In three categories - OK Junior, OK Senior and KZ2 - the starting position is particularly gripping. Only a few points separate the leader from the runner-up in each case.

A boy or a girl?
For example, Elia Epifanio (13) and Chiara Bättig (12) are only five points apart in the OC Juniors. Any mistake, no matter how small, could be decisive for the match in Wohlen.

If one of the two has a "psychological" advantage, it's Epifanio. The Exprit driver from Würenlos, who will also represent Switzerland at the FIA Motorsport Games in Le Castellet at the end of October, scored the maximum of 75 points at each of the past races in 7 Laghi and Levier. The last SM victory by Chiara Bättig (center gallery), on the other hand, was months ago.

That Kevin Rabin from the Spirit-Karting.ch team can still intervene in the title fight can be all but ruled out. Rabin is 68 points behind Epifanio. Nevertheless, the Vaudois can tip the scales in Wohlen.

Excitement also in the switch karts
In KZ2, too, the situation in the manual karts (gallery on the right) is highly exciting. Only six points separate the leader Ethan Frigomosca (21) from his rival Sebastian Kraft (17).

Because Frigomosca has never raced in Wohlen and both have the same material, this duel is particularly thrilling. The likelihood of third-placed Evan Vantaggiato still racing for the title is also unlikely here. The winner of 7 Laghi is 44 points behind Frigomosca.

Comeback of Mike Müller and Eric Berguerand
The performance of Mike Müller, who is making his comeback in Wohlen, will be interesting to see. Eric Berguerand, seven-time Swiss mountain champion for a month and former karting champion (gallery left), will compete as a VIP driver. Anyone who knows the Valais native knows that he will give his all.

Eric Berguerand: "I come with my bus. That way I can take a break. Because I think that as an old man (43) I need a break every now and then and have to lie down... Karting is much higher in terms of physical strain than what I'm used to from hillclimb racing."

Prominence at the OC Seniors
In the OC Senior, Lyon Mathur (16) from Team Exprit leads with ten points ahead of Patrick Näscher from Kartteam Meier, who is eleven years older. If Näscher from Liechtenstein wins all three race heats (and Mathur finishes second in each), as he did last time in Levier, the additional points for pole position (2) and fastest race lap in the final (3) will decide the awarding of the title.

As in the two previously listed categories, the third-placed senior, Jérôme Huber, will also have a difficult time still intervening in the decision. Because the last weekend in Levier was marked by bankruptcies, bad luck and mishaps for Huber, the 46-point deficit is a big burden for the man from Zurich.

Fabio Scherer or Enea Frey could tip the scales in this three-way battle. The former is contesting the finale in Wohlen between his LMP2 car races at Road Atlanta (IMSA) and Portimão (ELMS) to stay in racing rhythm.

Super Mini and X30 Challenge as good as decided
The Super Minis championship has been decided. Spirit driver Dan Allemann (10) has clinched everything in Levier with his eleventh victory in the twelfth race. The battle for second place is still open, with Matt Corbi (187 points), Orlando Rovelli (179) and Albert Tamm (156) battling it out in Wohlen.

Last but not least, the X30 Challenge Switzerland will be decided on Saturday. This category has already produced dozens of exciting races over the course of the year. For overall leader Kilian Streit (20) from the Spirit-Karting.ch team, the dream of winning the title could already come true after qualifying. Streit needs just one more point!

Fast-paced look at history
As in Levier, the Swiss Historic Kart Cup will be at the start in Wohlen. Nine participants have registered for the third round in the historic championship (the first was held as part of the Kappelen Trophy).

The special feature of the SHKC is that not the fastest laps are decisive for the classification, but the uniformity over several laps.

What the individual players think about the final and more information about the autobau Swiss Kart Championship can be found under the following link.

motorsport.ch/en/kartsport

No fewer than ten different drivers across five brands have won at least one of the 14 2022 classification rounds so far. Among them are the two DTM Swiss Nico Müller and Ricardo Feller in their Audi R8s.

Five favorites among ten drivers
With a total of 58 points still to be awarded in the two qualifying sessions and races at Hockenheim, just as many people still have at least a mathematical chance of winning the DTM drivers' championship.

Realistically, however, the champion is likely to be among the five drivers from five different brands who are separated at the top of the standings by just 16 points. The short current video introduces them.

The rest of the almost 30-strong field of contenders on the six makes of Audi, BMW, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Mercedes-AMG and Porsche represented in the DTM probably has rather less to do with the outcome of the championship and will be fighting for a good finish to an exciting season at the season finale - including Nico Müller.

