European success for Christian Merli at the Trofeo Vallecamonica
Christian Merli returns to action in the European championship after his long trip to the United States. At the 53rd edition of the Trofeo Vallecamonica near Brescia in northern Italy, the only race in 2024 valid for both the Italian Supersalita championship and the European championship, he finishes first in the European competition and second overall behind only Simone Faggioli, who does not race in the European championship, while, more importantly, Merli is ahead of Frenchman Geoffrey Schatz.
Goal achieved, therefore, for the driver from Trentino with his Osella FA 30 Judd LRM. Overall success on the 9 kilometres of the Malegno - Ossimo - Borno track escaped him only because in the first race heat Simone Faggioli (Nova Proto NP01 Bardahl) set the new track record with a time of 3'42"60, to which Christian responded with a good 3'46"80, preceding Luigi Fazzino, Corentin Starck, Geoffrey Schatz, Franco Caruso and Joseba Iraola Lanzagorta. In the second race heat Christian was second again, with a time of 3'45"52, this time behind Schatz (3'45"33), whose engine had died in the first session, but ahead of Faggioli (3'46"92), who had to start twice due to the need to remove Fazzino's car, which had stopped due to mechanical problems when Faggioli was already on the track. Faggioli therefore came first overall on accumulated times, ahead of Merli and Schatz, but Christian topped the European classification ahead of Schatz and Starck.
«I’m happy with the result of this weekend - says Merli. Everything we could achieve, we did. I couldn’t have obtained the incredible time set by Faggioli in the first run, so it’s all good. The long US trip was tough, I still feel its weight on my shoulders, and we still haven't found the best set-up of the car for the slower stretches, where we have little grip, so the overall result is fine».
There are now four more races to go in the European championship, the next round being held in Limanowa/Poland on 28 July.