Christian Merli racing at the Vittorio Veneto – Cansiglio

Eight by five metres is the size of the poster at the start of the Vittorio Veneto – Cansiglio hill climb which shows Christian Merli and his Osella FA 30 Judd LRM. After his eighth win in eight European championship races the champion from Trentino is taking the start at the 13th round of the Italian hill climb trophy, the home event of his Scuderia Vimotorsport, and is very excited about the welcome. 190 entries have been received for the 41th edition of the hill climb in Fregona near Treviso in northern Italy, which takes place after an 11-year hiatus. Two practice heats on the 5.930 km track are scheduled on Saturday, two race heats on Sunday.

A fantastic welcome
“I’ve never seen a poster like this. It’s very exciting and with such a great welcome I certainly didn’t want to miss this. It’s the home race of my scuderia and I want to do my best. It’s actually here where I won for the first time thirty years ago, when I took first place in class N 1600 with my Peugeot 205, and at the most recent edition in 2012 I took overall victory in the Radical. The track is quite fast, with a first section of long bends, four tight hairpins, another straight and finally two chicanes to reduce the speed. I like this race, and we’re hoping for good weather; for now they are forecasting sun on Saturday and rain only at the end of the race on Sunday. It’s definitely a good opportunity to practise for the penultimate round of the European championship at Bistrica in Slovenia on 3 September.”

A piece of hill climb history
The event took place for the first time in 1924. Tazio Nuvolari took the win in the 1930s. Other great names on the winners’ lists include Mauro Nesti, Ezio Baribbi, Arturo Merzario, Denny Zardo and Simone Faggioli.

Translation by Ruth Scheithauer