European Hillclimb 2013

[Lousada]

I would like to start a thread on a new passion of mine, the Hillclimb sport! I have started this thread in European Rallying, but I suppose it could show up in every forum here. I will start this thread with an introduction to Hillclimb in Europe to begin the conversation. What I like about Hillclimb is the variety of cars, in a single day you see every possible motorsport pass by. Another exciting thing is the speed. Seeing WRC cars on public road is one thing, but seeing single seaters on the limit on public roads... oh my... :p Third of all the sound! Even those awesome videos can't really capture it.

(Note: it is called European Hillclimb so I don't want to talk about Pikes Peak here.)

Okay, I shall give a short "Hillclimb for Dummies" now.
1. The tracks.
In the European Championship a race track must be minimal 5000m long with 4% elevation. The longest hillclimb race is Trento-Bondone in Italy with 17300 metres. In Italy you will generally find the longest races of Europe. In national championships the minimal distance is often 1500m. Exceptions are the Coupe de France and the Austrian Bergrallye Cup, which a maximum of 2000m. In England it is forbidden to hold motorsport races on public roads, so all hillclimb tracks are on private roads often shorter than 1000m.
As I already mentioned the European Championship demands a road that is minimal 6m wide, or two lanes. Most national championships follow that guideline.

2. The Cars
There are no less than 7 different classes in the European Championship, and there are an endless amount more in every country. And to confuse it more, the same classes have small differences between countries. I shall concentrate on the European Championship. There the seven classes are split into two categories. Category one consists of the following four classes.
First of all there is the Group N. This is the same as in the Rallysport, except homologations are extended with four extra years. R1 cars are also included in the class. Mitsubishi Lancers and Renault Clios are the most common used cars.

Second of all there is the Group A. This is also the same as in the Rallysport, except again homologations are extended with four extra years. Super 1600, WRC, Kit-Car, R2 and R3 are included. Again Mitsubishi Lancers and Renault Clios are the most common used cars. The third class is the S2000. Again, same as with the Rallies, but also those of the circuits are included. R4 and R5 cars are also put in this class. So far I have not spotted a car competing in this class???
The fourth class in Category 1 is the GT. These include GT1, GT3 and RGT cars. You see Porsches, but also the occasional Ferrari, Nissan 350Z or even Mazda MX5.

Category 2 has three classes. First of all you have E2-SS. This is the spot reserved for Single-Seater racecars. You will find a lot of cars similar to those on the racecircuits of Europe. They are mostly Formula 3 and Formula Renault 2000. Also the old Formula 3000 vehicules have a second life on the mountainsides. More modern Formula cars are allowed, but in Hillclimbs the engines are limited to 3000cc. That means World Series by Renault (3500cc) and GP2 cars (4000cc) must be converted first. Old Formula 1 cars are also allowed, but again, you must convert them to Hillclimb regulations first. Something special in Hillclimbing is the "Formula Free" cars build to Article 277 of the sporting regulations. This allows self-build cars not seen anywhere else in Europe. The most popular and by far the best car is the Osella FA30.

The second class of Category 2 is reserved for Two-Seater Racecars also known as Sportscars. It is called E2-SC. These are the cars that you could find in Le Mans. But there is the same problem as in E2-SS, and that is that Le Mans cars must first be converted to the 3000cc engine limit and the specific regulations. Many of the sportscars belong to the CN regulations, which requires an engine that is or was once homologated in Group N. You will see (hear!) a lot of BMW V8 and Mugen V6. In E2-SC there is a lot of competition between French-build Norma racecars and Italian build Osella cars.

The third class is for Silhouette Touring Cars called E2-SH. Nicely confusing to put them with the open race cars, but as you might have spotted already, Category II consists of cars that belong to class E2 which is in Article 277 of the sporting code. In E2-SH basically everything is allowed as long as the car has the original shaped windscreen... No engine limitations as in the other classes. The Austrian BMW you might have spotted on Youtube drives in this class. There are also a couple of DTM cars which belong in here.

Okay, that was the European Championship. Let's confuse some more! Next to the European Championship there is also something called the European Cup. This is only open to cars of E1 and E2-SH. Alongside it is the International Hillclimb Challenge. This is open to the same 7 classes as the European Championship (except E2-SH), but they are differently sorted. Does anybody understand? Doesn't matter. Anyway the E1 class is also a form of Touring Cars, but unlike E2-SH they have to be based on a model that is or was once homologated. It is also based on Art. 277. E1 is considered the Hillclimb class and is perhaps the most commonly used in the whole of Europe. You will see in this class everything you can imagine, from Group B, to beefed up Mitsubishi Lancers, ancient Volkswagens and crazy GT specials.

Some national championships allow cars powered by motorcycle engines with a chainlink transmission. They are most common in Spain. Common examples are the BRC and the Silvercar.

The famous Berg-Cup in Germany is a sort of E1 'light'. There are less modifications allowed and cars must be older than 12 years. Of course the German makes are very popular here.

3. The drivers.
Simone Faggioli from Italy is the undisputed Hillclimb master. He has won the European title the last few years in Category II. He drives with Osella products, lately the FA30. His clostest rivals come from Switzerland, in the form of Marcel Steiner and from 2013 with Joel Volluz and Julien Ducommun. All three are also with Osella FA30. Further FA30's are for Guy Demuth and Tommy Rollinger from Luxembourg and Milos Benes from the Czech Republic, but they do not drive the full championship. Prolific F3000 drivers include Vaclav Janik and Otakar Kramsky from the Czech Republic and Fausto Bormolini from Italy.
In the sportscars Petr Vitek with the Osella PA30 was the higest placed in 2012. But that's not really the whole story as the best Sportscar racers from France and Italy stay in their home country.
In E2-SH Vladimir Vittver from the Czech Republic drove the most races. But the coming year we will hopefully see Reto Meisel from Switzerland in the Mercedes SLK340.
Category I is a bit of a mystery. The current champion Dusan Borkovic from Serbia has switched to the ETCC. The next champion will probably come from Eastern Europe again, as they deliver most drivers in Category I.

