Track record for Merli in the 2nd run at Rechberg in Austria
Christian Merli dominates practice, finishes second in the first race heat and wins the second race heat with a new track record. On accumulated times, however, Frenchman Kevin Petit takes overall victory. The 51st Rechbergrennen at Tulwitz north of Graz in Austria, the second round of the FIA European Hill Climb Championship, was Merli’s second race at the wheel of the Nova Proto NP01 with a Cosworth V8 engine. The 2024 Best Performer topped the time sheet in both practice runs on Saturday. Then on Sunday Petit won the first race heat on the 4.440 km track, Christian the second.
Interview with the record holder
“We’ve definitely improved. We’re becoming more familiar with the Nova Proto, and I’m delighted to have set a new record in the second race heat. In practice I was racing with soft tyres that had been used multiple times, and we topped the timesheet in both runs. This morning, the surface temperature had gone up by 15 degrees, and we opted for medium tyres. I had no grip and really struggled. In the second run I used soft tyres. It was fantastic, the best time and the joy of the new record.”
The weekend in Austria
The first official practice session begins on a wet surface. Around midday, the track dries where the drivers pass. As mentioned before, it is only Christian’s second race with the Nova Proto NP01. He finishes first, 1”168 ahead of Joseba Iraola Lanzagorta and 7”746 ahead of Kevin Petit. In the second run Merli tops the timesheet again, Petit is 1”707 behind and Iraola Lanzagorta 2”015. On the race day it is sunny. Kevin Petit finishes the first heat 1”062 before Merli, Iraola Lanzagorta comes in third, 1”934 behind. In the second race heat in the afternoon Merli is 0”380 ahead of Petit and 1”843 ahead of Iraola Lanzagorta. On accumulated times, as per the regulations, the overall winner is Kevin Petit. Merli is second, 0”682 behind, and Iraola Lanzagorta conquers the third step of the podium, 3”397 behind.
The podium
1st Petit (Nova Proto NP01), 2nd Merli (Nova Proto NP01) 0”682 behind, 3rd Iraola Lanzagorta (Nova Proto NP01) 3”397 behind.
The FIA European Hill Climb Championship programme
13 April: Col Saint-Pierre (France), 27 April: Rechbergrennen (Austria), 11 May: Rampa da Falperra (Portugal), 18 May: Subida al Fito (Spain), 1 June: Ecce Homo (Czech Republic), 8 June: Trento – Bondone (Italy), 20 July: Limanowa (Poland), 3 August: Osnabrück (Germany), 17 August: Saint-Ursanne (Switzerland), 31 August: Ilirska Bistrica (Slovenia), 21 September: Buzetski dani (Croatia).
Translation by Ruth Scheithauer