01.07.2025
Midland podium in Reitnau
It was hot and it was exciting. The third round of the 2025 Swiss Hillclimb Championship in Reitnau, Aargau, offered everything racing fans could wish for: close decisions, dramatic twists and turns, and two underdogs giving the establishment a proper run for their money. And all this at temperatures that felt well above boiling point.
One person who didn't let the heat get to him was last year's champion Robin Faustini in his Nova NP01 Emap. The local hero had taken the lead from the very first practice session. However, he felt the hot breath of his competitors on his neck right from the start. In the first practice session, his brand colleague Thomas Amweg was just eight hundredths of a second behind him. In the second practice run, it was Michel Zemp who, in his 2-litre Norma Helftec, came within 14 hundredths of a second of Faustini's best time.
At this point, one of the ‘big names’ was already out of the race: Marcel Steiner had to throw in the towel early in the morning because his Nova NP01 Helftec wouldn't start. ‘A plug on the fuel pump is burnt out,’ said Steiner, gritting his teeth. And when it came down to the wire after lunch, Amweg was also missing. Clutch damage prevented him from participating in the races.
Anyone who thinks that Faustini had a clear run from there on was mistaken. With two strong runs in 47.20 (a new track record!) and 47.30 seconds, Robin Faustini was the fastest twice. But the competition did not make it easy for him, especially the two 2-litre sports cars driven by Michel Zemp and Victor Darbellay. ‘In the end, it looks like a clear victory when you add up the two runs,’ said Faustini. ‘But I really had to give it my all twice. This track is perfect for the 2-litre cars, which are around 70 kilograms lighter. Michel and Victor didn't make it easy for me.’ For Michel Zemp, it was already his second second place this season (after Hemberg). ‘I'm very satisfied,’ said Zemp. Victor Darbellay was also happy with third place (as he was in La Roche). ‘I've never driven here before. So I'm happy with this result.’
Vanessa Zenklusen was not satisfied with P59 out of 123 in the scratch and ‘fastest lady’. She braked too hard with her Subaru Impreza Type R in the chicane. In the second race, she didn't have the courage to do that again and braked too early, but was then able to accelerate again more quickly: ‘I'm glad I was able to prevent anything worse from happening when I braked too hard and ended up sideways in the chicane,’ she said with a wink.
Simon Wüthrich was clearly happier at the end of the day: he achieved class victory and second place overall in the touring car classification with his truly unique ‘VW Golf 2’ from Turbiene Motorsport! ‘We had a repeat race in the second run, which was unfortunately too much for the tyres. That meant I couldn’t improve any further,’ he explained.
Text: largely by Christian Eichenberger, Auto Sport Schweiz. Photos: Peter Hartmann, myrally.ch
One person who didn't let the heat get to him was last year's champion Robin Faustini in his Nova NP01 Emap. The local hero had taken the lead from the very first practice session. However, he felt the hot breath of his competitors on his neck right from the start. In the first practice session, his brand colleague Thomas Amweg was just eight hundredths of a second behind him. In the second practice run, it was Michel Zemp who, in his 2-litre Norma Helftec, came within 14 hundredths of a second of Faustini's best time.
At this point, one of the ‘big names’ was already out of the race: Marcel Steiner had to throw in the towel early in the morning because his Nova NP01 Helftec wouldn't start. ‘A plug on the fuel pump is burnt out,’ said Steiner, gritting his teeth. And when it came down to the wire after lunch, Amweg was also missing. Clutch damage prevented him from participating in the races.
Anyone who thinks that Faustini had a clear run from there on was mistaken. With two strong runs in 47.20 (a new track record!) and 47.30 seconds, Robin Faustini was the fastest twice. But the competition did not make it easy for him, especially the two 2-litre sports cars driven by Michel Zemp and Victor Darbellay. ‘In the end, it looks like a clear victory when you add up the two runs,’ said Faustini. ‘But I really had to give it my all twice. This track is perfect for the 2-litre cars, which are around 70 kilograms lighter. Michel and Victor didn't make it easy for me.’ For Michel Zemp, it was already his second second place this season (after Hemberg). ‘I'm very satisfied,’ said Zemp. Victor Darbellay was also happy with third place (as he was in La Roche). ‘I've never driven here before. So I'm happy with this result.’
Vanessa Zenklusen was not satisfied with P59 out of 123 in the scratch and ‘fastest lady’. She braked too hard with her Subaru Impreza Type R in the chicane. In the second race, she didn't have the courage to do that again and braked too early, but was then able to accelerate again more quickly: ‘I'm glad I was able to prevent anything worse from happening when I braked too hard and ended up sideways in the chicane,’ she said with a wink.
Simon Wüthrich was clearly happier at the end of the day: he achieved class victory and second place overall in the touring car classification with his truly unique ‘VW Golf 2’ from Turbiene Motorsport! ‘We had a repeat race in the second run, which was unfortunately too much for the tyres. That meant I couldn’t improve any further,’ he explained.
Text: largely by Christian Eichenberger, Auto Sport Schweiz. Photos: Peter Hartmann, myrally.ch