4. Points system
Nobody understands this so don't break your head trying to.

5. The calendar (click on the titles to see more information, map and all that)
European Championship
13-14 April St. Jean du Gard (France) (http://www.rallycross-photo.com/heuvelklim2/championships/france/stjeandugard/)
27-28 April Rechbergrennen (Austria) (http://www.rallycross-photo.com/heuvelklim2/championships/austria/rechberg)
11-12 May Falperra (Portugal) (http://www.rallycross-photo.com/heuvelklim2/championships/portugal/falperra)
18-19 May El Fito (Spain) (http://www.rallycross-photo.com/heuvelklim2/championships/spain/fito/)
01-02 June Ecce Homo (Czech Republic) (http://www.rallycross-photo.com/heuvelklim2/championships/czech-republic/eccehomo/)
15-16 June Ilirska Bistrica (Slovenia) (http://www.rallycross-photo.com/heuvelklim2/championships/slovenia/ilirskabistrica/)
29-30 June Ascoli Piceno (Italy) (http://www.rallycross-photo.com/heuvelklim2/championships/italy/ascoli/)
06-07 July Trento-Bondone (Italy) (http://www.rallycross-photo.com/heuvelklim2/championships/italy/trento/)
20-21 July Dobsinsky kopec (Slovakia) (http://www.rallycross-photo.com/heuvelklim2/championships/slovakia/dobsinsky/)
27-28 July Glasbachrennen (Germany) (http://www.rallycross-photo.com/heuvelklim2/championships/germany/glasbach/)
10-11 August Mont Dore (France) (http://www.rallycross-photo.com/heuvelklim2/championships/france/montdore)
17-18 August St Ursanne - Les Rangiers (Switzerland) (http://www.rallycross-photo.com/heuvelklim2/championships/switzerland/stursanne/)
14-15 September Buzet (Croatia) (http://www.rallycross-photo.com/heuvelklim2/championships/croatia/buzet/)

Other interesting races
05-06 May European Hill Race (Luxembourg) (http://www.rallycross-photo.com/heuvelklim2/championships/luxembourg/eschdorf/)
25-26 May Verzegnis (Italy) (http://www.rallycross-photo.com/heuvelklim2/championships/italy/verzegnis/)
01-02 June St. Gouëno (France) (http://www.rallycross-photo.com/heuvelklim2/championships/france/stgoueno/)
30 June Bergrennen Reitnau (http://www.rallycross-photo.com/heuvelklim2/championships/switzerland/reitnau/)
03-04 August Osnabrücker Bergrennen (Germany) (http://www.rallycross-photo.com/heuvelklim2/championships/germany/osnabruck/)
05-06 October Bergrennen Mickhausen (Germany) (http://www.rallycross-photo.com/heuvelklim2/championships/germany/mickhausen/)

Go to www.hillclimbportal.com (http://www.hillclimbportal.com) for more information.

[Lousada]

Okay that was a crazy long post. I went passed the 10000 character limit!

For those who do not want to read all that, here is how a day of Hillclimbing looks in pictures:
http://www.rallycross-photo.com/heuvelklim2/wp-content/gallery/120826/82.jpg
As a warmup we start with rally cars. Mostly Clios, Peugeots, Lancers and that stuff.

http://www.rallycross-photo.com/heuvelklim2/wp-content/gallery/120805/77.jpg
Then we will get a few GT's. It is going a little faster now.

http://www.rallycross-photo.com/heuvelklim2/wp-content/gallery/120826/02.jpg
Now the Hillclimb specials come around. Fast, loud and looking insane.

http://www.rallycross-photo.com/heuvelklim2/wp-content/gallery/120610/61.jpg
That was the Touring Cars. Now it's going really quick! Two-seat Sportscars are next.

http://www.rallycross-photo.com/heuvelklim2/wp-content/gallery/120805/105.jpg
Finishing off with the single seaters. The very fastest of them all. There are tracks were they reach average speeds of over 180 kph.

[Lousada]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJGiB5KWY3M
This is how I like it. Brilliant onboard.

[Lousada]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HBLIHAsknRI
This is one of my favourite "fan" videos. Be sure to keep watching until the formula cars arrive.

[Lousada]

This year I will be mostly going to Belgian and German races, but I hope to catch one or two races in France or Switzerland or maybe Italy. If anyone ones to meet up or something? Or am I the only Hillclimb fan here? :o :p

[Lousada]

Sorry for spamming my own thread, but I see something that might be confusing and I can't edit anymore.
So www.hillclimbportal.com (http://www.hillclimbportal.com) is my own site, and those mediocre attempts at action photos are also mine. The videos are not. Now it looks I am secretly recommending my own site, but some sentences were cut off because of the postlimit.

In my opinion, yes my site is the best English language site on the web. But then I would say that don't I?? Sorry for the confusion.

[vino_93]

well in France we have good championship, with old F3000, Formula Nippon and even a GP2 :) Unfortunately Lionel Regal, the master of french hillclimb, is dead in a European champ race some years ago :( there was great fight btw him and Nicolas Schatz in French Champ at this time. Now Schatz is a bit alone, even if Sébastien Petit is a great contender. New generation of proto is quite good, but F3000 are still faster.

I think it's first time St Jean du Gard is in European championship ?
Unf
ortunately I leave too far from races to see this ... but it would be great !

[urabus-denoS2000]

I also enjoy Hillclimb very much :) It has great aspects, like a huge variety of very fast and attractive cars. The downsides are far too many confusing classes and majority of gentleman drivers in the fastest machinery. Hillclimb is not a professional sport, everyone there is a more or less advanced amateur driver (exception being Simone Faggioli- he is the works Osella driver and I think you can see by the results how better he and his Osella are then the competition). I would really love to see this form of motorsport turn professional, with works teams and drivers, as it would be the most attractive and craziest form of motorsport, but unfortunately it is impossible to expect this. Hillclimb attracted manufacturers in the pre-WW2 era :( . Hillclimb races close to me (Rechberg, Ilirska Bistrica and naturally the best one- Buzet ;) ) are all very popular with huge amounts of fans and I always spectate them when possible. I would also like to go to Italian round of the championship. If you plan to go to some of these races, feel free to contact me :)

[Lousada]

Replies to my thread, yippee ;)

well in France we have good championship, with old F3000, Formula Nippon and even a GP2 :) Unfortunately Lionel Regal, the master of french hillclimb, is dead in a European champ race some years ago :( there was great fight btw him and Nicolas Schatz in French Champ at this time. Now Schatz is a bit alone, even if Sébastien Petit is a great contender. New generation of proto is quite good, but F3000 are still faster.
This year there should be three CN+ sportscars for Schatz, Petit and Cyrille Frantz. That should make the championship a bit more exciting. What I find sad about the French is their insistence on their own rulebook. For example they do not allow E1 or Group H or Interswiss. Those are the classes with the most variety of cars. Instead in France you have endless amounts of Group A Renault Clios, Seat Leon Supercopas and old BMW M3's. The roads are beautiful though, hope to visit a race there this year ;)



I think it's first time St Jean du Gard is in European championship ?
St. Jean-du-Gard / Col St. Pierre has been in the European Championship for a few years now. For 2014 countries are only allowed one race, so for either Mont Dore or St. Jean du Gard it will be the last time.

