Merli and Muradore set pace at Cividale-Castelmonte hillclimb

Christian Merli and Rino Muradore set the fastest times during practice for the 49th edition of the Cividale-Castelmonte hillclimb, a decisive round of the Italian Mountain Velocity Championship (CIVM). Merli, driving a Nova Proto NP01, clocked 3'05"17 in the second run, while Muradore, piloting a Ford Escort RS1600, posted 4'00"53 over the 6.395 km climb.

Merli's time proved decisive among modern machinery, ahead of Federico Liber (Nova Proto NP01, 3'07"17) and Diego Degasperi (3'07"44). In the GT category, Giuseppe D'Angelo (Ferrari 488 Challenge) was ninth overall at 3'32"10, while rally driver Michael Cantarutti (Skoda Fabia RS) placed fourteenth in 3'40"24. Among historic cars, Harald Mossler (Daren MkIII, 4'01"61) and Umberto Pizzato (Porsche 911 RS, 4'03"39) followed Muradore.

The event, organised by Red White, serves as the CIVM finale and counts towards the Slovenian national championship, the Triveneto IRS Cup, and the historic car championship. The course runs from Carraria in Cividale to Castelmonte (Prepotto municipality) with a 408-metre elevation gain and average gradient of 6.4 per cent.

With 171 competitors entered, the race proper began on 4 October at 09:00, with historic cars running first, followed by modern machinery. The second run commenced once the final car descended from Castelmonte. Spectator admission was priced at €12.