St. Ursanne - Les Rangiers: Duel for the day's victory 🎥

It didn't take much for Robin Faustini (left gallery) to knock Marcel Steiner (center gallery) off the SM throne at the 78th edition of the St. Ursanne - Les Rangiers hill climb. However, the latter was a tad faster in the end with two almost identical running times and with his victory in the Jura (due to the absence of the previous leader Eric Berguerand) has temporarily taken the lead in the Swiss mountain championship.

Joël Volluz in third place

Behind the two fastest Swiss, Joël Volluz (like Faustini on an Osella FA30) finished third. The Valais native did not quite match the top times of Steiner and Faustini, but was nevertheless satisfied with his performance.

Joël Volluz: "I've never driven so fast at Les Rangiers. In this respect, I'm satisfied with my weekend. Of course, it's always possible to go a bit faster. But that wasn't possible this time. Third place behind Steiner and Faustini is still a very good result."

Joël Burgermeister clearly the fastest

In the formula race cars up to two-liter displacement, Joël Burgermeister was the fastest by a clear margin. With a first run in 1:50.4 min, the Thurgau native undercut the previous class record by an incredible 2.9 seconds. Second place in the small formula racers went to two-time Les Rangiers winner Roland Bossy. Third place went to Ludovic Cholley.

Joël Burgermeister: "It's done. Another victory and a new record. A dream has come true for me. It would have been nice if I could have broken the 1:50 mark in the second run. But with temperatures so high, that was simply no longer possible."

Second place in the "small" formula racers went to two-time Les Rangiers winner Roland Bossy. Third place went to Ludovic Cholley.

Roger Schnellman showed strengths

In the touring car category, E1 driver Roger Schnellmann (right gallery) lived up to his role as favorite. The Mitsubishi driver needed 2:01.0 minutes for the 5.18-kilometer track. Second-fastest touring car driver and thus fastest Interswiss driver was Bruno Sawatzki (Porsche 991.1 Cup) - third (one second behind Sawatzki) was brand colleague and local hero Frédéric Neff.

All class winners at a glance

Other class winners (with at least three participants) in the Jura included: Rally ace Olivier Burri (Hyundai i20, R5), Stefan Schöpfer (Audi 50, IS up to 1400 cm3), Beat Oertig (Peugeot 106, IS up to 1600 cm3), Stephan Burri (VW Scirocco), who won the IS up to 2000 cm3 against Manuel Santonastaso (BMW 320) and Patrick Vallat (VW Golf GTI), Martin Oliver Bürki (BMW E33, IS up to 3000 cm3), Dominic von Rotz (Audi A4 Quattro, IS up to 3500 cm3), Joël Werthmüller (Peugeot 106, E1 up to 1600 cm3), Sébastien Cocquoz (Opel Kadett GTE), who held his own in E1 up to 2000 cm3 against Reto Steiner (Ford Escort RS) and Fabien Houlman (Peugeot 205), Benoît Farine (Honda CRX, E1 to 2500 cm3), Jérôme Nicolet (Peugeot 308, E1 to 3000 cm3), Bruno Ianniello (Lancia Delta S4, E1 to 3500 cm3) and Joël Grand (Wolf Thunder GB08, E2 to 1400 cm3). The victory in the Renault Classic Cup went to Thomas Zürcher. Philip Krebs and overall leader Michael Schläpfer followed in the other places.

The second success for Christian Merli

$he victory in the FIA European Hill Climb Championship went, as expected, to Christian Merli. The South Tyrolean was the only one to set 1:42 times and thus celebrated his second overall victory in the Jura after 2022. In the European Championship, Merli is still unbeaten after eight of ten races. The driver of the Osella FA30 clearly missed the track record from last year of 1:39.201 min for regulatory reasons with 30 kilograms of additional ballast and 35 hp less. The second fastest time in the EBM was set by Joseba Iraola Lanzagorta of Spain on a Nova NP01. Belgian Corentin Starck (also on a Nova) was third.

Victory in the touring cars (in the EM classification) went - for the fourth time this year - to Ronnie Bratschi from Uri, who is driving with a Czech license this year. The Mitsubishi driver distanced the two Porsche drivers Nicolas Werver (F) and Luca Gaetani (I) by more than three seconds in the addition of the two runs. The best Swiss European Championship starter was Jérôme Nicolet. The Peugeot driver secured a commanding victory in the touring car category in Group 4.

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... and so it goes on this season:

• August 25-27, Oberhallau
• September 9 and 10, Gurnigel
• September 16 and 17, Châtel-St-Denis - Les Paccots

Photos: Cornevaux
Video: @friendsofSwissMotorsport
Source: Car Sport Switzerland
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