Ronnie Bratschi: Comeback in the European Mountain Championship

After a year and a half, Ronnie Bratschi returns to the European hillclimb circuits this weekend in Saint-Jean du Gard in France. The reason for the long forced break was an engine failure during dyno tests last summer. The trained polymechanic from Altdorf therefore took time to optimize his Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VII RS in all areas. After successfully completing test drives on the circuit, nothing now stands in the way of his comeback.

Number of participants as a sticking point
As in 2021, the 36-year-old will be competing in Group 1, the most powerful touring cars in hill climbs, according to the regulations of the FIA, the International Automobile Federation. The man from Uri is deliberately holding back on predictions for 2023.

Ronnie Bratschi: "The outcome of the championship also depends on participation and is therefore not solely in my hands."

Because technical problems also affected him twice in the 2021 season, the Swiss had to settle for fifth place in the European Championship two years ago as the best driver from Group 1 and winning the "Best Performer" classification, which takes into account the overall ranking of all touring cars in each race.

Time consuming travel
Because the trips to the venues throughout Europe are enormously time-consuming, Bratschi is dependent on the goodwill of his employer in Altdorf. He therefore devotes almost all of his overtime and vacations to racing. Moreover, such a European tour can only be financed thanks to sponsors. These include the construction machinery company GIPO from Seedorf, Zurich Insurance and FASTEC AG, three internationally active companies. They are joined by tire partner Michelin, KW-Automotive Schweiz, lubricant manufacturer Motul, Eggenberger Motorenbau, Ravasicorse, Felwag, Garage Gisler and Beat Stadler Carrosserie und Spritzwerk.

Start with Czech racing license
A novelty is that the man from Uri will be driving for the Czech association ACCR from this year on.

Ronnie Bratschi: "This has various advantages for me and I am looking forward to working with ACCR. In addition, I was able to gain a first sponsor from the Czech Republic in the form of Profiko."

Only one appearance at home
In Switzerland, Ronnie Bratschi will only be seen in action at the St-Ursanne-Les Rangiers hill climb, which counts as the eighth round of the European Championship, on August 19/20 in the canton of Jura. Due to the differences in the regulations of the European Mountain Championship and the Swiss Championship, further starts in the home country do not make sense.

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