End of a nine-year partnership
It was the Berner's decision to end his work as an Audi Sport factory driver after nine seasons at Hockenheim and to devote himself to new tasks immediately afterwards. In other words, to compete for overall victory at Le Mans and the World Endurance Championship with Peugeot Sport from 2023 and to put pressure on the big names in the Formula E World Championship with the private team from ABT - which he knows very well from his DTM days until 2019.

As seventh in the standings with a 33-point gap to leader Sheldon van der Linde (BMW M4), everything would have to go in his favor and a lot against the other rivals ahead of him Lucas Auer (Mercedes), René Rast (Audi), Thomas Preining (Porsche), Mirko Bortolotti (Lamborghini) and Luca Stolz (Mercedes) in order to become DTM champion once again after finishing second in 2019 and 2020.

Full commitment to the finish line
But the outgoing Audi factory driver is realistic enough to stop dreaming about it.

Nico Müller: "In principle, I'm not dissatisfied with the season so far, because we've made significant progress in Team Rosberg. But I would have liked to have gone to Hockenheim as one of the top three with a real chance of winning the title. But as long as there's a chance, I'll try to get the maximum out of it."

Müller clinched eleven DTM race victories with Audi cars - the first in 2016 at the Norisring, the last on May 1, 2022 at Portimão. In addition, he was the only Swiss to date to stand on the overall winners' podium of the Nürburgring 24 Hours, which was his first success as an Audi factory driver in 2015.

Many Swiss fans in Hockenheim
As 13th in the standings, Ricardo Feller, on the other hand, no longer has a chance of winning the title, but the man from Aargau is hoping for a conciliatory end to the season. Both Swiss drivers will undoubtedly receive moral support from many of their compatriots in the paddock and the spectators in the grandstands.

They also get their money's worth when the attractive GT3 sports cars are not doing their laps. In the DTM Trophy with GT4 cars and in the BMW M2 Cup (with Swiss Sean Fuster), the title decision is also still to be made. In addition, the DTM Classics (with René Ruch on BMW M3 E30) and the Porsche Carrera Cup Benelux provide acoustic and visual enjoyment.

The two DTM races start at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Those who are not live on site can watch them on free TV on ProSieben from 1 p.m. onwards.

dtm.com

hockenheimring.com

There was no lack of excitement at the 24th edition of the Rally del Ticino. Not only because there was just 1:13 min between 1st and 7th place. With winner Kevin Gilardoni and former champion Grégoire Hotz, two drivers mixed up the top 3 of the Swiss Rally Championship.

Two points would be missing
Jonathan Hirschi's (gallery, left) early title win in a VW Polo GTI was even more of a talking point. The driver from Neuchâtel and his co-driver Michaël Volluz scored 166 points with a third place in the SM. If Hirschi were to come away empty-handed at the finale in Valais, he would be left sitting on it.

His direct rival Jonathan Michellod (center gallery) could catch up with him with a victory in the RIV, because the man from the Valais would then have 179 points. But because there is a strike result, Michellod would get the 15 points he got in Ticino as sixth in the SM ranking deducted again and would have a maximum of 164 points. In an ideal case, Michellod would still be two points short.

For once not on the attack
The same applies to last year's champion Mike Coppens (gallery, right). The third-placed driver in the Swiss championship has 129 points on his account after the Rally del Ticino. If he were to win his home race, as he did last year, he would have 171 points. In this case, Coppens would lose his worst result (Chablais) and would have a maximum of 154 points. So even he can no longer catch up with Hirschi.

Naturally, the new champion is pleased that he has already been able to close the bag in Ticino.

Jonathan Hirschi: "I didn't go full attack. At one point I had put on tires that were too soft, which we then corrected for the fourth stage. Things went better after that, so toward the end of the rally I tried to manage my lead over the direct pursuers."

Clear case for Gilardoni
Hirschi was 25 seconds behind Hotz/Ravasi and 31 seconds behind Gilardoni (lower gallery left and center). The latter is an Italian citizen but lives in Graubünden near the cantonal border with Ticino and races with a Swiss license.

The 30-year-old Skoda driver was clearly the fastest in the Ticino with co-pilot Chiara Giardelli. The duo was in the lead from the first stage and only relinquished it briefly (in SS4) to Grégoire Hotz, the 18-year older multi champion. The decision was then made in the fifth test (Valcolla 2), where Gilardoni took a few seconds off him.

Ballinari to tip the scales
Behind Gilardoni, Hotz, Hirschi and Coppens, local hero Ivan Ballinari secured fifth SM place. The two-time Swiss rally champion contested the "Ticino" for pleasure. The fact that he pushed Michellod down to sixth place by 3.1 seconds decided the championship early.

Jonathan Michellod: "That was now the second rally in a row in which we were very well prepared and could have kept up Hirschi's pace. But there was another technical problem. In the fifth SS, a wheel bearing broke and I had difficulties in dosing the brakes properly. That cost me a lot of time and also one or two places."