Unfortunately I leave too far from races to see this ... but it would be great !
Let me guess, you live in the northwest of France? :p Perhaps the Belgian events are closer to you? They are not as professional, but interesting nonetheless I think.

[vino_93]

Replies to my thread, yippee ;)

This year there should be three CN+ sportscars for Schatz, Petit and Cyrille Frantz. That should make the championship a bit more exciting. What I find sad about the French is their insistence on their own rulebook. For example they do not allow E1 or Group H or Interswiss. Those are the classes with the most variety of cars. Instead in France you have endless amounts of Group A Renault Clios, Seat Leon Supercopas and old BMW M3's. The roads are beautiful though, hope to visit a race there this year ;)



St. Jean-du-Gard / Col St. Pierre has been in the European Championship for a few years now. For 2014 countries are only allowed one race, so for either Mont Dore or St. Jean du Gard it will be the last time.

Let me guess, you live in the northwest of France? :p Perhaps the Belgian events are closer to you? They are not as professional, but interesting nonetheless I think.

Well I don't know a lot about E1 or H group. But some years ago in Rally we had really powerful cars (F18, F19 class) ... and they were banned by french federation. They were find too dangerous (and too fast for manufacturers which saw their Kit Car beaten by F19), so maybe it's why H and E1 group isn't allowed ? It looks very similar to what we had in rallies if it's the group of the Golf in pictures !

For the race, I think Mont Dore will stay in European Champ, even in France it has more popularity than the other.

And yes I leave in North part of France. I don't know a lot about belgium hillclimb ? If it's in East part of Belgium (as I presume) it's a bit too far :(

[Lousada]

I also enjoy Hillclimb very much :) It has great aspects, like a huge variety of very fast and attractive cars. The downsides are far too many confusing classes and majority of gentleman drivers in the fastest machinery. Hillclimb is not a professional sport, everyone there is a more or less advanced amateur driver (exception being Simone Faggioli- he is the works Osella driver and I think you can see by the results how better he and his Osella are then the competition). I would really love to see this form of motorsport turn professional, with works teams and drivers, as it would be the most attractive and craziest form of motorsport, but unfortunately it is impossible to expect this. Hillclimb attracted manufacturers in the pre-WW2 era :( .
I understand what you mean. I used to visit the European Championship in Trier. The first time I looked into the programme-magazine there were 25 pages of different classes, all with 5 or less cars. It is impossible to understand.
I used to be a die-hard Rallycross-fan. Until a few years ago that was also an amateur sport. But in there every driver, even the amateur hobbyists had sleek websites often in English. Most of them published PR-reports too. You could find trackguides, results and almost daily news messages on international websites. When I started looking for the same in Hillclimb last year... nothing. I don't understand?? Where are all the Hillclimb fans hiding lol :D


Hillclimb races close to me (Rechberg, Ilirska Bistrica and naturally the best one- Buzet ;) ) are all very popular with huge amounts of fans and I always spectate them when possible. I would also like to go to Italian round of the championship. If you plan to go to some of these races, feel free to contact me
Yes, I am very much thinking about visiting Buzet this year. Never been to Croatia, would love to visit it. When the time comes I will contact you ;)

[Lousada]

Well I don't know a lot about E1 or H group. But some years ago in Rally we had really powerful cars (F18, F19 class) ... and they were banned by french federation. They were find too dangerous (and too fast for manufacturers which saw their Kit Car beaten by F19), so maybe it's why H and E1 group isn't allowed ? It looks very similar to what we had in rallies if it's the group of the Golf in pictures !
Yes the Golf is from E1. Also the Touringcars in the video I posted are E1 or comparable. The safety aspect is a bit weird considering they let F3000 and sportscars on the same track. I'd assume a steel shell touring cars would be safer and slower. But trying to understand what the suits in the fedaration think is impossible.


For the race, I think Mont Dore will stay in European Champ, even in France it has more popularity than the other.

And yes I leave in North part of France. I don't know a lot about belgium hillclimb ? If it's in East part of Belgium (as I presume) it's a bit too far :(

I have plotted the locations of the Hillclimbs on a map.
European Hillclimbs (http://www.rallycross-photo.com/heuvelklim2/fun/map-europe/)
French Hillclimbs (http://www.rallycross-photo.com/heuvelklim2/fun/map-france/)
You should be able to zoom and scroll those maps.

In Belgium there are two 'divisions' in Hillclimb. The national championship (RACB) is for the more serious drivers and the ASAF is for the hobby drivers. A bit like the Championnat de France vs. Coupe de France.

[urabus-denoS2000]

I am also surprised there are no Hillclimb fans, you are probably correct when you say they are hiding somewhere :D On a serious note I think there are large popular forums but probably in German or Italian, since Hillclimb is most popular in Central Europe.

First round of Austrian Bergrallye is this weekend, it is close to me, I will maybe visit it ;)

[urabus-denoS2000]

Yes, I am very much thinking about visiting Buzet this year. Never been to Croatia, would love to visit it. When the time comes I will contact you ;)

If you want to feel the best atmosphere you can witness in a motorsport event, Buzet is the place to come ;)

[vino_93]

Yes the Golf is from E1. Also the Touringcars in the video I posted are E1 or comparable. The safety aspect is a bit weird considering they let F3000 and sportscars on the same track. I'd assume a steel shell touring cars would be safer and slower. But trying to understand what the suits in the fedaration think is impossible.



I have plotted the locations of the Hillclimbs on a map.
European Hillclimbs (http://www.rallycross-photo.com/heuvelklim2/fun/map-europe/)
French Hillclimbs (http://www.rallycross-photo.com/heuvelklim2/fun/map-france/)
You should be able to zoom and scroll those maps.

In Belgium there are two 'divisions' in Hillclimb. The national championship (RACB) is for the more serious drivers and the ASAF is for the hobby drivers. A bit like the Championnat de France vs. Coupe de France.

Nice and usefull website !
Well Bomérée isn't so far ... but it's the same week as Rally Germany I think ><

When I was a child there was a illclimb race not so far from my parents house. Maybe 30 minutes ... it was the first motorsport race I saw. Alpine A310, proto with bikes engine, some F3 and some bigger proto ... it was really nice !

Now in my region (Picardie) there's only one small race without big level :( and it's the same in Normandy or in the other part of France. Unfortunately last year I couldn't go to the Finale of the Coupe de France, which was run in Cassel (Nord).

