The second day of the 15th Limanowa Hill Climb – Ostra Pass is real European racing: there are planned the race climbs of the 7th Round of the FIA European Hill Climb Championship (EHC).Almost all the top competitors in this series came to Lesser Poland, with 40 drivers listed for the FIA EHC. At the same time, the 10th Round of the Polish Hill Climb Championship (GSMP) was held. A total of 111 competitors took to the course.
The morning practice run was held on a dry surface without notable incidents. However, as drivers returned to their service areas, light rain began to fall.
The first race climb began, as always, with drivers in the GSMP Hist class. After their runs, the organizers from the Auto Moto Klub Limanowa made a pause for tire changes as the rain intensified. As next drivers with wet tires got to the route, a series of interruptions followed due to breakdowns, track cleaning, and repairs to a slightly damaged barrier. Drivers in the paddock used this time to switch tires again as the track started to dry quickly.
In Category 1, as expected, the Poles performed excellently. The fastest was vice-leader Grzegorz Rożalski (POL, Mitsubishi Lancer EVO IX), who outpaced Liridion Kalenderi (KOS, Mitsubishi Lancer) and Michał Ratajczyk (POL, Mitsubishi Lancer EVO X 7Motorsport). Karol Krupa (POL, Skoda Fabia), competing in the entire FIA EHC series in Group 2 against general classification vice-leader Nicolas Werver (FRA, Porsche 997 GT3R), drove 6.5 seconds faster than his rival!
In Category 2 (open-wheel race cars), in the first duel between Geoffrey Schatz (FRA, Nova Proto NP01) and Christian Merli (ITA, Osella FA30 Judd LRM) the Frenchman got the victory by gaining a 0.680-second advantage. Alexander Hin (Osella FA 30) placed third, 4.965 seconds behind the leader.
When the riders waited at the finish line for the end of the climb, a heavy downpour occurred. The second race climb began on a wet surface, although the rain had stopped. In Category 1, Grzegorz Rożalski handled the slippery surface best, beating Michał Ratajczyk and Waldemar Kluza. In Group 2, Jędrzej Szcześniak (POL, Lamborghini Huracan Trofeo) sped up, getting ahead of Krupa and Werver. However, Krupa will add the full points to his season classification.
7th Round FIA EHC Category 1
- Grzegorz Rożalski 4:32.732
- Michał Ratajczyk 4:36.462
- Waldemar Kluza 4:39.756
As all Category 1 drivers reached the finish, thousands of fans waited for the results of competition in Category 2. David Dedek (CZE, Norma N20 FC) struggled with the wet surface, hitting the barrier. Alexander Hin and Geoffrey Schatz were turned back, an anxious Merli waited at the start. All three had rain tires on. After the restart, Merli went fastest (2:11.339), making up for the loss from the first run. Schatz lost 1.917 seconds, and Hin 3.501 seconds.
7th Round FIA EHC Category 2
- Christian Merli 4:10.175
- Geoffrey Schatz 4:11.412
- Alexander Hin 4:17.961
Polish Hill Climb Championship
In Category 1 of the 10th Round of GSMP, the fastest were:
- Grzegorz Rożalski
- Michał Ratajczyk
- Waldemar Kluza
The National Category (cars without international homologation) of the 10th Round of GSMP was dominated by Janusz Jania (Honda Integra), who beat Arkadiusz Borczyk (Honda Civic Vti) only by 1.5 seconds. Adam Garbacz (Honda Civic EK4 Rallye) placed third.
In GSMP Hist, Wojciech Myszkier (VW Golf 2 GTi) won again this season, followed by Piotr Zaleski (Porsche 911 S.C. RS) and Piotr Jurkowski (BMW 318 is). The Ladies Cup went to Natalia Kluza (Renault Clio III RS).
In Category 2, Paweł Rzadkosz was the only Pole on the podium competing with a bolide ( ADR 3 Mugen).
The race was held under the honorary patronage of:
Ireneusz Raś, Secretary of State at the Ministry of Sport and Tourism,
Łukasz Smółka, Marshal of the Lesser Poland Province.
The Strategic Partner of the race is the Lesser Poland Province
The Main Partner of the race is LOTTO
Race sponsors include ORLEN OIL and MASPEX Group with the TYMBARK brand.
[Press Release]