No points for the third
The top 8 at the Rallye del Ticino were completed by Franco Bernadazzi (Skoda Fabia) and Sergio Pinto on his Alpine A110 GTR (lower gallery on the right), which was slightly damaged at the rear. Of course, there were no SM points for the Italian guest starter Gianluca Luchi, who finished third in the overall standings ahead of Hirschi.

The victory in the Juniors and in the Renault Clio Trophy Swiss went to Yoann Loeffler without any competition after the retirement of Guillaume Girolamo in SP6, who was already the champion.

rallyticino.com

The Nascar Whelen Euro Series enjoys full grandstands like practically no other in Europe. The direct offshoot of the American NASCAR offers top-class international racing for a budget that is unbeatable in a direct comparison.

At the penultimate race of the season in Belgium (see teaser), the Racingfuel Motorsport team will once again go full throttle with its two Chevrolet Camaro in the Euro Nascar Pro and Euro Nascar 2 categories.

From the Ferrari to the Camaro
The team from Horgen consists of long-standing and internationally experienced racing drivers. After Lucas Luhr (D), Matthew Ellis (UK) and Yann Zimmer (CH), Remo Lips will once again take the wheel in Zolder. The Zurich native will be supported by team regulars Christoph Lenz and Alina Loibnegger.

Remo Lips (gallery, left) has already raced in various racing categories and, among other things, won the championship in his class three times in a row in the ADAC GT Masters. Now the 40-year-old is getting involved in Euro Nascar and will be competing in the Pro class with one of the two Camaros of the German-Swiss team.

Remo Lips: "In July, I had the privilege of driving a Ferrari 312P at the Le Mans Classic, where I was able to claim victory straight away. I'm delighted to now be driving a car that puts purist motorsport at the forefront. Of course, I'm also looking forward to the team, which I've known for a long time."

Pure driving fun
Lips shares the car with Christoph Lenz, another experienced racer who is part of the core team at Racingfuel Motorsport.

Christoph Lenz: "The Euronascar is a challenge. You really have to get to grips with the car. It's pure driving fun; this is where I can prove my skills."

Hunt for the Ladies' Trophy
Alina Loibnegger is fighting for the Ladies Trophy in Euro Nascar 2 with the second Chevrolet. After a sixth-place finish in the 2019 Club Challenge, the 27-year-old Austrian made her debut in this championship a year ago at the wheel of the Solaris Motorsport Camaro. She finished the 2021 season 20th overall and second in the Ladies' Trophy.

In 2022, Loibnegger switched to Racingfuel Motorsport and has already scored several podium finishes during the current racing season.

Alina Loibnegger: "I joined Racingfuel by a happy coincidence. After the first race in Valencia, it was clear to me that I wanted to compete for the Swiss team for the whole season. It's a super team and I'm having a lot of fun."

With a lot of heart and soul
The Racingfuel Motorsport team is pleased with the good driver constellation for the upcoming race. The drivers will get everything out of the two 400 hp Chevrolet Camaro with 5.7 liter naturally aspirated V8 engines. They will be supported by a team of internationally experienced engineers and mechanics.

Ferruccio Finkbohner, team manager and owner of Racingfuel Motorsports GmbH (gallery on the right), is confident.

Ferruccio Finkbohner: "We did well in the first EuroNascar races and learned a lot about the cars. In the process, we further optimized the performance. Now we are looking forward with anticipation and excitement to the penultimate race in Zolder. We're putting our heart and soul into it and giving it everything we've got so that we're back in the front ranks."

euronascar.com

racingfuelmotorsport.com

The Swiss Rally Championship is entering the decisive phase. The fifth and penultimate round of the Rally del Ticino (over 80.22 kilometers) begins on Friday. The winner of the 24th edition of the Ticino event will be able to collect 35 points. A further 42 will be awarded at the finale in Valais from October 13 to 15.

Will Hirschi score the hat trick?
For overall leader Jonathan Hirschi, the Rally del Ticino is new territory. However, that doesn't seem to bother the man from Neuchâtel. Hirschi was also a rookie at the Alba and Mont Blanc races. Nevertheless, he secured a commanding victory there.

In Ticino, the driver of the VW Polo GTI from the Sarrazin Motorsport team is aiming for his third triumph in a row. A hat trick would bring him to 176 points in the overall standings.

No preliminary decision likely
It is conceivable, but unlikely, that Hirschi will become champion early in Ticino. The prerequisite for this would be two zeros from the two Skoda drivers Jonathan Michellod and Mike Coppens. If the pursuers were to come away empty-handed, even a third place in Ticino would be enough for Hirschi.

But neither Hirschi nor the two opponents from Valais are interested in such arithmetic games.

