The fourth Swiss Championship round was held two weeks after the Euro B on the same track in Gland at Lake Geneva. There were about 120 drivers present with 40 Experts and 80 Amateurs. The weather was mostly sunny except for a small rain shower on Saturday.
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After the Euro B where my teammate Marc finished 18th, and I finished 34th after a flameout while leading the quarter final, we were very eager to return to the track and drive again. The track was now even bumpier and blown-out than when we had driven it last but my setup still worked very well. I managed to win the second and last round of qualifying and this gave me my first ever TQ in the Swiss championship. I was very happy and looked forward to Sundayâ™s finals. Marc qualified in 6th place. In the Amateur class it was once again Daniel Amsler who got TQ.
On Sunday I started the semi-final from pole position. I was very nervous so after a few corners I made a mistake. I was ended up last but quickly caught up to 2nd place. Then just before my first pit stop, I landing from the bridge jump and suddenly my radio didnâ™t work anymore. I thought that was it, but after disconnecting and connecting the plug it worked again and I could continue. I lost half a minute but I drove quickly with no mistakes and soon I was in 2nd place again and held it until the end. This put me into the 5th starting position for the final. (I later found out, of course while driving the Euro A 64th final, that the plug was corroded.)
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At the beginning of the final I was very nervous. I knew I had a winning car and it was all up to the driver. I got tangled up in start trouble and made a few mistakes and once again I was last on the grid. Then I found my rhythm and started overtaking until I was in 5th place with the others in sight when suddenly my carburetor collar came loose and I couldnâ™t accelerate anymore. I lost 3 laps in the pit until it was fixed.
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Back on track I managed to drive the second fastest lap of the race by only 0.009sec but still finished 12th.
However, it was my teammate Marc Heim who saved the day. He drove a very steady pace with almost no mistakes and together with his 10-minute pitstop strategy he claimed 2nd place. The race was won by Philippe Lachat. Didier Perrin, who was right behind me in the championship standing, also didnâ™t have a great race and now we shared the lead of the Swiss Championship with the same amount of points.
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Final results:
1. Philippe Lachat 2. Marc Heim XRAY XB808
3. Patrick Hofer
4. Jeremy Pittet 5. Patrick Hess XRAY XB808
6. Joachim Kallen
7. Yael ZurflĂĽh 8. Loris Lucchini XRAY XB808
9. Christoph Affolter
10. Didier Perrin
11. Jean-Marc Betticher 12. Robin Frischkopf XRAY XB808
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In the Amateur category, Daniel Amsler was able to transform his TQ into a win once more.
