Frenchman dominates the GT class in the European Championship and in his home country with his McLaren MP4 12C. His opponents in Switzerland are the Czechs Jerman (Lamborghini Gallardo) and Milon (McLaren 650S GT3) - all sports cars that are otherwise never seen in action in Switzerland.
Roger Schnellmann, Simon Wüthrich and Bruno Ianniello are missing from the Swiss mountain elite in the touring cars. As announced, Schnellmann is skipping St-Ursanne after Massongex because he prefers to train as a driving instructor. He will then be back in Oberhallau with his Mitsubishi monster.
On the other hand, Romeo Nüssli, who was absent in Anzère, is back. However, St-Ursanne-Les Rangiers is not one of his favorite lanes.
The now three-time FIA Hill Climb Champion Ronnie Bratschi is therefore the lone favorite. If the Mitsubishi Evo VIII Egmo runs perfectly, the man from Uri could also break the two-minute barrier for the first time.
Early start of training and racing
On Saturday, three practice runs are scheduled from 7 a.m., and on Sunday the first of two races will also start at this time. The organizers' aim is not to finish their race after 8 p.m. as in 2017.
The descent of the participants in the dark and the award ceremony only after 10:30 p.m. were an imposition. For this reason, quite a few riders refrain from participating this year.
The contingent was limited to 200 cars in 2018 anyway - as the 2018 affiche shows, this fortunately does not detract from the anniversary race.
