Lotus Cup: Lots of variety on the podium 🎥
TEN SEASON WINNERS ALREADY Thanks to some double races in neighboring countries, the Swiss Lotus Cup drivers have already completed ten races. In the two categories together there have been ten different winners. The short film by BRV Video/Tom Schmid from Damüls shows how things get down to business in the Lotus Cup Suisse. Now that's what you call variety: In the Production class, [...]
The short film by BRV Video/Tom Schmid from Damüls shows how things get down to business in the Lotus Cup Suisse.
That's what you call variety: In the Production class, everyone beat everyone else at least once. And in the Competition cars, no fewer than seven people took turns on the top step of the podium.
Varied program
In the current racing season, the Lotus fan community led by Norbert Sieber of Lotus-West St. Gallen met at five events at the Circuit de Bresse (F), at the mountain slaloms of Damüls and Arlberg (A), at the only Swiss slalom to date in Frauenfeld and last weekend at the Hockenheimring.
As in Bresse, there were two sprint tests at short notice in the Baden Motodrom to replace cancelled slaloms in Switzerland, with scoring for the fastest lap. In Vorlarberg and in Thurgau - the only national race to date - there were also two self-contained daily scores in each case.
There is now a break until the beginning of October (slalom Ambri). After that, the last two mountain slaloms of the RRCV in Eichenberg are on the program and at the end of October the third and last slalom in Bière.
Kobelt-Zurich 5:4
With three first places in four classifications, Edy Kobelt clearly took the lead in the series Exige 350 and 360 Cup. Only Daniel Steinman was able to leave him behind victoriously in Bresse 2.
At the Arlberg race, Roberto Zürcher then scored a coup with two class wins just ahead of Kobelt. He repeated this with two more victories in Frauenfeld.
Kobelt, who is still ambitious even after five decades of racing, congratulated the team, but it pained him inwardly. The Toggenburg native, who had recovered from a serious cancer scare and was still in ill health, was all the more pleased with his two sprint wins in Hockenheim, especially since he was the only one to finish well under two minutes twice.
Since Steinmann did him the favor of relegating Zürcher to third place both times, the former Swiss multiple champion gained some breathing room on Zürcher.
Redemption for Berchtold
Benno Berchtold, the Production champion of 2018 and 2019, began his second season in the Competition class with a redemptive victory at the wheel of his Exige 410 LW-R, after last year's third-place finish at best.
But even in the absence of champion Dino Wintsch, the grapes are not hanging less high than in 2020, on the contrary. After that, the man from Solothurn just managed a third and second place in the Arlberg.
Bollhalder's calculation is working so far
But production champion Hermann Bollhalder showed right away in Bresse with the victory in the second sprint that he already masters the stronger Exige 430 Cup. The fact that he only took first place in Damüls and Arlberg after that did not bother the fast garage owner at all.
Hermann Bollhalder: "If other people are constantly putting themselves at the top and on the podium in the individual races, this is also good for me. The main thing is that I'm regularly at the front."
Indeed he was. Only fourth in Hockenheim R1, he has never been on the class podium, so he has skillfully defended the top spot in the standings since the start of the season.
Hannes Mahler learns quickly
Hannes Mahler stands out as the first pursuer in the Lotus Cup Suisse 2021. The former Mini champion needed little time to get used to a newly acquired Exige 430 Cup and was already on the podium in third place in Bresse R2.
He then celebrated his first victory in the first slalom at Frauenfeld. In Hockenheim, the gastronome from Aargau then played out his skills on the circuit as well with a second and first place.
Wintsch came, saw and won
Although Norbert Sieber accepts a weight handicap with the elegant Evora 430 GT, the Widnauer occupies third intermediate place among the Exige Cup cars at the summer break. His highlight was victory in the first mountain slalom in Damüls.
Further successes were also achieved by Daniel Strim on the wet track at the Arlberg, Fabian Egger in Frauenfeld R2 and finally Dino Wintsch in Hockenheim. Due to time constraints, the professionally strained champion only competed in the first sprint and then took his leave for home.
It is unclear when he will return. But his absence did the Lotus Cup Suisse 2021 good, which Wintsch is also quite happy about.
All rankings and championship tables can be found on the Lotus Cup homepage.
