Esthofen - St Agatha Hillclimb 27th & 28th September 2025
MOUNTAIN MEISTER MERLI DELIVERS ANOTHER MASTERCLASS
2025 marked 37th running of the high speed Esthofen - St. Agatha hillclimb in Austria‘s Oberösterreich region, which took place over the weekend of the 27th and 28th of September. Organising club MSC Rottenegg, which celebrated its 60th anniversary during 2025, initially held a motorcycle-only event on the course before switching to cars in 1987. The course was 3200 metres long for the first 35 runnings as a car event but was shortened in 2024 after the thundering Opel Kadett GT/R V8 of Holger Hovemann crashed into a barn near the original finish the previous year, having suffered a mechanical failure, and the land owner objected to the course running past his land afterwards. The hill is now 2734 metres in length and features an elevation change from top to bottom of 176 metres. The shortened layout last year meant that a new hill record time would be set for each category, with Italian Christian Merli setting the outright and Category Two benchmark at 55.242 seconds aboard his Osella FA30 Judd LRM. The Category One Touring Car record belongs to Karl Schagerl's amazing Volkswagen Golf Rallye TFSI-R on 1:02.778.
2025 marked 37th running of the high speed Esthofen - St. Agatha hillclimb in Austria‘s Oberösterreich region, which took place over the weekend of the 27th and 28th of September. Organising club MSC Rottenegg, which celebrated its 60th anniversary during 2025, initially held a motorcycle-only event on the course before switching to cars in 1987. The course was 3200 metres long for the first 35 runnings as a car event but was shortened in 2024 after the thundering Opel Kadett GT/R V8 of Holger Hovemann crashed into a barn near the original finish the previous year, having suffered a mechanical failure, and the land owner objected to the course running past his land afterwards. The hill is now 2734 metres in length and features an elevation change from top to bottom of 176 metres. The shortened layout last year meant that a new hill record time would be set for each category, with Italian Christian Merli setting the outright and Category Two benchmark at 55.242 seconds aboard his Osella FA30 Judd LRM. The Category One Touring Car record belongs to Karl Schagerl's amazing Volkswagen Golf Rallye TFSI-R on 1:02.778.
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Contending Championships
The event played host to seven International and National championships for machinery of various ages: FIA Central European Zone Championship FIA Central European Zone Historic Championship Austrian National Championship Austrian National Historic Championship Czech National Championship German National Championship KW Berg Cup |
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Saturday 27th September
Practice Run 1:
Practice Run 1:
The weekend began with two practice runs on the opening day, which were held in warm and bright conditions. New European champion Christian Merli showed his intent by going up a full 3.622 seconds quicker than Benjamin Noll's first run up the hill and the Italian was only driver to reach the finish in under sixty seconds as he set a rapid 57.549-second marker. Noll’s father Alexander Hin was third fastest in a similar V8-engined Osella and the pair were split by a slim 0.212 seconds on a 1:01.171 and a 1:01.383 respectively. Christoph Lampert made his debut aboard European championship front runner Seb Petit's turbocharged Nova NP01-2C and went up fourth quickest on a 1:02.922 as he got his eye in with the car. Czech Peter Vitek was fifth fastest with his Osella PA30 Zytek LRM with a 1:05.040 effort. Top Category One runner Karl Schagerl was an impressive sixth fastest, just behind the top five that all came from the Category Two PF1 class, with the 840bhp Golf Rallye TFSI-R one spot ahead of Bernhard Permetinger’s raucous BMW Z4 GT3. Czech Championship contender David Dedek was eighth fastest with his 2-litre Norma M20FC, the Category One Porsche 992 GT3 Cup of Kevin Raith set the ninth best time and Georg Lang's turbocharged PRC prototype completed the overall top ten.