Jonathan Hirschi: "My goal is to drive a good rally, get into the rhythm quickly and score as many points as possible."

New tests provide variety
His main opponents Michellod (five appearances, gallery on the left) and Coppens (four starts) look back on quite a lot of experience in Ticino. Whether this will be of much use to them, however, may be doubted.

The championship round in Ticino lives up to its name "New Rally del Ticino". Among others, the Super Spez "Chicco d'Oro" on Friday evening and "Penz", which will be held on Saturday (SS2 and 7), are new. Also the SP4 (Isone triple) and the SP5 (Isone double) have never been run as Super Spez before.

Local hero Ballinari without pressure
Ivan Ballinari (center gallery) is one who could put a spanner in the works of the top three in the Swiss Rally Championship. The local hero won the SM classification of his home rally in 2017 as well as 2018. With co-driver Marco Menchini, the 2018/19 champion will open the rally in the Skoda Fabia Rally2 with start number #1.

Ivan Ballinari: "For us, the home game is all about having fun. I don't feel any pressure. We see the rally primarily as preparation for the Rally Terra Sarda in Italy."

Return of Greg Hotz
Grégoire Hotz also has two victories in Ticino to his credit. However, they go back a little further. The eight-time Swiss rally champion won in 2008 and 2009. This weekend, he and co-driver Pietro Ravasi will be attacking in a Skoda Fabia Rally2.

The old master from the canton of Neuchâtel has already proven twice this year that he still has what it takes. In the Pays du Gier Rally in France and the Valle Intelvi Rally in Italy, which are not part of the Swiss championship, Hotz secured overall victory on both occasions.

Two more Ticinese with ambitions
More than one eye should also be kept on the Skoda drivers Kim Daldini and Kevin Gilardoni (gallery right). The latter is an Italian citizen, but lives in southern Grisons and drives with a Swiss license.

In 2016, 2017 and 2018, Gilardoni (under the Italian flag) won at the Ticino. Last year he missed the podium by a paltry 4.2 seconds.

Night start on Friday
The Rally del Ticino will start on Friday evening at about 9 p.m. with a 3.4-kilometer Super Spez in Chiasso. The first real test will take place on Saturday morning from 9 am. All participants should be back at the service park in Mendrisio at about 6.30 pm.

Start list, schedule and further information are available on the website.

rallyticino.com

Changeable weather with a tire poker, numerous position battles and an exciting chase characterized the GT3 Cup sprint race at Mugello. Gregor Burkard emerged as the winner.

Reward for courageous decision
While the track was still wet, he had slick tires fitted to his 992-generation Porsche 911 GT3 Cup with around 515 hp. Starting from fourth place, he returned from the first lap in second. Ernst Keller, who had opted for rain tires, was initially able to take the lead. On lap four, however, the 2018 GT3 Cup champion had to let Burkard pass on a drying track.

The 34-year-old from the canton of Zug, head of the Sportec team, had a lead of almost four seconds over his pursuer Jürg Aeberhard from ANT peeformance at the finish. The leader of the standings, also on slicks, had earlier managed to beat Marc Arn and Ernst Keller. Just under 26 seconds behind, Alexander Schwarzer saw the finish line in third place ahead of his Fach Auto teammate Jasin Ferati.

Jasin Ferati catching up
The 19-year-old Porsche Motorsport Club Suisse and Porsche Schweiz AG protégé wrote the real story of this race: Despite setting the best qualifying time, the 64-kilogram lightweight was virtually the last to start from the pit lane. After the first lap he was in 15th place.

But this left the Winterthur native unimpressed: On slicks, he consistently worked his way back up through the field. In the tenth of 13 laps, he was back in fourth position and set by far the fastest race lap in the final meters in 1:53.734 minutes. Fifth place went to Jan Klingelnberg, who had started tenth.

The race of his life
Ferati also turned up the heat in the Endurance race. In pouring rain and the onset of darkness, the youngster crossed the finish line as overall winner ahead of the fastest cars from the Open GT group in the 911 GT3 Cup, which has to make do without traction control and ABS in Class 1 as in the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup or the national Carrera Cup series.

Jasin Ferati: "I cheered, I was close to tears and I didn't remember everything that happened in this dance on four wheels, where dangers lurked in every corner. I haven't lost sight of the championship title and am already looking forward to the decisive races with Team Fach Auto Tech."

Exciting decision in sight
Ilario Introna and Simone Iaquinta finished the 31-lap race as class runners-up - they came from third-last on the grid. Third place in the GT3 Cup standings was secured by Gregor Burkard, who was able to catch Jürg Aeberhard by 0.051 seconds in the final meters. Fifth place went to Ernst Keller ahead of Marc Arn and Alexander Schwarzer. The trio was within just 2.5 seconds of each other.

