Oberhallau: Eric Berguerand in master form 🎥
WINNING THE DAY DESPITE A RECORD TIME In front of a record crowd, Eric Berguerand and Marcel Steiner fought a great duel, which the Valaisan won despite a disqualification. Reto Meisel is already touring car champion.
According to estimates by the pro Bergrennen Oberhallau association, which had everything well in hand, around 16,000 spectators came to the Klettgau region of Schaffhausen on both days. In ideal outdoor conditions, they witnessed an indomitable Eric Berguerand and a strong challenger Marcel Steiner on Sunday.
Failed the control
First Steiner, who started earlier in the LobArt sports car, undercut the track record of 1'08.00 set by Berguerand in 2018 by three hundredths in the first race run, before the Valais native realized 1'07.56 a few minutes later.
In the second run in warmer temperatures, the Bernese managed a 1'07.85, to which Berguerand responded with another best time on the three-kilometer track. However, because the Lola FA99 including driver fell slightly short of the required minimum weight of 640 kilograms during the control measurement by ASS, the jury subsequently cancelled his supposed record run. It would have been 1'07.32. So Steiner was de facto the new leader without knowing it.
Berguerand then safely covered the third run shortly after 6:20 p.m. in 1'07.70, so that in the end he was 56 hundredths ahead of Steiner in the addition of his two times.
Eric Berguerand: "My Lola was exactly as heavy as it needed to be, only I didn't know that there was a total weight that was 80 kilos higher. In the evening, the conditions for a new record time were then no longer so good."
Decision at Gurnigel
Steiner, for his part, was also never so fast at Oberhallauer Berg and accordingly set a new sports car record.
Marcel Steiner: "The car and engine are good now, I just have to get better. I haven't yet found the confidence to step on the gas or stay on it at the right moment with the turbo engine."
What he never says, although he could attach: The LobArt with him on board is also 60 kilos heavier than Berguerand's self-made, optimal racing car. A handicap that, under normal circumstances, he will not be able to make up for even on September 11 at the mountain race on Gurnigel.
Hausheer will definitely give it a try there. If Steiner wins in a new record time, Berguerand would only have to finish in the classification to get the one point needed to secure the championship title.
Third SM rank to Robin Faustini
With three good 1'09 times, last year's winner Robin Faustini secured third place overall ahead of Osella brand colleague Joël Volluz. They too have never been so fast in Oberhallau and have clear upward potential for the future. Faustini is also already in third place in the championship, which was his declared goal for the season in addition to reducing the time gap to the top.
Only eight hundredths separated Michel Zemp (Norma-Honda) and Christoph Lampert (Osella-Honda) in the two-liter sports cars. Without Lampert's gearbox problems in what was actually the fastest second run, this duel might have had a different outcome.
Grands F3000 premiere at Gurnigel
Joël Grand pulverized the class record once again at the last event with the already sold Osella-BMW-Junior. For Gurnigel, the Valais native borrowed Simon Hugentobler's Reynard F3000. Faustini's dad drove this car to 7th place overall with severe handling problems due to the tires.
In the two-liter race cars, Joel Burgermeister exploited the power of his turbo engine in the Tatuus F4 Evo. After unexpected 1'15 times, Philip Egli in the much older Dallara was also more than happy with second place ahead of oldie Roland Bossy in the more modern Dallara F3. Bad luck had Christian Balmer, who flew over an embankment with his Tatuus Honda and retired.
Second SM title for Reto Meisel
For the first time this season, the overall winner in the touring cars was not Reto Meisel, but Roger Schnellmann in a Mitsubishi. The man from Schwyz was eleven hundredths ahead of the man from Aargau. However, the record of Ronnie Bratschi, who was only present as a spectator, remained unmatched.
On the other hand, Meisel in the Mercedes SLK340 improved his own class record, although he didn't risk the shirt off his back to secure his second SM title after 2016 with the same car ahead of schedule. Congratulations!
Hermann Bollhalder in the Opel Speedster remained just above his own record in the E1-3000. In the E1-two-liters Reto Steiner in the Ford Escort defeated the numerically strong competition, and in the IS-2000 Jürg Ochsner from Oberhallau in the Opel Kadett celebrated what was already his eighth emotional home victory.
Bürki ahead of another title win
As E1-1600 winner, Stephan Burri was a touch (0.02) less fast than Martin Bürki with his VW Polo in the IS-1600, unlike a week ago. Bürki's engine, as it turned out on Monday, had a loss of pressure, otherwise it would have gone much faster. At the home race on the Gurnigel, he is aiming for another win in the mountain cup in the direct E1 class duel with Burri.
Bruno Sawatzki in the Porsche 991 GT3 Cup took the group win in the InterSwiss by three hundredths ahead of Frédéric Neff in the 996 Turbo - this was Sawatzki's revenge for Anzère, where he lost despite setting a new track record. One of the two will probably be SM third in the touring cars. After his accident with the Lotus Exige, Chris Steiner is no longer eligible for the under-staffed SuperSeries, but wants to be on the grid at Gurnigel.
Denis Wolf was already the champion in the Renault Classic Cup. The tough three-way battle with him and Michael Schläpfer, who was leading after race 1, was won by Philipp Krebs in the Clio II, just like a week ago in Les Rangiers. However, after a rollover by Jürg Brunner, who was a brilliant second a week ago, the mood in the Clio camp was somewhat dampened. But the young Toggenburg driver remains a promise for the future.
