Overall victory for Christian Merli at Ascoli/Italy
Christian Merli with his Osella FA 30 Judd LRM takes the overall victory in the 62nd Coppa Paolino Teodori at Ascoli in the central Italian Marche region, a competition which counts for both the Italian and the European hill climb championships. A meet-up of the two major competitions in Europe and a rare direct confrontation of the two big players, Merli and Faggioli. Christian Merli leaves nothing for his opponents today and secures his sixth consecutive win in the European Hill Climb Championship. The Scuderia Vimotorsport driver is the undisputed leader in the European championship, having won all rounds so far: France, Austria, Spain, Portugal, Czechia and Italy.
Christian’s comments
“I’m very happy. I knew that going for the overall victory would be tough, with all the strong Italian drivers present, and to be honest our goal was to finish first in the European ranking. Already on Saturday we managed to find the right setup for our Osella. When I saw the time of my first heat today, I was really happy. In the second run I went wide in one of the bends. But despite this small error I took the win. Splendid.”
Practice
In the first practice run on the 5.031 km track on Saturday, Christian Merli scores the best time, 3”906 faster than Simone Faggioli (Norma M20 FC). In the second run in the afternoon the Scuderia Vimotorsport driver finishes again first; Faggioli reduces the gap to 1”951.
The race
In the first race run Merli is first; Faggioli follows 2”100 behind. In the second run in the afternoon Merli secures the victory, 0”561 ahead of Faggioli and 2”099 ahead of Iraola Lanzagorta (Nova NP 01).
The overall podium on accumulated times
1st Merli (Osella FA 30 Judd LRM), 2nd Faggioli (Norma M20 FC) 2”661 behind, 3rd Iraola Lanzagorta (Nova NP 01) 6”106 behind.
The European championship podium on accumulated times
1st Merli (Osella FA 30 Judd LRM), 2nd Iraola Lanzagorta (Nova NP 01) 6”106 behind, 3rd Lombardi (Osella PA 21 4C Turbo) 10”496 behind.
The 2023 European Hill Climb Championship calendar
16 April: Col Saint-Pierre (France), 30 April: Rechbergrennen (Austria), 7 May: 51st Subida al Fito (Spain), 21 May: 42nd Rampa Internacional da Falperra (Portugal), 4 June: 42nd Ecce Homo Sternberk (Czech Republic), 18 June: 62nd Coppa Paolino Teodori (Italy), 2 July: 14th Hill Climb Limanowa (Poland), 20 August: 78th Course de Côte de Saint-Ursanne (Switzerland), 3 September: 29th GHD Ilirska Bistrica (Slovenia), 17 September: 42nd Buzetski Dani (Croatia).
Translation by Ruth Scheithauer