Never before have so many participants registered for the Esthofen – St. Agatha hill climb as this year: 235 motorsport drivers from 13 nations have registered for the 34th edition of the event on September 24th and 25th. “I think it plays into our hands that we were the only ones in Austria who were able to hold a mountain race in 2021. That has significantly increased our profile,” says organization manager Markus Altenstrasser from the Motor-Sportclub (MSC) Rottenegg.
The Esthofen hillclimb is again part of several classifications this year: In addition to the Central European Zone Championship of the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA), it also scores points for the Austrian Automobile Hillclimb State Championship 2022. The latter will be decided in St. Agatha. “That means that we can hand over the trophies to the state champions on Sunday – a great finish,” says Altenstrasser.
New category classification
What is new this year is that the FIA’s performance factor will be used to divide the participants’ cars into classes. Around 30 vehicle key figures are used for the calculation. The end result determines who will compete in which category. This should create Europe-wide uniformity.
“We know that the performance factor is hotly debated. But we are convinced that the calculation method will settle down next year at the latest. And then we will all benefit from the fact that the same standards apply internationally,” says Altenstrasser.
The ticket for the weekend for an adult costs 25 euros this year. “Of course we also feel the price increases,” admitted the head of organization frankly. On the other hand, the visitors – as they are used to in Esthofen – have a lot of freedom of movement in the racing area. You can explore the paddock on your own, the entire 3.5 kilometer race track is accessible again.
The Italian Christian Merli, who set the course record of one minute and 77 hundredths last year and was crowned European Champion this year, will be there again. The Swiss champion Reto Meisel and the Lower Austrian Karl Schagerl, who competed with Merli, also take part.
Source: Nachrichten