[Lousada]

I am also surprised there are no Hillclimb fans, you are probably correct when you say they are hiding somewhere :D On a serious note I think there are large popular forums but probably in German or Italian, since Hillclimb is most popular in Central Europe.

Well the Hillclimb fans are obviously not here, I will have to keep looking :D I have found some German language forums but they are rather silent too. Even Hillclimb specific ones like hillclimbfans. I am not really a person to start conversations even if it is digital. It took me a long while of doubting if I should post here. That only two people responded is not helping me :D Thank you both for your time though.

It is funny but from the people I spot on my website there are literally none from the eastern European countries. Well, there was one Croatian the last few days, that must have been you :D



First round of Austrian Bergrallye is this weekend, it is close to me, I will maybe visit it ;)
So did you go? Did you like it? I saw Rupert Schwaiger won again with Felix Pailer absent...

[Lousada]

Nice and usefull website !
Well Bomérée isn't so far ... but it's the same week as Rally Germany I think ><

When I was a child there was a illclimb race not so far from my parents house. Maybe 30 minutes ... it was the first motorsport race I saw. Alpine A310, proto with bikes engine, some F3 and some bigger proto ... it was really nice !

Now in my region (Picardie) there's only one small race without big level :( and it's the same in Normandy or in the other part of France. Unfortunately last year I couldn't go to the Finale of the Coupe de France, which was run in Cassel (Nord).

Thank you. There is a national championship hillclimb in Hébécrevon near Saint-Lô 12-13 May.

[NoFear85]

Last year I was in Ilirska Bistrica and in Buzet. The first one was in bad weather conditions, but spectacular. In my oppinion is Buzet the best hillclimb race close to me or in Slovenian hillclimb championship. There you see, what is the real atmosphere

[MrJan]

I do a small bit of hillclimbing in the UK and I'm amazed by watching videos of hillclimbing on the continent (particularly the German/Swiss rounds). We simply can't have anything like that over here, we generally rely on venues being on the driveway of large houses. Also the cars are amazing compared to what we have. Take that St Ursanne video above, all the cars are well modified and there don't seem to be any 'shopping trollies'. Over here in the UK it's quite common for people to enter a hillclimb in the same car that they drive to work. At the higher level there are obviously well prepared (and expensive) single seaters, but the majority of the field is made up from people in road cars.

Here's a video of me at a venue that is no longer used :( Most people would go up in under 30 seconds, the fast single seaters could do it under 21secs.

RtAwgxsgayc


And this is someone far quicker than me up Wiscombe Park, the closest hillclimb to where I live. Not sure of the time that this guy does but it's probably around 35 seconds whereas my PB at Wiscombe is about 48 seconds!
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And this is one of my favourite videos of a UK event, Graeme Wight Jnr at Doune
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I hope that one day I'll visit one of the Swiss or German climbs and see what it's like in Europe, although I keep spending all my money entering instead.

[urabus-denoS2000]

British hillclimb is absolutely crazy with various no limit open seaters :) It's only really annoying to see races only half a minute long. Nice driving MrJan btw ;)

I didn't go to Lodersdorf, I was too busy unfortunately. But since Felix didn't drive I didn't miss much :) Impressive drive from Andreas Marko once again

[Lousada]

I do a small bit of hillclimbing in the UK and I'm amazed by watching videos of hillclimbing on the continent (particularly the German/Swiss rounds). We simply can't have anything like that over here, we generally rely on venues being on the driveway of large houses. Also the cars are amazing compared to what we have. Take that St Ursanne video above, all the cars are well modified and there don't seem to be any 'shopping trollies'. Over here in the UK it's quite common for people to enter a hillclimb in the same car that they drive to work. At the higher level there are obviously well prepared (and expensive) single seaters, but the majority of the field is made up from people in road cars.

Here's a video of me at a venue that is no longer used :( Most people would go up in under 30 seconds, the fast single seaters could do it under 21secs.

I hope that one day I'll visit one of the Swiss or German climbs and see what it's like in Europe, although I keep spending all my money entering instead.

Hey nice post! Sorry I missed it the first time round. The British hills look absolutely crazy to me. Although they are short, they are often quite technical and the cars are absolutely crazy. The lack of safety does worry me a little bit though, I have seen onboards of cars without a rollcage :eek:
Nice driving, what kind of car do you drive? Is that a Caterham?? At least it has a rollcage (I think?) :p

[Lousada]

The start of the season has been delayed a little bit because of the snow in central Europe. Both the opening of the Czech Championship and the second Bergrallye have been cancelled because of the weather.

I hope this thread might gain a little more traction as the season is now really going to start. This weekend the Bulgarian Championship begins, but what is more interesting is the start of the French Championship in Bagnols Sabran.
160+ cars entered in the modern race, the entrylist can be found here (http://www.bagnols-sabran.com/rubriques/course/index.php?an=2013&id=c1).
The details of the track can be found on my website here (http://www.rallycross-photo.com/heuvelklim2/championships/france/bagnolssabran/).
In my best of English I have attempted to write a preview of the French Championship indicating all the news and such. You can find it on my website in the newsposts.

Then, next week is already the second round in France. This also counts as the first round of the European Championship.
There is already an entrylist out, you can find it here (http://asa-ales.org/enga_csp13b.pdf)
The details of the track can be found on my website here (http://www.rallycross-photo.com/heuvelklim2/championships/france/stjeandugard/).
I will preview this race next week if anyone is interested (so far not many people are :andrea: )
It is interesting to see how the championship appears to center itself around Group N Lancers and Osella FA30's with the occasional Osella PA30.

Next week I will not be in St-Jean-du-Gard but rather the first round of the Belgian Championship in Vencimont. Finally I can take some pictures with my new camera equipment :up:

[MrJan]

Thanks Lousada. The car I was driving is a Locost, which is just a cheap version of a Caterham. Because it was originally a circuit car it had a full rollcage. However its now been sold and replaced with a Westfield that only has a roll hoop. In the road going class you don't need a cage but, as you go through the classes you have to have more safety equipment. Thankfully its quite rare for cars to end up on their roof, I've only see it happen 4 or 5 times and each of those its been a car with a cage. Remember that the technical nature of our hills means that speeds for road cars are reasonably low.

Got my first event of the season on Sunday, a sprint that's run on a go kart track (where Jenson Button used to race) will be a good chance to get to know the new car and hopefully I'll get some videos.

