04.02.2020
Marcel Steiner: more abroad
In 2020, hill climb driver Marcel Steiner is increasingly drawn abroad: equipped with a new Honda turbo engine, the multiple Swiss champion aims to compete in more international races.
The engine, taken from a standard Civic Type R, was delivered personally by Honda dealer Marcel Steiner. The specialists at Helftec Engineering are transforming it into a genuine racing power unit. To comply with the engine displacement limit of three liters for hill climb races in Group E2 of sports racing cars (turbo factor 1.7 for petrol engines), the displacement is reduced to 1750 cm³. This setup generates significantly more power and better torque than the previously used naturally aspirated Honda-Mugen 3.0 V8 engine. Marcel Steiner hopes this will allow him to once again stand up to the competition in hill climb racing.
He plans to start in more races abroad: selected events such as Eschdorf (L), Rechberg (A), Ecce Homo (CZ), Glasbach (D), Osnabrück (D), St. Agatha (A), and possibly Mickhausen (A) are on the agenda. These hill climbs are partly part of the European Championship, the FIA Hill Climb, or national championships. Participation in the fourth FIA Hill Climb Masters in mid-October in Portugal is also a stated season goal.
In Switzerland, Marcel Steiner will compete in half of all hill climb races. Specifically, he plans to start in Reitnau, St-Ursanne, Oberhallau, and in front of his home crowd at Gurnigel. As a result, he will not be in the running for the national championship title in Switzerland.
Source: Peter Wyss and www.autosprint.ch
Photos: Christian Eichenberger, Auto Sport Schweiz (ASS)
www.steinermotorsport.ch – https://www.fia.com/hill-climb – www.motorsport.ch – www.helftec.ch