Victory for Christian Merli at the 42nd Buzetski Dani in Croatia

In his Osella FA 30 Judd LRM European champion 2023 Christian Merli won the final round of the European hill climb championship, the 42nd Buzetski Dani in northern Istria in Croatia. The Scuderia Vimotorsport driver has won every single championship event this season: France, Austria, Spain, Portugal, Czech Republic, Italy, Poland, Switzerland, Slovenia and Croatia.

Christian, an unforgettable season
“It went well. We finished this European championship on a high note. It wasn’t always easy; our opponents kept edging closer. We’ve always given our best, and we’ve been rewarded with ten victories in as many races. This morning, the back of our Osella was sliding, and we fixed things between runs. We’ve had a fantastic welcome at an event which we like. The Croatian track? A 5 km hill climb with an initial mixed section and a right-hand hairpin half way through the track. You pass through a residential area, then another fast stretch followed by three hairpins left, right, left. A fork in the road in a village, after which the road narrows. A demanding bend and then the finish line.”

Practice
In the first practice run the champion from Trentino finishes first, 6”350 ahead of Trnka (Norma) and 7”037 ahead of Iraola Lanzagorta (Nova). The ranking in the second practice run is identical.

Race
The first race run in warm and sunny weather sees Merli top the timesheet, followed by Trnka and Iraola Lanzagorta. In the second race run in the afternoon the classification is unchanged. Merli takes his tenth victory in ten races. Trnka (Czech Republic) is 3”757 behind him, Iraola Lanzagorta (Spain) 9”455.

The podium on accumulated times
1st Merli (Osella FA 30 Judd LRM), 2nd Trnka (Norma M20 FC) 4”886 behind, 3rd Iraola Lanzagorta (Nova NP 01) 14”978 behind.

Translation by Ruth Scheithauer