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Mini feature: Christian Merli - Nova NP01-2C Cosworth
The 53-year-old Italian won the 2024 edition of the Esthofen - St Agatha hillclimb and is also the outright hill record holder, which he held on the original course too before it was shortened for 2024. Merli claimed his sixth FIA European Hillclimb Championship crown just one week prior to St Agatha at Buzet in Croatia after switching to a Nova NP01-2C Cosworth for this season, having fought a season-long duel with Kevin Petit. Incidentally, his previous ultra-successful Osella FA30 Judd LRM was also in action on the hill with Germany’s Alexander Hin at the wheel. |
Practice Run 2:
The pace got hotter in the afternoon as the top four all dipped under the one minute barrier but Christian Merli was still sat at the top of the tree on 57.047 seconds, an improvement of a shade over half a second from his maiden run. Aboard the Italian’s previous Osella, Alexander Hin moved up to second fastest after going up the hill 2.608 seconds faster than his opening effort with a 58.775-second ascent. Benjamin Noll, second quickest on the first training run, and local favourite Christoph Lampert also got to the top in under sixty seconds in third and fourth overall. A fantastic fifth fastest was the quickest tin top, the mighty Volkswagen Golf Rallye TFSI-R of Karl Schagerl that reached the finish in 1:04.308 seconds. The Czech 2-litre cars of David Dedek and Josef Hlavinka were sixth and seventh, whilst fellow countryman Petr Vitek survived a big moment near the end which confined the Osella Zytek to eighth fastest. Georg Lang found more than a second-and-a-half from his first run as the PRC Turbo slotted into ninth. A second Volkswagen Golf also made it into the overall top ten, with the four-wheel-drive Mk1 Turbo of Herbert Perwein rounding out the group. The wide-track VW Minichberger Corrado Turbo R of Thomas Strasser was only six hundredths slower in twelfth, with the pair split by a similar time in the earlier runs but in the opposite order. Kevin Raith's Porsche squeezed between the pair in eleventh, just 0.004 seconds quicker than Strasser.
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Mini feature: Karl Schagerl - Volkswagen Golf Rallye TFSI-R
The Austrian’s spectacular Volkswagen Golf Rallye TFSI-R was one of the star attractions of the weekend. Development of the machine has progressively taken place since the early 2000s from a roadgoing G60, taking to the hills for the first time in 2011. Further bodyshell, engine and transmission upgrades in the period since sees the current Category One hill record holder at St Agatha push out well over 800bhp from its 2-litre turbocharged motor and the stunning piece of engineering draws a lot of attention wherever it enters. |
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Sunday 28th September
Practice Run 3:
One more practice run was held first thing on Sunday before the serious competition got underway. Rain was a small threat for the afternoon but it remained dry for the training runs, if a little cool and overcast. It was that man Christian Merli again leading the way after the final practice climbs and he was back in the ’57s’ once more, setting a 57.742-second time to head the turbocharged Nova of Christoph Lampert by 1.358 seconds. The Austrian’s 59.100-second effort was 0.216 seconds quicker than German Alexander Hin, who was the last of the three to make the ascent in under sixty seconds. The Osellas of Benjamin Noll and Petr Vitek completed the top five with 1:01.406 and 1:04.030 markers respectively. Category One top man Karl Schagerl’s fearsome form continued, with the monstrous Golf Rallye TFSI-R going up in the sixth-fastest time and the Austrian was just 0.458 seconds away from the top class prototype ahead. Josef Hlavinka was the quickest 2-litre car this time in seventh, spilt from the Saturday pacesetter David Dedek by the PRC Turbo of Georg Lang and the trio were covered by a slender 0.465 seconds. Schagerl's Category One classmate Stefan Promok rounded out the top ten with his bewinged 700+bhp Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 8, 4.034 seconds from his Austrian counterpart's benchmark.
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Mini feature: Felix Pailer - Lancia Delta HF Integrale Evo
The Austrian legend’s unmistakable Lancia Delta HF Integrale Evo has pulled in the crowds for many years. Born in 1949, the septuagenarian has been competing for more than half a century and has been hillclimbing for more than forty of them. Nicknamed 'Pailix', the veteran has campaigned the turbocharged Italian hatchback in various states of tune for more than thirty years. The current 2.1-litre iteration features more than six hundred and seventy horses under the bonnet and he also has another similarly wild back-up car! |
Timed Run 1