Ferati made up four of the 13 points he lost to Aeberhard at Mugello. The decision on Alexander Fach's successor as champion will be made on October 29 with a double sprint at Misano.

Many different class winners in GT4
Pseudonymous guest driver "Boga" clearly beat Alexandre Mottet in the sprint in Class 10 for Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 Clubsport with so-called Manthey package and took a start-finish victory from pole position. Valerio Presezzi had to admit defeat in the newer GT4 CS RS by 185 thousandths. Jens Richter won Class 11 of the GT4 CS without MR package in fourth place behind Mottet.

In the 82-minute endurance race, the two duos Paolo Locatelli/Fabio Babini and Valerio Presezzi/Max Busnelli with their new RS models advanced to 7th and 8th place in the field of 48 Porsches from all classes. Patrick Hofmann celebrated a superior victory in Class 10 with professional driver Alex Fontana, while soloist Mottet only managed 4th place. In Class 11, veteran Pierre Hirschi took the class win.

In the sprint competition of the Open GT group Loïc Villiger secured first place, in the long race the duo Drmic/Svepes from Austria.

Garski despite rare defeat already uniformity champion
In the Porsche Drivers Competition Suisse (evenness competition), Nicolas Garski decided the first race over six timed laps in his favor with once again impressive consistency. With his Porsche 911 GT3, the defending champion allowed himself a deviation from his own average time of just 0.13 seconds in total.

Second place went to Peter Meister (0.43) ahead of Gabriel Piaget and Marius Hutmacher (0.92 each).

In the second race, however, Garski had to admit defeat for only the second time this year. Increasingly heavy rain made the task of circling the Autodromo Internazionale del Mugello as evenly as possible more difficult.

This was the hour of Xavier Penalba in the 911 GT3 RS. The deviation from his own average time was 11.41 seconds. Garski came in at 23.05 seconds and finished second ahead of Marius Hutmacher and Tommy Eriksson.

Even before the season finale at Misano, Garski is thus already established as the old and new champion.

porsche.com/swiss/en

At the Goodwood Revival, you don't know where to look. To the track, where the best historic racing is on offer? To the racing cars, which are nowhere more numerous from that time, when there were races on the legendary Goodwood Circuit (from 1948 to 1966) almost weekend after weekend? Or on the spectators who dress and coquet in the style of that era?

Unique specaktel
The Goodwood Revival, which has been held every year since 1998, even in the two pandemic years with cutbacks, revives this legendary time with real races and a rich supporting program for three days. Higher speeds are not achieved with historic vehicles on any race track.

Only those who own an original or an original replica and receive an invitation from the Duke of Richmond, the host of Goodwood, are allowed to participate. Therefore, there are only a few Swiss who deserve this honor - either as the owner of a beautiful vehicle (entrant), and / or as a driver with more or less sounding name.

Strong performance by Philipp Buhofer
So, even for busy professionals like Marcel Fässler (top gallery, left, with the author) and Neel Jani, accompanied by their wives, the Goodwood Revival 2022 was first and foremost a pleasure amidst prominent racers from nearly 30 different worldwide championships or racing series. However, a gentleman racer from Switzerland - an entrepreneur who races in his spare time in various business sectors - stole the show from them both.

In the Glover Trophy, the 25-minute race for Grand Prix cars from 1961 to 1965 (highlights in the video above), Philipp Buhofer already amazed with sixth place on the grid and turned this - also benefiting from two retirements - into third place. The top three (gallery right) are traditionally rewarded with a laurel wreath and a fine cigar.

After the retirement of second-placed Joe Colasacco in the unique Ferrari 1512 - a 1.5-liter twelve-cylinder - it was Buhofer who broke the phalanx of Lotus Climax and Cooper in his BRM P261 with starting number 3 (upper gallery center). The man from Zug had already made it onto the podium at the Grand Prix Monaco Historique in his Lotus 24 (ex Siffert) - congratulations!

It all depends on the car and the partner
Normally, Marcel Fässler and Neel Jani always drive for the podium. Although they had no chance in the two star-studded fields of 60cc touring cars and GT cars due to their car allocation, they also had fun.

Neel Jani: "Taking part and being there is more important here than the result. It's sometimes a matter of luck which car and car owner you have as a partner."

In the touring car race of the stars, Jani fought his way up from 16th on the grid to eighth in an unusually blue Ford-Lotus Cortina (middle gallery, top left). Vehicle owner Ambrogio Perfetti ran in fifth the other day, which added up to a good sixth place.

Victory for the battleship
Marcel Fässler in the red Alfa Romeo GTA (middle gallery above left), who started immediately behind Jani, however, retired early with clutch damage. In both races, the Ford Galaxie 500 driven by Romain Dumas (middle gallery, top right) and Fred Shepherd won, although the brakes of this battleship deteriorated badly towards the end of the race under pressure from the fastest Alfas and Cortinas.

