Christian Merli’s masterpiece in Switzerland
Christian Merli wins the 79th Course de Côte de Saint-Ursanne west of Basel in Switzerland. It is the eighth European Hill Climb Championship round. The Scuderia Vimotorsport driver finishes first in both race heats and thus conquers the top step of the podium. It is his third consecutive win in this race, and he also bags important points in the single-seaters group.
Christian, your fourth overall victory in Europe
“It’s fantastic. This morning the track was damp, but we decided to go out on soft slicks. It wasn't easy because there were still wet patches in the woods and I’d have paid dearly if I had made any mistakes. The second race run went perfectly on this very fast and difficult track. Winning here was important and we picked up important points for our group. I'm very happy and we're also extremely happy that our teammate Alexander Hin finished third. Finally, I'd like to dedicate this victory to my uncle Emilio.“
The weekend in Switzerland
Sunshine for the first official practice run on Saturday. Merli is first, 1”437 ahead of Geoffrey Schatz from France in his Nova Proto NP01. In the second run Christian tops the timesheet in 1’43”280, Schatz is second, 0”999 behind. In the third run Schatz is just 0”484 ahead of the multiple European champion in his Osella FA 30 Judd LRM. On Sunday morning the surface is damp. Merli dominates the first race run, Schatz is 1”090 behind. It is worth mentioning that the times of both race runs are added together for the final classification. The second race run in the afternoon takes place on a dry surface. The champion from Trentino shows an extraordinary performance with an average speed of 183.5 km/h and finishes 1”090 ahead of Schatz.
The podium on accumulated times
1st Merli (Osella FA 30 Judd LRM), 2nd Schatz (Nova Proto NP 01) 1”601 behind, 3rd Hin (Osella FA 30) 3”266 behind.
The 2024 European Hill Climb Championship calendar
28 April: Rechbergrennen (Austria), 12 May: 52nd Subida al Fito (Spain), 19 May: 43rd Rampa Internacional da Falperra (Portugal), 2 June: 43rd Ecce Homo Sternberk (Czech Republic), 16 June: 26th Int. ADAC Glasbachrennen (Germany) 14 July: 53rd Trofeo Vallecamonica (Italy), 28 July: 15th Hill Climb Limanowa (Poland), 18 August: 79th Course de Côte de Saint-Ursanne (Switzerland), 1 September: 30th GHD Ilirska Bistrica (Slovenia), 15 September: 43rd Buzetski dani (Croatia).
Translation by Ruth Scheithauer