Each competitor would have two timed runs during the day and their aggregate total time would form the result. With the clock running for real, the pace quickened further as the competition got serious in the still dry conditions. Once the Historic competitors had completed their opening runs, the International field took to the hill and the Category One Performance Factor Six class was the first to put a time in the recordbooks. Nick Mai's BMW 325i E36 was quickest but only by a narrow 0.091 seconds from the NSU TT of Steffen Hoffman. Next to run were the Performance Factor Five cars, where German Tobias Mayer's 1400cc Volkswagen Polo 16V had 0.946 seconds in hand from Walter Terler's Opel Kadett as ten cars bettered Mai's Performance Factor Six-heading BMW. The spectacularly driven Mk1 Volkswagen Golf 16V of Patrick Mayer topped the Performance Factor Four set by 0.513 seconds from the brightly-hued Michael Tautscher Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9, with the first fifteen cars in the class bettering Tobias Mayer's Performance Factor Four benchmark. It took until the top three fastest Performance Factor Three times were set to beat the top Historic time set by the Osella BMW of Josef Cermak as Herbert Perwein's four-wheel-drive Mk1 Volkswagen Golf PR Turbo was the first to officially reach the top in under one minute ten seconds with a 1:09.152, with Heiko Fiausch's Astra STW 1.695 seconds slower and the TCR Honda of Diethard Sternad only another 0.136 seconds further back. Only two cars from the Performance Factor Two division went up quicker than Perwein's Golf as Kevin Raith’s Porsche 992 GT3 Cup headed the wild Corrado Turbo R of Thomas Strasser by 0.262 seconds on a 1:08.051. The most powerful machines from Category One Performance Factor One were next to attack the hill and the Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 8 of Stefan Promok couldn’t better the times of Raith and Strasser as he fell 0.368 seconds short of Strasser's new Corrado. The incredible Golf Rallye TFSI-R of Karl Schagerl was next up and the Austrian scorched to the top of the times with a stunning 1:02.982, just 0.204 seconds outside of his Category One hill record, to lead the way by a healthy 5.069 seconds. The prototypes and single seaters from Category Two were next to begin their assaults on the hill and from Performance Factor Four, David Dedek set a new second fastest overall time as he topped the class with his 2-litre Norma and headed the Ligier of Lukas Studeny by 0.282 seconds but trailed Schagerl at the top of the times by 4.232 seconds. Josef Hlavinka was the sole driver to from Performance Factor Three to move ahead of the fastest Performance Factor Four cars and the Ligier JS49 slotted into second overall on a 1:06.834, 0.380 seconds ahead of Dedek and was 4.246 seconds clear of the Tatuus Formula Master handled by Christian Ferstl in the class. Georg Lang's turbocharged PRC was the only runner in the Performance Factor Two class, after the Wolf GB08 Mistral Turbo of Hermann Waldy Jnr exited following practice on Sunday morning, but the sports racing car went second overall on 1:04.686, which meant that the amazing Schagerl Golf was still fastest of all on 1:02.982 seconds with just the top Performance Factor One prototypes to run. Czech Petr Vitek was the first of the quintet to go and swiftly bumped the Volkswagen monster to second with a 1:00.899-second shot before the following car of Benjamin Noll went 1.880 seconds quicker with 59.019 seconds. The next car of Alexander Hin moved the goalposts again with a time of 58.571 seconds but Austrian hope Christoph Lampert crushed Hin’s effort with a 57.377-second scorcher, which had only been bettered up to that point by Christian Merli’s second training run. The Italian was the last to run and the Cosworth-powered Nova flew up the hill with the fastest time of the weekend so far to top the standings after the opening official runs, banging in a scintillating 56.211 seconds.
Overall top ten after Run One
1. Christian Merli - 56.211 seconds, 2. Christoph Lampert - 57.377 (+1.166), 3. Alexander Hin - 58.571 (2.360/+1.194), 4. Benjamin Noll - 59.019 (+2.808/+0.448), 5. Petr Vitek - 1:00.899 (+4.688/+1.880), 6. Karl Schagerl - 1:02.982 (+6.771/+2.083), 7. Georg Lang - 1:04.686 (+8.475/+1.704), 8. Josef Hlavinka - 1:06.834 (+10.623/+2.148), 9. David Dedek - 1:07.214 (+11.003/+0.380), 10. Lukas Studeny - 1:07.496 (+11.285/+0.282)
Category One top ten after Run One
1. Karl Schagerl - 1:02.982, 2. Kevin Raith - 1:08.051 (+5.069), 3. Thomas Strasser - 1:08.313 (+5.331/+0.262), 4. Stefan Promok - 1:08.681 (+5.699/+0.368), 5. Herbert Perwein - 1:09.152 (+6.170/+0.291), 6. Bernhard Permetinger - 1:09.306 (+6.324/+0.154), 7. Milan Langer - 1:09.408 (+6.426/+0.102), 8. Rupert Schwaiger - 1:09.459 (+6.477/+0.051), 9. Peter Probhardt - 1:09.738 (+6.756/+0.279), 10. Heiko Fiausch - 1:10.847 (+7.865/+1.109)
Overall top ten after Run One
