Christian Merli Clinches Overall Victory at Hillclimb Monsters Skradin as Reto Meisel Sets Record
Christian Merli captured overall victory at the 6th Hillclimb Monsters Skradin in Croatia, while Reto Meisel dominated touring cars with a new track record.
The sixth edition of the Hillclimb Monsters Skradin took place in Croatia in pleasant autumn weather, serving as a memorial event for the late Istvan "Bongo" Kavecz. Set near the Krka waterfalls, the challenging hillclimb course stretching over 3 kilometers attracted a strong international entry. After numerous incidents prolonged Saturday's schedule and limited drivers to two practice sessions, touring car entrants held a Sunday morning warm-up before contesting two official race heats around midday.
In the battle for the outright win, multiple European hillclimb champion Christian Merli came out on top. Driving a Nova NP 01-2 C Cosworth, the Italian stepped up his pace in the decisive second heat to set the fastest time of the day and seal the overall victory. Swiss racer Robin Faustini pushed him closely in his Nova NP 01-2 Honda Turbo, claiming the top time in the opening heat before finishing second overall, a mere 1.1 seconds behind Merli. Italian hillclimb veteran Fausto Bormolini completed the outright podium behind the wheel of his Reynard K02 Cosworth F3000.
Benjamin Noll took fourth overall in his Osella FA30 Zytek LRM, followed by Luxembourg's Tommy Rollinger in an Osella FA30 Zytek in fifth. Sixth overall went to the fastest touring car contender, Reto Meisel. Piloting the Mercedes-Benz SLK 340 Judd, the Swiss driver lowered the touring car track record by an impressive 1.8 seconds compared to the previous year. Bulgarian driver Vasko Vajarov finished second among touring cars and took victory in Class 3 4WD in an Opel Astra Turbo Proto, ahead of compatriot Nikolay Zlatkov in the Audi S1 Quattro Pikes Peak.
In the category battles, Matija Jurisic commanded Group 8 TCR aboard a Peugeot 308 TCR 1.6, fending off Michael Auer in a Hyundai i30 N TCR by 1.37 seconds, while Tihomir Balevski completed the TCR podium. Group 1 Moto honors went to Ivan Bekavac in a Citroen C2 Suzuki, beating Jovan Perunovic (Zastava 750 BMW S1000RR), while Tobias Santer steered his VW Minichberger Golf 1 STW to victory in Group 4 2WD ahead of Dimitar Kondev and Andreas Helm.