[vino_93]

It will be nice to see what will do Cn+ against F3000 for the first round of the championship :)

[MrJan]

Well that could have gone better. First off I took the bracket to fix the camera but forgot to take the camera, so no video. Secondly it took quite some getting used to being in a new car, I had a lot of trouble with gear changes and the brakes locking surprisingly easy. Then my times weren't that much better than they were in the old car (although I was running close to others in my class). To cap it all off I went into my last run hoping to go quite a bit faster but when I got to the second corner something went clang and I lost all drive. Turns out that the output shaft from the diff has sheered off on the universal joint (it's a live rear axle) so I'm now trying to contact Westfield direct to see if it's something we can get hold of. All in all not the best start to having a new car (especially as the old car completed every single event we entered in it, which is probably around 50).

[Lousada]

Last Sunday was the season opener in Belgium. Luckily it was the first day of nice weather, 26 degrees I think!

For the event it was a little sad that some very good drivers like Emmanuel Gonay and Gaëtan Hayot were absent. On top of that, in the first practise session Jelle de Coninck crashed and was out for the rest of the day... Three Normas made up the podium, Marchal, Hubert and Perez. Best touringcar driver was surprisingly Eric Schwilen in the little Peugeot 205. Full results as usual on my website...

It was the first time I got to use my new camera in action. Still a bit of hit and miss I suppose.
http://www.rallycross-photo.com/heuvelklim2/wp-content/gallery/2013-vencimont/27.jpg

http://www.rallycross-photo.com/heuvelklim2/wp-content/gallery/2013-vencimont/37.jpg

http://www.rallycross-photo.com/heuvelklim2/wp-content/gallery/2013-vencimont/35.jpg

Rest can be found at www.hillclimbportal.com (http://www.hillclimbportal.com)

[Lousada]

In other news Simone Faggioli won the European Championship opener in France. French drivers Sébastien Petit and Nicolas Schatz were very close, and young guns David Hauser and Joël Volluz are getting faster and faster. But Faggioli can defeat them all, and he even defeats himself as he broke his own trackrecord... The championship continues in two weeks with the Rechbergrennen in Austria.

[Jarek Z]

Hey guys, nice topic! :up:

Here in Poland hillclimbing is quite popular. Of course not as popular as classic rallying, but there is some following among the craziest motorsport fans. Races are most often held in the mountain region of southern Poland, very often on old rally stages. Drivers often come from classic track racing or rallying. For example a common situation is that a rally driver who can't afford rallying switches to hillclimb for a while. When he manages to find good sponsors he returns to rallying. That happened to Stec and Malyszczycki:

http://foto.rallyonline.pl/GALERIA/jarekz/sienna2007/sienna2007_jz14.jpg

Pawel Dytko or Marcin Beltowski:

http://foto.rallyonline.pl/GALERIA/jarekz/sienna2008/sienna2008_jz26.jpg

What I don't like about hillclimb is the crazy complicated points scoring system, multiple classes and ununderstandable regulations. What I like about it is the variety of cars. You can see almost everything here, from racing to rallying, from historic cars to modern machines, even something like that:

http://foto.rallyonline.pl/GALERIA/jarekz/sienna2007/sienna2007_jz02.jpg

or that:

http://foto.rallyonline.pl/GALERIA/jarekz/sienna2007/sienna2007_jz08.jpg

not just Peugeots and Lancers, like in rallying.

I'd like to show you some of my photo galleries from Sienna and Rosciszow. They are both organized on former stages of Rally Poland:

=+DESC&modex=pokaz&T[id]=2448]Sienna 2007 (http://rallyonline.pl/g.php?1&pg_[desc)
=+DESC&modex=pokaz&T[id]=3318]Sienna 2008 (http://rallyonline.pl/g.php?1&pg_[desc)
=+DESC&modex=pokaz&T[id]=2501]Rosciszow 2007 (http://rallyonline.pl/g.php?1&pg_[desc)

[br21]

I'm also interested in Hillclimbing, little bit involved also, but from enginering/mechanical side, not as a driver.
I have no time to write here a lot, but I'm trying to follow all post by Lousada and other users.

[Lousada]

Hey guys, nice topic! :up:

Here in Poland hillclimbing is quite popular. Of course not as popular as classic rallying, but there is some following among the craziest motorsport fans. Races are most often held in the mountain region of southern Poland, very often on old rally stages. Drivers often come from classic track racing or rallying. For example a common situation is that a rally driver who can't afford rallying switches to hillclimb for a while. When he manages to find good sponsors he returns to rallying. That happened to Stec and Malyszczycki:

Pawel Dytko or Marcin Beltowski:

What I don't like about hillclimb is the crazy complicated points scoring system, multiple classes and ununderstandable regulations. What I like about it is the variety of cars. You can see almost everything here, from racing to rallying, from historic cars to modern machines, even something like that:

or that:

not just Peugeots and Lancers, like in rallying.

I'd like to show you some of my photo galleries from Sienna and Rosciszow. They are both organized on former stages of Rally Poland:

=+DESC&modex=pokaz&T[id]=2448]Sienna 2007 (http://rallyonline.pl/g.php?1&pg_[desc)
=+DESC&modex=pokaz&T[id]=3318]Sienna 2008 (http://rallyonline.pl/g.php?1&pg_[desc)
=+DESC&modex=pokaz&T[id]=2501]Rosciszow 2007 (http://rallyonline.pl/g.php?1&pg_[desc)

Hey, thanks for contributing and interesting pictures you have there! From what I can see the Polish Hillclimbing has quite a high level nowadays is it not? Always a lot of drivers, quite nice looking cars. Surely the Slovakian drivers always have trouble keeping up in your joint-rounds. Even Martin Kois in the unlimited Fiesta couldn't cut it against your OPEN-class Lancers.
For the first time (I think?) you will have a European Cup round this year in Limanowa. Then we will see perhaps how good the Polish drivers are really when they have to fight the Czechs and others? I would not be surprised if Limanowa is promoted to the European Championship next year.

[Lousada]

Small update from me. I was at the Course de Côte de Sy in Belgium last weekend. Despite it being only a regional hillclimb quite a few 'national' drivers were there, like Yannick Bodson, Jacques Marchal and Bruno Collard.

The small town of Sy is located in the small valley of the Ourthe. The town is surrounded by high mountain ridges and is only accesible by car via one road. And that is the road the Hillclimb uses. You can park on the other side of the river and cross via the railroad bridge, or you can be dumb like me and park at the finish and walk the next 2.5km... Pretty amazingly the race starts right in the middle of the town. The spectator areas are hotels, bars, gardens and even a churchyard! There were a lot of people for Belgian standards and a special atmosphere. In my opinion it is one of the better Hillclimbs in Belgium.

