After four events in the FIA European Hill Climb Championship, the leader of the provisional classifications is neither Christian Merli, nor Simone Faggioli, but the young Andrea Bormolini.

For the majority of the Championship regulars, who for the most part come from Italy and Eastern Europe, the longest trips of the season are those made to the Portuguese event in Falperra and the Spanish Al Fito course. For practical reasons, the two events are separated by just a week-long break.

The Falperra hill climb, close to the city of Braga and not far from Porto, always draws a big crowd. The course is also one of the fastest of the entire season. This year, the participants have had to deal with the changeable weather, especially during practice, which took place under heavy rain. Still damp during the first race heat on Sunday morning, the road did not fully dry out until the second run, an opportunity which was seized by Christian Merli (Osella FA30 Zytek) to establish a new overall record for the course at the extraordinary average speed of 173 kph. During the first run, Simone Faggioli (Norma M20FC Zytek) was more at ease with the sketchier grip conditions and the lead gained over Merli was nevertheless sufficient for him to take the overall win – his first of the year – in the combined classification of the two rounds. Unable to repeat his exploits from the opening event of the season (victory in St Jean du Gard ahead of the Italian favourites), the Frenchman Sébastien Petit (Norma M20FC Mugen) achieved a solid third place in Portugal, ahead of Luxembourger Guy Demuth, who was running a brand new Norma M20FC powered by a Judd engine, and former European Champion Andres Vilarinho (Norma M20F Mugen).

After the ultra-fast Portuguese course, the drivers found themselves the following week at Al Fito on the most technical and the slowest course of the European tour. Posting the best time in the first race – and a new overall record for the course – Christian Merli did not see the finish of the second, falling victim to a prop shaft failure in his Osella FA30. Simone Faggioli went on to take the victory in the general classification and in Group E2-SC, followed by Sébastien Petit and Javier Villa, who once more gave a breathtakingly effortless performance in his small BRC BR-53 with a turbocharged motorbike engine. Fourth place went to the Italian Diego De Gasperi (Osella FA30 Zytek), who is continuing to get to grips with the European events, and the retirement of Merli even left open the doors to his first victory in Group E2-SS.

In the European Championship, points are awarded on the basis of classifications by Group rather than the general classification. In this little game, the young Italian Andrea Bormolini (Osella PA20 BMW) is making the most of his consistency and his repeated victories (four out of four) in Group CN to head the provisional classification of the European Championship in Category 2, ahead of Faggioli, Petit and Merli.

In Group E2-SH, Vladimir Vitver dominated in both Portugal and Spain, in his Audi TT R-DTM, followed respectively by the Lancia Delta driven by Fulvio Giuliani and Jose Lopez-Fombona’s Lamborghini Huracán. The Swiss Reto Meisel suffered two retirements due to technical problems with his Judd-powered Mercedes SLK 340.

In the same way as Bormolini, making the most of his consistency, the Czech Lukas Vojacek (Subaru Impreza) remains unbeaten since the start of the season in Group A and therefore sits in first place in the provisional classification of Category 1, ahead of Frenchman Pierre Courroye, who was absent in Portugal but majestic in GT with his McLarent MP4 12C in Spain. The two events disputed at the extreme west of the continent each saw the Italian Antonino Migliuolo win in Group N.

The next leg of the European Hill Climb Championship will take place on 2 and 3 June in Sternberk in the Czech Republic, with the famous Ecce Homo event, the first edition of which was held in 1905!

The provisional classifications of the FIA European Hill Climb Championship, after four of the twelve scheduled events, can be consulted via this link.

Italy’s Antonino Migliulo scored two wins in Group N with his Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX