A very big number of registrations for this last round on the famous Sitterdorf track - well liked by the PRO 10 pilots

With two german guests Robert and Werner, met at the german Nationals earlier this year, Laurent Tobel, the newly crowned Swiss Champion and Roger Eifler, the former multiple Swiss PRO 10 Champion, showing up this weekends final race

The first laps on the track promised a spectacular weekend, as grip conditions were exceptionally high and the field of drivers was large and diverse in terms of skill level

With several drivers in the field returning from racing retirement, this mix was further emphasized and there was great excitement as to whether they would be able to match their previous performances

One of these is Roger Eifler, a multiple Swiss champion in this category and known for decades for his meticulous work on cars and as a tough opponent on the track, a great driver in the Pan Car scene, who made a comeback

He may announce his re-retirement again after this event

Another, Hansruedi Bär, who has not necessarily come out of retirement, but has not been seen at racing events since the Pan Car Masters earlier this year, is always a strong contender for victory in Sitterdorf

Local hero Ahmet Yücel still has a score to settle with this race and is optimistic about finishing among the front runners on his home track. His obsessive training sessions prior to the event "should" pay off

The grip conditions were very good on the one hand, but also challenging on the other, as very few of the drivers had much experience with them — even the experienced ones faced problems

Q1, It quickly became clear that the man to beat was Marco “Fire” Friesacher. At the start of qualifying, absolutely no one could keep up with his pace. While he started with lap times of 14.4 seconds, his closest rival, Roger Eifler, managed a respectable 14.7 seconds. Häuptli, Tobel, and Wolff clocked in at 14.8 seconds, Bär and Yücel at 15.0 seconds, and Schneider at 15.2 seconds

In the other group no one cracked the limit of 15.4 seconds

Despite the large time difference in terms of lap times, Roger was able to close the gap to Marco to just a few tenths of a second and put him under a lot of pressure

1. Marco 32 laps 8:05.259 Min
2. Roger 32 laps 8:05.483 Min

Q2, Roger, now brimming with confidence, was clearly outclassed by Marco (as were all the others). Marco was able to maintain his fast lap times more consistently, extending his lead to 7 seconds. Laurent, right behind Roger, also did well and was just under 1.3 seconds behind and 2.2 seconds ahead of Hansruedi, who was not entirely satisfied with his pace. Behind them, Michael was able to easily keep the experienced Markus, who had not yet reached the right speed, behind. In the second group, Reto secured a victory ahead of Robert and Pascal. The pace was not much slower than that of the midfield in the top group.

On Sunday morning prior to Q3, some of the pilots were concerned that conditions might be slippery, as it was foggy and like damp in Sitterdorf in mid-October. 

The lap times and race result did not confirm this theory. Business as usual at the front with Marco P1 and Roger P2. Who could break up this duo? It might be a challenge.
Hansruedi with a respectable gap in P3 and Reto in P4. Reto with his improved and modified XRAY car now really competitive in this strong category. Markus in P5 not quite fast enough yet, but benefiting from Laurent's retirement. In Reto's group, Mirco steadily creeps further forward and, while not posting extremely fast lap times but shines with his strong consistency!!

In Q4, Marco, who can no longer be displaced from pole position, tested tires that did not pay off—he complained of traction rolling. Roger took advantage of this weakness, securing P1 and thus cementing P2 on the grid. Roger posted the fastest time of all runs. Laurent in P2 lost 11 seconds. Hansrudi  in P3 and Roman had a strong run in P4. Roman had a fast car all weekend but had never been able to get it over the 8 minutes. Markus finally got a better feel for his car and broke the 15-second mark with a lap time of 14.912 seconds – not yet consistent, but he wanted to use this poor run to find out what the car is capable of after all his setup changings. 

A-Main no. 1 got off to a clean start and most drivers completed their first laps unscathed. The field lined up nicely, as if pulled by a string. Marco was able to pull away slightly at the front. Hansruedi made a successful manoeuvre on lap 9 and took P3 from Laurent. Markus was able to make up places with an inconspicuous race, partly due to mistakes by some of the drivers ahead of him, and finished the race in P5. Roman had to retire in lap 11, Mirco in lap 19 and Michael after lap 28 due to a defect. 
Marco set the fastest lap of this race in lap 4 with 14.561 seconds.

Business as usual in A2. Once again, several drivers had to retire early. Roman only made it to lap 5, Reto crashed out on lap 1 and finally retired on lap 18, and Laurent had to give up after lap 19. This allowed Markus to benefit once again and finish in P4, now also with a respectable pace. At the front, Marco cemented his victory for the day, with Roger in P2 and Hasruedi in P3. Behind Markus, Michael finished in P5 and Robert in P6.

Marco, now confident that he has already won the race, is free to drive as he pleases and sets the track record at an incredible 14.297s in lap 2! He thus outclasses all the other drivers. In the penultimate lap, Hansruedi takes advantage of a lapse in concentration by Laurent and regains P3, where he finishes the race. Roman finally finishes in P5, ahead of Reto in P6 and Robert in P7. Markus retires after lap 1.

The decisions in the B-Main were much more exciting, as several drivers battled for the crown of the B final victory. Pascal, starting from P1, often struggled to defend his lead and came under frequent pressure from Felix, starting from P2, as well as Ahmet, starting from P4, and Martin, starting from P6. The lead changed hands many times during the races. Felix, the most consistent of the four, ultimately kept his head cool and secured victory with two race wins. We saw some great overtaking manoeuvres and some spectacular incidents. From P3 starting Werner Bergbauer, not able to defend his position, struggled with his car and had some unfortunate incidents.

The organizing club deserves a lot of praise. Despite the late date in the year and the increasingly difficult environment at club level in these times, the race was an absolute highlight. Despite its simplicity, the bar and food stand was run with a lot of passion and the drivers were well fed. 
As always, the commentator was absolutely thrilling, making even the drivers and spectators nervous and turning even the smaller groups into a spectacle. Absolute enthusiasm for model racing was projected onto everyone present. We are still thrilled.

A small detail for those who wondered why the "Restaurantkurve" was named "Restaurantkurve" even though there is no restaurant, but an architecture office: The clubhouse and restaurant used to be located at this curve.

A wet week would be ended by an awesome and warm weekend without rain during saturday and sunday race action. 

The wet track saturday morning dried up quickly for the timed practice runs after lunch. The track conditions in Aigle are known for the big front-end traction and trick rear stability for our PRO 10 Cars. Also outside of the ideal racing line, the grip wasn't satisfactory and somehow unpredictable.

The race weekend following the Swiss National Day on August 1st promised to be exciting, as rain was forecast for Friday and Saturday, and rain could not be ruled out for Sunday either

After a sunny and warm Friday, the first shower finally arrived Friday later afternoon. However, it was only brief and the track dried up quickly again

In the free practice sessions, the familiar suspects shone with the fastest lap times. Martin Messerli impressed with times in the low 13s. Renato Marrocco was even a little bit faster. Laurent Tobel set a pace in the early evening that put him in a promising position. He managed to do several laps in the high 12s. Markus Schneider was unable to find the right tools for fast laps on Friday - but he felt confident to find them 

Event top favorite Marco "Fire" Friesacher was only able to perform on Sunday. However, we expected him to immediately compete at the top.

Q1 took place on Saturday afternoon. Unfortunately, it started to rain during the first race of the second group, which was a major disadvantage for the participants in the second group. The rules stipulate that in the event of "unfair conditions", the race is canceled for everyone. This would take place after the qualification was completed. Renato Marrocco performed impressively in this first race - many of the other drivers not able to make clean runs.

Q2 now wet, and the drivers took out their rain cars. Laurent Tobel confirmed his expectation of having a good rain car and won the round. Renato Meier could secure a P2 this round with this weekend's newly built rain car. Michael Häuptli with a solid P3, While Messerli P4. The other experienced rain driver Pascal Fässler struggled and made a DNF this round.

Q3, Sunday morning: unexpected victory for Markus, followed by Laurent. Many drivers struggled with the track conditions, as the grip was good but somehow aggressive on the front end (loose rear). This put Markus with his WRP in a very good position, as it was his first countable result for him this weekend. Marco with his first race this weekend also was one of the drivers with a lack of grip at the rear. But, with the fastest lap, he showed already he was 'on point' with his car.

Q4 Victory for Renato Marrocco after many other drivers made mistakes during their runs. 

A1 got off to a clean start, and after a few laps Marco, who had started in eighth place, was already right behind Markus. Laurent made a mistake in front of the rostrum and ended into the grass and handed the lead over to Renato. Markus later went off into the grass while trying to take the lead, abandoned the race after some laps. Marco, now chasing Renato, was able to put pressure on him, but kept making driving errors. With one minute to go, Marco had caught up again with Renato when he got stuck on the barrier on the way up to the restaurant, allowing Marco to take the lead and win ahead of Renato and Michael.

A2 got off to a similarly clean start. Once again, Marco quickly caught up with the leaders. Markus, now with a few changes to his setup and determined not to make any more mistakes, suddenly found himself in P1, but under heavy pressure from Marco, who had tried to make a few moves. During one maneuver, 9 laps before the end, he overdid it and collided with Markus. Marco spent a few seconds in the grass, while Markus was able to continue and take the victory. P3 for Renato. Laurent suffered a DNF due to a broken steering arm.

A3, now without Marco, who wanted to attend Ed Sherran's concert at Letzigrund (Zürich), Renato already had problems with the steering or his battery during the warm-up laps. The start went smoothly again. Markus was able to put pressure on Renato early on, as he was known to have problems. Laurent took a wide line at the final turn just before the beginning of the straight, allowing Renato and Markus to go by, and shortly afterwards Markus overtook Renato to take the lead. A few laps later, Renato retired in P2 and Laurent put some pressure on Markus. Markus, however, confident that he had a fast car, was able to extend his lead again and secure an unchallenged victory ahead of Laurent in P2 and Renato Meier (!!) in P3. Meier had managed to keep a cool head in an eventful 'chaotic' final and drove clean laps to achieve a great result. 
A strong recovery also from Reto Nauer to achieve P6 after qualifying on P9 - well done with his new XRAY XP10. 
Bad luck for Martin, not abe to do clean final-runs. Next time you will get the luck you looked for.