Some photos can be found as expected on my website www.hillclimbportal.com (http://www.hillclimbportal.com)
http://www.rallycross-photo.com/heuvelklim2/wp-content/gallery/2013-sy/01.jpg

http://www.rallycross-photo.com/heuvelklim2/wp-content/gallery/2013-sy/08.jpg

http://www.rallycross-photo.com/heuvelklim2/wp-content/gallery/2013-sy/27.jpg

[eateel]

youtube.com/channel/UC-kRpu4Djuw8hxUt6vFYs4g?feature=watch

Apparently here's youtube official channel of Simone Faggioli, opened a few days ago.

[urabus-denoS2000]

In Croatia, news that multi time champion Siniša Krainc will not compete in the whole chanpionship with his monstruous Gabat-tuned Escort Cosworth, due to business obligations....

[mrsK]

Hi, have there been co-drivers in the past for Euro hillclimbs, and if so why no longer?

[A FONDO]

because this is sport for intelligent "players"

[mrsK]

because this is sport for intelligent "players"

thank you for responding. I'm not sure I understand your point. Do you mean to say that hillclimbs are short and an intelligent driver therefore memorizes the course eliminating the need for a co-driver?

[MrJan]

I think that's exactly what SlowSon meant. Certainly its the case in the UK. I'm in an event today where a run takes about 45 seconds and has 6 or 7 proper corners, if you need a co-driver for that then something is very wrong. Also a lot of the cars only have one seat anyway.

[MrJan]

Well that could have gone better. First off I took the bracket to fix the camera but forgot to take the camera, so no video. Secondly it took quite some getting used to being in a new car, I had a lot of trouble with gear changes and the brakes locking surprisingly easy.

A much better second event!! Although we didn't finish fixing the car until 10:30 on Friday night and were up at 6am the next morning to leave.

We were at Werrington Park this weekend, the first time that I've been there. So it wasn't very nice to arrive in the rain and then see that a tractor had driven on the top part of the hill and dropped a lot of mud. I took it quite easy on the first run, just hoping to make it to the top. I slowly got better through the day and was competing quite well in the class but, on my last run I had trouble off the line and then went from 2nd gear to 5th . I still finished with my best time of the day but it put me a long way down the class order.

Today was much better though, I felt much more confident and was making good improvments, running on similar times to the other car engined cars in the class(the bike engined are way too fast for us). Luckily (for me) the one guy in a fast bike engine crashed on his first timed run and failed to set a time, opeing up the class to a tight three way battle between me and two others. It was really close but I managed to come out on top. Most importantly though I didn't crash and I got quicker with every run.

Camera didn't work too well but managed to get a clip of my first practice.
88tKdZgZc2A

[Jarek Z]

From what I can see the Polish Hillclimbing has quite a high level nowadays is it not?

I would say that for a poor country like Poland, the situation in hillclimbing is not bad.

[Lousada]

This weekend was the European Hill Race in Eschdorf, Luxembourg. It is part of the Luxembourg championship and also of the German Berg-Cup. It is perhaps considered as one of the biggest international hillclimbs that is not part of an international championship. The track is short but interesting, it has got fast flowing corners and slow hairpins. The organisation is professional and everything is well taken care off. I suppose if you could visit just one hillclimb a year, you might as well visit this one. You won't be disappointed.
There were many drivers present from all over Europe including even Pavel Dytko from Poland and Martin Kois from Slovakia. More than 150 drivers took the start this weekend. Sunday evening Marcel Steiner was allowed to climb the highest step of the podium, after he set a new trackrecord to defeat local hero David Hauser for the win. The full results can be seen as usual on my website.

I was present on Sunday and snapped some pictures.

http://www.rallycross-photo.com/heuvelklim2/wp-content/gallery/eschdorf-2013/02.jpg
Race winner Marcel Steiner in the Osella FA30 Zytek.

http://www.rallycross-photo.com/heuvelklim2/wp-content/gallery/eschdorf-2013/13.jpg
Pavel Dytko in the Peugeot 208 Proto. Apparently this car is based on a Mitsubishi Lancer technical platform. Sadly it broke down during the race.

http://www.rallycross-photo.com/heuvelklim2/wp-content/gallery/eschdorf-2013/03.jpg
Very nice Renault Laguna BTCC from the Wiebe family.

http://www.rallycross-photo.com/heuvelklim2/wp-content/gallery/eschdorf-2013/01.jpg
Simca CG Turbo of French driver Yannick Poinsignon. It did not compete in the topclass but was very quick nonetheless. It looks the part too, except for the non-existing deco.

More photos @ my website www.hillclimbportal.com (http://www.hillclimbportal.com)

[vino_93]

Poinsignon is a very good driver ! What he is able to do with the Simca is just amazing :eek:

[eateel]

Can anyone explain about the Coupe de France?

[vino_93]

It's the same concept as in rally. There is a lot of event in each part of France. Drivers are classified in the zone where they have their license. They can take part at all the events they want in France (but must take part in a minimum number in their zone), from 27/08/12 to 25/08/13, etc .... There are two levels (national, coeff 3, and régional, coeff 1).
They take point by group and class (8-6-4-2-1 for group, 16-12-8-6-4-2 for class).
The best by zone are qualified for a final (which changes each year of location). A number of qualified is announced in function of the number of classified driver in the zone the last year. The winner of the French Cup is the one who won the final :)

[Lousada]

A lot of races took place this weekend. And most of them were very wet...

The fourth round of the European Championship took place in Spain this weekend. Faggioli almost got beaten by Julien Ducommun, just 2 tenths of a difference! :eek: Results of all the races can be found as usual on my website.

I personally was at the second round of the Belgian Championship in Chimay. The track is not much more than some straights and some chicanes, but in the rain that is suddenly pretty difficult...

My photos of this race can be found @ www.hillclimbportal.com (http://www.hillclimbportal.com)
Here a small preview:
http://www.rallycross-photo.com/heuvelklim2/wp-content/gallery/chimay-2013/01.jpg

http://www.rallycross-photo.com/heuvelklim2/wp-content/gallery/chimay-2013/06.jpg

http://www.rallycross-photo.com/heuvelklim2/wp-content/gallery/chimay-2013/11.jpg

Thanks for watching!

[vino_93]

I don't know Julien Ducommun, but it must be really good driver ... beat Faggioli is an exploit !

[urabus-denoS2000]

Tragic news from Verzegnis this wekeend, legendary Austrian driver Hanspeter Laber died yesterday in the race.

R.I.P. Hanspeter, my condolences to the Laber family and the whole Austrian racing community

[Mirek]

Is it true that he crashed on the way down the valley? Sounds strange to me...

