Motorsport: Eric Berguerand is 2016 champion

After Marcel Steiner had been able to put the favored Eric Berguerand under strong pressure two weeks earlier in Oberhallau, this time the local hero fought with blunt weapons: "For technical tracks like here on the Gurnigel, I haven't yet found the right recipe to be able to fully attack with my LobArt sports car." With his fourth championship title in sight, Eric Berguerand also avoided unnecessary risks and was almost two seconds slower in 1'43.33 than Steiner in his record-breaking drive of 2012 in the optimal Osella FA30. However, this was easily enough for the 37-year-old from the Valais to win the day for the fourth time in a row. At the same time, with his self-modified Lola-Cosworth, he is already set as the mountain champion in the racing sports cars before the finale in Les Paccots. After a spin by Simon Hugentobler (Reynard F3000), the runner-up in practice, Thomas Amweg in the Dallara F3 took third place overall as in the previous year.

Reto Meisel needs few points for first SM title
In the closed cars, Reto Meistel with his superior Mercedes SLK 340 was, as expected, the measure of all things. Although he did not mobilize all his reserves, as he absolutely had to bring his car to the finish in both runs without incident, he won with a clear lead over Roger Schnellmann in his Mitsubishi carbon monster and Simon Wüthrich in his VW Golf Turbo. Reto Meisel still needs a few points in Les Paccots for the first SM title, which only IS dominator Frédéric Neff in a Porsche is still disputing. Danny Krieg is the overall winner of the 2016 Mountain Cup in his Audi A4 STW.

www.gurnigelrennen.ch
Photos: Jürg Kaufmann