The following video shows how Dumas successfully fought off Frank Stippler in Alex Furiani's Alfa Romeo GTA.

In the GT race, Fässler and partner Marco Attard were the best-placed duo (13th) with a Chevrolet Corvette Sting Ray (middle gallery below limjks) behind a horde of AC Corbas and Jaguar e-types. With one of two Porsche 904 GTSs, Jani (middle gallery below right) was the underdog and therefore, like Oliver Bryant, quite satisfied with 14th place among 29 GT bolides.

Good performance from Simona
Janis Partner previously won the Whitsun Trophy with a Lola-Chevrolet T70 Spder. In the field of unlimited sports prototypes à la CanAm, the well-known British Historic Racer turned the fastest laps of the weekend with an average of almost 180 km/h.

Toni Seiler retired early with the same model borrowed from Belgian Marc Devis with a defective braking system.

Simona de Silvestro made her Goodwood debut on the first day of racing at Goodwood. She piloted a Cooper-Jaguar T33 driven by and driven by Katarina Kyvalova to a good ninth-place finish in the one-hour 1951 to 1955 sports car race, getting significantly faster from practice to the race.

Roland Wettstein was also proud of his fifth participation in a Goodwood event and very satisfied with his result at the Revival 2022. He placed 15th in the Goodwood Trophy for pre- and post-war racing cars. His Parnell-MG was the oldest (1933) and smallest (1408 cc) in the field of fast ERAs, Maseratis and Alfa Romeos. His car had competed at Goodwood in 1948, 1950 and 1951.

Eye catcher was the freshly restored BRM Type 15 Mk1 (cover picture video below) with its brute sounding 16-cylinder engine - a listening pleasure for petrol heads.

Much worth seeing on the Internet
In addition to the 15 different races, this year's parades were also worth seeing. They were dedicated to the 75th anniversary of Ferrari, the British former world champion Graham Hill (60 years since the first world championship title) and 100 years of Austin 7.

Leading the Ferrari parade on Saturday were ex-Scuderia driver Gerhard Berger in a 750 Monza and Sir Jackie Stewart in a 250 GTO - probably a unique sight (see gallery on the right).

Videos with further highlights or the whole race as well as the ambiance all around can be found on the official homepage at this Link. The complete results are available at this Link.

Photos: Goodwood Circuit and Peter Wyss

goodwood.com/motorsport/goodwood-revival

The overall leader of the Swiss Rally Championship left no stone unturned in the fourth race of the season, the Rally Mont-Blanc Morzine south of Lake Geneva. Jonathan Hirschi and his co-driver Michaël Volluz set off like the fire department and set the fastest time among all Swiss participants on each of the special stages on the first day.

Optimal start to the second half of the season
On the second day of the rally, the driver from Neuchâtel was again in the lead in the first stage. Only on the 9th and 14th SS did Hirschi briefly give way to the competition. In the overall classification, the best Swiss duo finished in 13th place out of 164 competitors (209 started).

With his second win of the season (after the Rally di Alba) at the wheel of a VW Polo GTI, he extended his lead in the overall standings. After four out of six rallies, the 36-year-old from Cernier is in the lead with 141 points.

Jonathan Hirschi: "I'm very pleased. To start the second half of the season with a win is of course an ideal thing. We had a few small problems, but nothing that could really stop us from pulling away at the front."

The master thought about quitting
Second place among the almost 20 Swiss participants in the field of modern rally cars went to Mike Coppens and co-driver Christophe Roux. The reigning champion was 1:13.3 min behind winner Hirschi at the finish.

The switch back to a Skoda Fabia (gallery left) paid off for Coppens. Coppens feels he is in good hands with Team Balbosca. However, the man from Verbier did not come close to Hirschi.

Mike Coppens: "The good thing about this rally was that I no longer had any self-doubt. I had mused so much about driving in the last few rallies with the Citroën that I said to myself: If this doesn't get better, I'll stop rallying."

SM fight of the chasers
For Jonathan Michellod and co-driver Stéphane Fellay, the rally in a Skoda Fabia R5 (gallery right) ended in 3rd place, one minute behind Coppens. Two inexplicable punctures cost a lot of time, otherwise his SS times were good.

In the championship, Michellod was able to maintain second place behind Hirschi, but with 122 points now only has a cushion of 14 points on Coppens. However, only the best five of six possible results will be counted in the end.

Preliminary decision for the juniors
Behind the top 3, Sergio Pinto in his Alpine A110 RGT (lower gallery, left) finished fourth, as expected. In the Trophée Alpine Elf Rally, which is dominated by the French, the Swiss was fourth best in the end.