[Adler]

Is it true that he crashed on the way down the valley? Sounds strange to me...
unfortunately yes, race was already over :(

tribute video: Tribute to Hanspeter Laber (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrc99ET-F-I)

R.I.P Hanspeter

[WRC3]

It was a crash with guard rail, similar to the rally accidents Kubica/Breen. Here the rail went through the windows front to back. I still have no info from Italy, but it seems there must be problems, like heart attack or similar. There is also another version, but not for public. Nobody crash with 30 km/h downhill going back relax.

[rallye-vid]

R.I.P

Auto fuori strada dopo la corsa Muore un pilota austriaco - Cronaca - Messaggero Veneto (http://messaggeroveneto.gelocal.it/cronaca/2013/05/26/news/auto-fuori-strada-dopo-la-corsa-muore-un-pilota-austriaco-1.7138377)
Google Übersetzer (http://translate.google.de/translate?sl=it&tl=en&js=n&prev=_t&hl=de&ie=UTF-8&eotf=1&u=http%3A%2F%2Fmessaggeroveneto.gelocal.it%2Fcrona ca%2F2013%2F05%2F26%2Fnews%2Fauto-fuori-strada-dopo-la-corsa-muore-un-pilota-austriaco-1.7138377)

[eateel]

30km/h?..
R.I.P. Laber..

[MrJan]

Had another event at the weekend at a really small venue. No one really likes the course but it's hard to find new places to hold hillclimbs so this will have to do. The rain didn't help and everything was very slippery, as can be seen on this video

MdXYv-uZzBQ

It's probably my most embarrassing 'accident' since I started competing. It hadn't been raining long and I convinced myself that the track would still be quite dry, especially as other cars had been going up, but at the first corner the car just decided to head straight on. Luckily I wasn't the only one to go off there and I was even luckier not to hit anything, most of the car is only glass fibre but I'd prefer not to repair it!

[Lousada]

Some more photos from Belgium. This time from the most beautiful track in Belgium in my opinion, and also one of the best organised events in the country. The track has a diverse scenery with forested areas but also open parts. There is also a nice mix of slow and fast corners. The paddock is right in the village which is quite nice.

Under a nice summer sky that wasn't too hot a lot of beautiful cars were at the start.

Belgian Champion Jelle de Coninck drove amazingly in his Norma M20F sportscar but in the end Guy Demuth from Luxembourg used the extra power in his Osella FA30 to power to victory and a trackrecord.

My photos can be viewed at my website www.hillclimbportal.com (http://www.hillclimbportal.com)

http://www.rallycross-photo.com/heuvelklim2/wp-content/gallery/2013-alle-sur-semois/03.jpg
Guy Demuth

http://www.rallycross-photo.com/heuvelklim2/wp-content/gallery/2013-alle-sur-semois/10.jpg
Stephane Emond (BMW M3), second touringcar. You can just see the first half of the course in the valley below.

http://www.rallycross-photo.com/heuvelklim2/wp-content/gallery/2013-alle-sur-semois/15.jpg
Quintin Collignon (Citroën C2R2)

Thanks for watching

[vino_93]

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x10bhxs_nicolas-schatz-en-camera-embarquee_auto

Mama mia ! :eek:

[eateel]

Not a topic, but I'd like to introduce Merli's daughter to you. :) She's really really cute! hehe

Skip to 1:20s.
w w w.youtube.com/watch?v=CGndYy88GC4

[Lousada]

This weekend I travelled to France for the Vuillafans Hillclimb. It is located in the Jura mountains just north of Switzerland. Vuillafans itself is a small town in the valley of the Loue river, which is considered one of the most beautiful parts of France. Although French people claim that about every part of their country ( ;) ) the Loue River Valley is really exceptional. The mountain sides are 400 metres high and go almost straight up. This allows for exceptional vistas over the surrounding area. My pictures were taken at the top spectator area and you can see part of the pit area. That must have been 1500m away at the very least!

If there is one drawback it must have been the weather. The valley is either sheltered from the wind, or full in the wind. This weekend there was no wind and it became really really hot... I saw too much gross naked man flesh in colors that can best be described as 'skincancer'.

All things considered, I would definately recommend this race to everyone!

My photos can be seen on www.hillclimbportal.com (http://www.hillclimbportal.com)

http://www.rallycross-photo.com/heuvelklim2/wp-content/gallery/vuillafans-2013/01_0.jpg

http://www.rallycross-photo.com/heuvelklim2/wp-content/gallery/vuillafans-2013/02_0.jpg

http://www.rallycross-photo.com/heuvelklim2/wp-content/gallery/vuillafans-2013/13.jpg

Thanks for watching!

[stefanvv]

That's quite a hill to climb :) Wind? I like wind, I'm born in winds :) People from other part of our country like to joke with us that we're somewhat "windy" people :D .

Anyway, beatiful pictures and place indeed. Thanks for sharing this.

[Jarek Z]

I saw too much gross naked man flesh in colors that can best be described as 'skincancer'.

I think it is acceptable provided that naked women flesh is present as well :D

I've just had a look at your photos and think they are great. I have one question. What car is it?

http://www.rallycross-photo.com/heuvelklim2/wp-content/gallery/vuillafans-2013/28.jpg

[vino_93]

Vuillafans, one the best french hill climb :)

@Jarek : this car is a Simca CG Turbo. It was used a lot in small rallies and hillclimb. Now it's quite rare.
This is the one used by Yannick Poinsignon. THe car is super fast, and is fighting for 2WD title.

@Lousada : what was your feeling about cars, drivers, ... ? :)

[MrJan]

What a fantastic looking venue, I wish we had hillclimbs like that in the UK :(

[urabus-denoS2000]

Great photos :)

[Lousada]

Thanks for all the replies!!


Vuillafans, one the best french hill climb :)
@Lousada : what was your feeling about cars, drivers, ... ? :)

At the places where I was standing it was impossible to really tell the difference between drivers. It was full throttle towards the hairpin and then full throttle away from it. You need to stand at fast flowing corners to tell the difference and those were further down the mountain. Normally I'd trek towards those more interesting places but this time I was satisfied with the impressive views on top. (and not getting a sunstroke ;) )
Although... the gaps are so small, for example Cosson, Dosieres and Bonnet were seperated by a second after 4800 metres. It is the same in other classes, places 2 till 7 in F3 were seperated by a second, Werver and Poinsignon by three tenths, and Lemaire and Cat in Group N by just 7 hundreths!
The cars are maybe not so spectacular as the German Berg-Cup but the depth of talent across the whole field is perhaps better in France. I'll definately try to visit more races in France.

