Victory for Christian Merli in Falperra/Portugal
Scuderia Vimotorsport driver Christian Merli has taken overall victory at the 44th Rampa Internacional da Falperra near Braga in northern Portugal. It was his third race with the Nova Proto NP 01 Cosworth and his first win this season. Two race heats on a very fast 5.200 km track, where top speeds exceed 250 km/h. Cold and rain left their impact on the event.
Christian, your first win in the Nova Proto
„It was needed, and I’m happy. The rain made it a difficult race; we had rain tyres on. We adjusted the setup to the wet surface, and things went very well. After two difficult races where the goal was to get to know the car we’ve conquered the top step of the podium. It’s our sixth win in Falperra. Now we’re travelling 530 km to Spain for the 4th round of the European championship, the 53rd Subida al Fito near Oviedo in Asturias next Sunday.”
The weekend in Portugal
For the first practice run on Saturday, the weather is changeable and the surface is dry. Kevin Petit, racing with the turbocharged Nova Proto, beats Christian Merli in his Nova with the naturally aspirated Cosworth engine by 0”158. Joseba Iraola Lanzagorta from Spain with his Nova Proto Turbo is 3”740 behind. The ranking in the second run is identical, with Petit finishing 1”297 ahead of Merli. The turbocharged engines which the French Petit brothers have opted for are making themselves felt. Their open race cars have more torque, thus a more immediate response in restarts, and also about 30 hp more than that of the champion from Trentino.
In the first race run on Sunday, Merli finishes first in the rain and cold, 7”561 ahead of Kevin Petit and 11”136 ahead of Sébastien Petit. In the second run Christian wins again, with Kevin Petit 2”533 behind and Sébastien Petit 7”607 behind.
The podium on accumulated times
1st Merli (Nova Proto NP01), 2nd Kevin Petit (Nova Proto NP01) 10”094 behind, 3rd Sébastien Petit (Nova Proto NP01) 18”743 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