Fifth place went to Nicolas Lathion in a Renault Clio Rally4. Sixth place went to Ismaël Vuistiner in a Clio Rally5, 3.5 seconds behind after more than 180 kilometers driven.

Guillaume Girolamo (lower gallery, right) has already been crowned junior champion. The Valais native finished seventh overall. Girolamo narrowly missed out on victory in the Clio Trophy Swiss. At the finish, he was 5.7 seconds behind winner Vuistiner.

Swiss VHC Overall Winner
In the historic group, Marc Vallicioni in a BMW M30 E30 not only drove to first place in the Swiss classification, but the Corsican, who has made Fully his home, also ended up as the winner of the entire VHC field. Second best Swiss was Guy Trolliet in a Porsche 911 SC ahead of Eddy Bérard in a Ford Sierra RS Cosworth.

The overall victory in the Rally Mont-Blanc Morzine, which is mainly part of the French championship, was secured by Yoann Bonato in a Citroën C3 Rally2 (see Overall ranking).

rallye-mont-blanc-morzine.com

Wherever Eric Berguerand competes, the track records tumble. In 2022, the 43-year-old Valais native has won the day's race in a new best time in every round of the Swiss Mountain Championship in which he has let his black Lola FA99 off the leash.

The new seven-time Swiss mountain champion was also unstoppable on race day at Gurnigel in front of around 10,000 spectators in beautiful autumn weather.

The first shot sat
Bergus" beat the course record he set four years ago by 32 hundredths of a second. His new best mark on the 3734-meter track from Dürrbach to Gurnigelbad now stands at 1:39.49 min, which corresponds to an average speed of 135.1 km/h.

But things didn't really go according to plan for him on Sunday.

Eric Berguerand: "I had transmission problems. The third gear wouldn't go in. That's why the time in the second heat wasn't particularly good. I then did without the third heat because I didn't want to risk anything more."

Faustini beats host Steiner
In the addition of the two runs Berguerand recorded a time of 3:22,60. Thus the now eight-time Gurnigel winner was a little more than a second faster than Robin Faustini. With a strong second run (1:41.33), the man from Aargau secured second place in the Osella FA30 (center gallery) ahead of Marcel Steiner.

The local hero had already hit the guard rail after a few hundred meters in the first forest section in the first run. This broke the rear suspension, the pistons and a few aero parts. Thanks to some interruptions due to accidents and technical failures, Steiner and his team were able to repair the damage by the second race run.

In the end, he finished third, 31 hundredths of a second behind Faustini. Steiner's problems had no effect on the championship. Steiner was assured of second place in the SM, as was Faustini of third.

Class records by Zemp and Burgermeister
The top 5 were completed by Thomas Amweg, whose restored Lola T94/50 with normal H-shift (gallery on the left) was once driven by Papa Fredy 10998 to the 17th and last day's victory at the Gurnigel, and Michel Zemp in the Norma-Honda (gallery on the right). Zemp secured the fourth final place in the Swiss mountain championship, realizing a new record for two-liter racing cars at the Gurnigel.

Joël Grand (6th), who had taken a seat in Simon Hugentobler's Reynard 97D after selling his Osella, was also quite satisfied. On the one hand, everything was new for him, and on the other, he was hardly able to practice on the initially rainy Saturday due to clutch problems.

In the two-liter formula race cars, Joël Burgermeister in the Tatuus F4 Evo prevailed, as in Les Rangiers and Oberhallau. The Thurgau native improved the class record by one second to 1:48.97 min and was thus 1.4 seconds faster in the addition of the two fastest runs than returnee Thomas Zürcher, who was back on the grid for the first time after his knee operation in an almost identical F4 LRM-Abarth.

Meisel pulverizes own record
In the touring cars, Reto Meisel was already established as champion. In Berguerand style, the Aaragau native also claimed his fifth overall victory in the closed race cars this season at Gurnigel in a Mercedes SLK 340 he built himself (gallery on the right) , improving his own best time from 2018 with the same car by almost four seconds to a fantastic 1:48.84. Meisel thus impressively confirmed his superior title win in the Swiss mountain championship for touring cars.

Schnellmann runner-up despite series of defects
Second fastest was Roger Schnellmann. However, the man from Schwyz didn't know whether he should be happy about second place in the championship after the second race or angry about another defect on the monstrous Mitsubishi Evo 8.

Roger Schnellmann: "In Les Rangiers, the drive shaft broke. During the repair, we discovered that the differential was also damaged. We patched up both. Now the differential is broken again. I'm glad that I finished the second race at all."

Victories for the two Martin Bürkis
Bruno Sawatzki secured third place in the final touring car standings ahead of Frédéric Neff. The two Interswiss Porsche drivers gave each other no quarter at the Gurnigel and engaged in an open exchange of blows - with the better end for Sawatzki (gallery left).

