Christian Merli racing at the Subida al Fito/Spain

After his victory at the 44th Rampa Internacional da Falperra near Braga in northern Portugal, the third round of the European hill climb championship, Christian Merli has travelled 530 km to Oviedo in Asturias/Spain, where the 53rd Subida al Fito, the fourth European round, will take place on Sunday.

A few words from Christian

„Of course I’m happy with the first victory in my Nova Proto Cosworth, following two difficult races. We‘re still trying to find the right setup before each race. After all, we’re still in the process of getting to know the car. The Subida al Fito is completely different from the race in Portugal. It’s a narrow, winding track, 5.350 km long. There will be three race heats, of which each driver’s fastest two are retained for the final classication. The track is very technical, with a series of fast bends and a chicane to reduce the speed. It has no hairpins, and the final section is in the forest, where there is often residual humidity. The event is very popular with Spanish fans. I’ll be racing against the two Petits and Iraola Lanzagorta with their Nova Proto NP01 Turbos. We’re obviously hoping for good weather; for now the forecast for the weekend is looking good.”

The general FIA classification

The provisional general championship classification sees Kevin Petit (68 points) ahead of Christian Merli (61).

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