Motorsport: End of season for two of the best

August 21, 2016 was not a good day for two of Switzerland's best mountain racers of the present day. Joël Volluz had a serious accident in St-Ursanne, and thanks to the guardian angels in the Jura, he survived the horror crash without any injuries. The Valais native did feel like an old man on Monday, his 25th birthday, because he could hardly move. "But otherwise I and my morale are fine, and that's all that matters," he shared via Facebook. The Osella FA30 of Joël Volluz Motorsport is only core scrap. Whether or when and with what the team from Valais will return now depends on the overstretched finances.

Ronnie Bratschi also felt already on Sunday after the second run that the continuation of his season could be in danger. "It was already smoking slightly from the hood in the forest. I certainly no longer had the full power available," the Uri-based AutoSprintCH reported. It was not the cylinder head gasket, and nothing could be read out from the data. In order not to risk any major damage, Ronnie Bratschi dismantled the 2.2-liter turbocharged engine with over 600 hp and had it completely disassembled by tuner Egmo in Lyss.

Only technology can prevent Reto Meisel from winning the SM title
"My season is over. Racing with something else that is not as fast as my optimum Mitsubishi makes no sense," says Ronnie Bratschi, explaining his decision. He will thus relinquish the lead in the touring car championship without a fight, while he has fortunately already secured the second title in the FIA Mountain Cup for E1 cars. The sole favorite in the racing sports cars is now defending champion Eric Berguerand. In the touring cars, it's just a question of the reliability of his Mercedes SLK 340 for Reto Meisel. If the E1 bomber has further defects, IS dominator Frédéric Neff in the 500-plus hp Porsche could have his hands out.

www.autosport-ch.com
Photos: Peter Wyss