Hemberg: Juniors revive the SuperSeries
NEW WINNERS Three SM Juniors from 2017 contested their first hill climb in the SuperSeries and had great battles for best times. Rolf Reding also remained unbeaten in the new class. The group victory went to Andy Feigenwinter in a new Lotus. They belong to the most inconspicuous cars in the field of the Swiss mountain championship. But the fastest drivers from the [...]
They are among the most inconspicuous cars in the field of the Swiss Mountain Championship. But the fastest drivers from the SuperSeries have never had to hide from their louder colleagues.
Albin Mächler and Röbi Wicki led the way with their double victory in the touring car championship a few years ago, as did Giuliano Piccinato when he won the 2017 Mountain Cup.
They are now being followed by several newcomers. The most prominent is last year's junior champion Rolf Reding, who continued his winning streak at the Hemberg hill climb.
Four hundredths decided
Without a single test kilometer on treadless racing tires, the man from Schwyz entered the race with a Toyota GT86 borrowed from the Eventcenter Seelisberg. Suppliers caused delays in the preparation of the car according to SS regulations.
Mario Koch and Raphael Feigenwinter, on the other hand, were already able to practice with their Honda Integra in slaloms. Hemberg thus turned out to be the first assessment of the three students of last year's Swiss Race Academy.
Andy Krähenbühl, often Piccinato's first pursuer in the two-liter class in 2017, was the benchmark with his Integra. So who is the new boss of the production two-liter?
The result in Hemberg did not make this clear yet. Reding and Krähenbühl mercilessly fought over the fractions of a second, and in the end four hundredths decided in favor of the newcomer.
Rolf Reding himself was a little surprised about this.
Rolf Reding: "I hadn't set myself a target because I had no idea what to expect. The track was tough, and because the gears didn't fit, I had to drive very differently than normal. In addition, my last race was nine months ago, so I first had to gather some impressions again."
First SM race victory for a Toyota GT86
Reding thus ensured the first victory for a Toyota GT86 and a rear-wheel drive car in x years. Out of five races so far - including all four in the 2017 Berg-SM Junior with the same car - he has yet to lose one.
Rolf Reding: "That's right, at least with this car I don't know how it feels to lose. Even though I would like it to stay that way, I have to be realistic: Sooner or later it will come..."
Three-way fight for third place
Third place was also highly controversial. After the first run, Raphael Feigenwinter was still fifth in Piccinato's champion car before losing only half a second to the top duo in the second run. That was the preliminary decision.
By six hundredths, Daniel Brändle from Basel relegated to third place in another Integra and the latter relegated Mario Koch to fifth place by four tenths.
Feigenwinter paid for his first podium finish with a slight collision with a tree trunk that was lying on the side of the track for safety reasons. Fortunately, he escaped with a fender bender.
For Koch, fifth and penultimate in class ahead of Dario Zutter's 1600cc Suzuki was an unfamiliar one. Last year, he was the fourth best of the eight Berg-SM Juniors.
Mario Koch: "I didn't want to risk too much in the first race. Because now there are slopes that I know and that I'm more comfortable with. It's cool when we're all so close together. That promises an exciting season."
First start, first win for Andy Feigenwinter in the Lotus
Full points were awarded in the SS-2000 for the Mountain Cup, as well as for the SuperSeries including SS-Competition in the Mountain Championship of Touring Cars.
Andy Feigenwinter took the 25 points with a new Lotus Exige 430 Cup prepared by Lotus-West. Although Raphael's father (who last drove a Crosslé sports car) did not quite come close to Albin Mächler's track record with a BMW. In the addition of the two best run times, however, he was slightly faster than Chris Steiner with the Porsche 911 Turbo in the previous year.
If this division continues to have at least eight cars, as statements indicate, Raphael's father will have his say about a place on the SM podium in 2018. Nothing else was also his goal in the new acquisition of this road sports car.