Martin Bürki in the BMW E33 almost matched the times of the two IS Porsches. The driver from the E1 up to 3000 cc drove times of 2:02 twice and captured a class win at Gurnigel for the first time. Trying to fend off a possible counterattack by Hermann Bollhalder in the Opel Speedster, MB2 still touched the guardrails in the third run.

The other Martin Bürki, the slalom king from Uetendorf, could also be satisfied with his performance. Not only did he successfully beat Stephan Burri in the E1 up to 1600 cc, he also confidently won the Mountain Cup for the fourth time.

The last race
Second place in the championship for smaller-displacement vehicles went to Philipp Krebs, who also triumphed in the Renault Classic Cup at the same time and retired his Clio II (center gallery) after 18 years and 87 podium finishes. In 2023, he will compete with a Clio III.

Denis Wolf, who was still leading ex-aequo with Bürki at the beginning of the season, had to watch out at Gurnigel after an engine failure on his Renault Clio.

Three other touring car drivers also put in outstanding performances. The handicapped Christoph Rohr (only one eye left) ended his career with a near-record victory in the Audi 50 in the E1-1400. Jürg Ochnser prevailed in the IS-2000 and Sébastien Coquoz (both Opel Kadett) in the E1-2000, which also had a large number of participants.

Photos: Kaufmann, Eichenberger, Cornevaux

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Everything is set to offer motorsport fans a top-class mountain race next weekend. Around 220 drivers, including a handful of foreigners, are expected to line up at the start in the picturesque Gantrisch region on September 10/11.

On Saturday, they will hold three training runs to reacquaint themselves with the 3734-meter course three years after the last Gurnigel race. On Sunday, the first race run starts at 7 am. The classification is made after adding up the two best times from three race runs.

Berguerand vs. Steiner & Co.
With the exception of Joël Volluz (doing service for Alpine GT driver Sergio Pinto at the Rallye-SM in Morzine), all the Swiss drivers are in the field with potent three-liter racing sports cars. Led by title favorite Eric Berguerand in the Lola-Cosworth and local hero Marcel Steiner in the LobArt-Honda-Turbo, they decide the overall podium among themselves.

Only Simon Hugentobler is missing from the start list after his two participations in St-Ursanne and Oberhallau, because he rents his Reynard 97D F3000 to Joel Grand from Valais. Since quite good weather is predicted for the weekend, nothing stands in the way of Grand's F3000 premiere, because in case of rain he would pass for safety reasons.

Return of Hans Schori in the mountain monster
Attractive is not only the field of participants (to which we refer in our first Preview Monday), but also the quartet of racing taxi drivers. Hans Schori, Swiss mountain champion in 2011, is once again driving the legendary "mountain monster" on this occasion after several years.

The car in question is a Mitsubishi Evo VI RS with around 800 hp. Schori bought it back from Belgium and restored it to its original racing condition (gallery on the left). On Thursday he did a few test laps with it at the Ecentcenter Seelisberg. As an alternative, the man from central Switzerland has a "mini monster" that also has a lot of horsepower but is somewhat tamer in handling.

Feigenwinter's GT3 mountain premiere
Andy Feigenwinter's appearance in the Porsche 997 GT3 R is even a Swiss premiere. The Swiss mountain champion of 2019 otherwise only drives the sports car entered in the 2012 ADAC GT Masters (3rd overall) in the Porsche Cup Suisse Open GT (center gallery) and in the Masters Endurance Legends Series, most recently at the Oldtimer GP at the Nürburgring, where he celebrated two class victories.

The other two cab drivers are Sandro Morros with a Porsche 991 GT3 Cup, with which he took third place in the E1 over 3.5 liters in 2019, and Felix Marti with a BMW M2 CS Racing Cup, the likes of which have never been seen at a Swiss hill climb (gallery on the right).

For the passengers, the race taxi rides - four to five per day - will be just as much a thrill as it will be a visual and acoustic treat for the spectators along the route.

View from natural grandstands
The winding, medium-fast mountain race course from Dürrbach up to Gurnigelbad is considered technically demanding. In the starting area, on the Laas and in the finish bend, the audience enjoys a beautiful view of the racing action from the natural grandstands.

A spectator footpath leads from the start to the finish for the most part along the course. For 50 francs you can also be transported comfortably by helicopter from the start to the finish or vice versa. Parking is available near the start (accessible from Riggisberg or Rüschegg) and near the finish (via Gurnigelpass).

Tickets are most easily and quickly available in advance (with discount) via the homepage (Link) to obtain. There you can also find further information such as the route map, the course and the start list. A livetiming is available under this Link.

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