But first I'll go to the Glasbachrennen in Germany. European Championship, Berg-Cup and Czech Championship, it could very well be the race of the year!

[Lousada]

Let me bump my thread again. This weekend I was at the Glasbachrennen, part of the European Championship and the Berg-Cup. On top of that it was also a round for the Czech Republic. Apparently Thüringen, where the Hillclimb is, was the hottest place in Germany this weekend... I am not good in that kind of weather...

Although the Glasbachrennen is a very quick track, the underpowered cars could perform exceptionally well. So apparently it is a real drivers track. The best drives came from some of the 1300 and 1600cc cars and they defeated many a more powerful car.

There were many unlimited touringcars with decent drivers, but it was Jörg Weidinger in the two litre BMW that was the quickest. It was interesting to study his racinglines, much smoother than most others. On Sunday I stood for a while at the finish were a couple of sweeping S-corners were. While others swung their car around the corners, setting up a wide line towards the next, Weidinger drove in a diagonal as straight as possible. Funny to see.

In the open cars it was of course Faggioli who won. Six Osella FA30's in the first seven places, the other being the Dallara GP2 from David Hauser. There is just something about that car, looks, sound... and of course well driven...

As for the event... The major problem was the poor timing. Every break took a looong time to fix and of course there were lots of breaks... In the top half they installed a tyre chicane and every other car appeared to touch the thing. Then it had to be reset so red flag, all the other cars returned to the start... and so on... Spectator areas were well kept and all that, really no complaints apart from the long day.

Anyway, my photos are at www.hillclimbportal.com (http://www.hillclimbportal.com)

http://www.rallycross-photo.com/heuvelklim2/wp-content/gallery/glasbachrennen-2013/02.jpg
Simone Faggioli, the winner

http://www.rallycross-photo.com/heuvelklim2/wp-content/gallery/glasbachrennen-2013/06.jpg
David Hauser, third in his Dallara GP2

http://www.rallycross-photo.com/heuvelklim2/wp-content/gallery/glasbachrennen-2013/12.jpg
For Urbanus-DenoS2000, the new European Champion? :)


Thanks for watching

[stefanvv]

my photos are at www.hillclimbportal.com (http://www.hillclimbportal.com)

That's a beauty:
http://www.rallycross-photo.com/heuvelklim2/wp-content/gallery/glasbachrennen-2013/01.jpg

[NoFear85]

Muhvic in EVO?

[NoFear85]

next year FIA Hillclumb Masters ;)

New in 2014: the FIA Hill Climb Masters | Federation Internationale de l'Automobile (http://www.fia.com/news/new-2014-fia-hill-climb-masters)

[MrJan]

next year FIA Hillclumb Masters ;)

New in 2014: the FIA Hill Climb Masters | Federation Internationale de l'Automobile (http://www.fia.com/news/new-2014-fia-hill-climb-masters)

Looks good, shame that we're unlikely to get the event in the UK :(

[Lousada]

Let me revisit this thread once more. I have done three hillclimbs in Belgium this month (and another one next week).
First it was Grandcourt near the three country border between Belgium, Luxembourg and France. A small but super super fast track, 170 kph on average! It is an amazing experience to see the prototypes capture the fast flowing corners. Photographicly it is hard to capture, you can see my attempts here (http://www.rallycross-photo.com/heuvelklim2/photos-course-de-cote-de-grandcourt/).
http://www.rallycross-photo.com/heuvelklim/fotos/front_130804.jpg

Second in the row was the Course de Côte de Mont-Saint-Aubert near Tournai. That is the opposite side of the country. Again a superfast track. It was a regional race only so the topdrivers stayed home, but the winner still clocked 150 kph on average. The hill lies isolated in the flatlands so you could watch for miles in the distance. I was more satisfied with my photos this time. You can judge them here (http://www.rallycross-photo.com/heuvelklim2/photos-course-de-cote-de-mont-saint-aubert/).
http://www.rallycross-photo.com/heuvelklim/fotos/front_130818.jpg

Then yesterday it was the crazy Course de Côte de Bomerée near Charleroi. Only looking at the trackmap on my website you see it is absolutely nuts. They attempted some spectator safety this year by grouping the people the together instead of spreading them out around the course. So instead of small flocks of people around the track which can be easily corrected if they misbehave you get large groups of drunks egging eachother on. And photos like this:
http://www.rallycross-photo.com/heuvelklim/fotos/front_130825.jpg
The rest of my photos can be viewed of course also on my website http://www.hillclimbportal.com

Drop a comment if you like them ;)

[Raven]

My photos from Sienna Hill Climb, round of polish hill climb championship.

GSMP Sienna , 17-18 sierpnia | autor: Miros³aw Zagórny - rajdowa galeria zdjêæ. Zdjêcia z rajdów, wyœcigów. Odbitki, aparaty cyfrowe (http://www.rajdy.hoga.pl/galeria/galeria.asp?gid=3354)

http://i.hoga.pl/rajdy/galeria/2013/13_sienna_zagorny/21.jpg
http://i.hoga.pl/rajdy/galeria/2013/13_sienna_zagorny/25.jpg

[Lousada]

Nice pictures, thanks for showing them.

[NoFear85]

This week is 19. GHD Ilirska Bistrica (Slovenia) and count for national championship and for european.

[urabus-denoS2000]

http://www.rallycross-photo.com/heuvelklim2/wp-content/gallery/glasbachrennen-2013/12.jpg
For Urbanus-DenoS2000, the new European Champion? :)


Thanks for watching

Thanks, I was offline for a long time, didn't see this :) Yes, there is a distinct chance for Tommy Muhvić to become champion, it's nice to see how he has evolved into a really fast driver!

Anyway, I was at Ilirska Bistrica last weekend. It was a bit dissapointing to see that neither Pailer nor Faggioli drove but still it was a great race. The winner was, as expected like last year, Miloš Beneš who drove very nicely in his superior Osella FA30. In cars the winner was Andreas Marko after a superb drive as usual, although it must be noted he was for sure helped by the technical problems of Pailer and Pregartner. BTW, this was the first time I saw his new Porsche live. It has 870 BHP and this is the car that left me most amazed! The power is absolutely brutal and you really cant imagine it until you see it.

Now, Buzet :)

[Lousada]

How was Buzet? The Croatians had a great party for their new champion? ;)

[urabus-denoS2000]

Here you can see the atmosphere in Buzet. Fantastic as usual :) (note this is only the beginning, the atmosphere gets really hot when the later runners arrive). Plus Tomislav Muhvi? was crowned champion so it gave a little extra spice :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RB6LX31Y5MA