1. Christian Merli - 56.211 seconds, 2. Christoph Lampert - 57.377 (+1.166), 3. Alexander Hin - 58.571 (2.360/+1.194), 4. Benjamin Noll - 59.019 (+2.808/+0.448), 5. Petr Vitek - 1:00.899 (+4.688/+1.880), 6. Karl Schagerl - 1:02.982 (+6.771/+2.083), 7. Georg Lang - 1:04.686 (+8.475/+1.704), 8. Josef Hlavinka - 1:06.834 (+10.623/+2.148), 9. David Dedek - 1:07.214 (+11.003/+0.380), 10. Lukas Studeny - 1:07.496 (+11.285/+0.282)
Category One top ten after Run One
1. Karl Schagerl - 1:02.982, 2. Kevin Raith - 1:08.051 (+5.069), 3. Thomas Strasser - 1:08.313 (+5.331/+0.262), 4. Stefan Promok - 1:08.681 (+5.699/+0.368), 5. Herbert Perwein - 1:09.152 (+6.170/+0.291), 6. Bernhard Permetinger - 1:09.306 (+6.324/+0.154), 7. Milan Langer - 1:09.408 (+6.426/+0.102), 8. Rupert Schwaiger - 1:09.459 (+6.477/+0.051), 9. Peter Probhardt - 1:09.738 (+6.756/+0.279), 10. Heiko Fiausch - 1:10.847 (+7.865/+1.109)
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Mini Feature: Hermann Blasl - Opel Gerent Kadett C 16V
The 64-year-old started competing in 1986 before debuting his first Opel Kadett two years later. Blasl enjoyed a lot of success with a number of the General Motors machines before the ultimate evolution came in 2005, when the car was reshelled with a welded in rollcage and a full aero package was also fitted. The coupe has evolved year-on-year to ensure it remains a front runner in its class and the agricultural machinery technician is a popular addition to any entry list, with his committed driving of the 2.5-litre car attracting many fans. |
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Timed Run 2
The pressure would be on for the second timed runs as the final standings hinged on the combination of the two timed runs and any error could be costly. The forecast chance of rain didn't come to fruition and the event concluded in superb late September sunshine. Category One Peformance Factor Six leader Nick Mai added 0.394 seconds to his advantage from the first runs to see off the NSU TT of Steffen Hoffman by 0.485 seconds with his E36 BMW. In Performance Factor Five, the Opel Kadett C of second-placed Walter Terler set a final time 0.831 seconds faster than class leader Tobias Mayer but the Polo 16V held on to win the split by just 0.115 seconds as the first five cars in the competitive class were covered by a little over half a second. The Performance Factor Four-heading Volkswagen Golf Mk1 16V of Patrick Mayer flew to the top 1.965 seconds faster than closest challenger Michael Tautscher to seal the class win by 2.477 seconds, with the Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9 fending off the third-placed Volkswagen Corrado 16V of Michael Emsenhuber by a narrow 0.141 seconds. There was a sting in tail for first run Performance Factor Three topper Herbert Perwein when the all-wheel-drive Mk1 Golf Turbo suffered technical woes and haemorrhaged 6.115 seconds on its second attempt, which handed the victory to the much-modified Opel Astra STW of Heiko Fiausch by 0.235 seconds from the Honda Civic TCR of Diethard Sternad. Former leader Perwein fell back to fifth behind the popular Hermann Blasl's Opel Kadett and Michael Ostermann's similar car. After trailing Kevin Raith's Porsche by 0.262 seconds for the Performance Factor Two lead, Thomas Strasser blitzed the 992 GT3 Cup machine by 1.088 seconds with his second go to claim the spoils by 0.826 seconds but more was to follow. Having been expected to comfortably wrap up the Performance Factor One and overall Category One victories, Karl Schagerl ran into costly driveshaft issues during the second timed run that cost the crowd-favourite Golf 11.823 seconds to its first climb and also the Category One victory to the extraordinary Minichberger Volkswagen Corrado R Turbo of Strasser. The turbocharged 1500cc engine in the Corrado features a Suzuki Hayabusa motorcycle cylinder head and punches out in the region of 600bhp, with the four-wheel-drive machine putting in an impressive tenth overall time of 1:07.180 seconds with its final ascent to steal the Category One victory by 0.789 seconds. Stefan Promok leapfrogged Schagerl to claim the Performance Factor One win with his Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 8 and also overhauled Raith to be second in Category One, just 0.037 seconds ahead of the 992 GT3 Cup car. Bernhard Permetinger's loud BMW Z4 GT3 machine sealed fourth in Category One and Schagerl slipped to fifth of the tin tops and second in the Performance Factor One class. A strong second time from Peter Probhardt's Mitsubishi Lancer WRC05 Evo 3, which was competing for the first time since a major engine failure at the Rechberg European championship event earlier in the year, saw the Austrian climb above both impressive hill debutant Milan Langer's Evo 7 and Rupert Schwaiger's powerful Bi-turbo Porsche for sixth in Category One. Also battling into the top ten of Category One was the fabled Lancia Delta HF Integrale Evo of Felix Pailer after turning a 0.118-second deficit into a 0.406-second advantage from the tenth-placed Opel Astra STW of Heiko Fiausch. Among the Category Two prototypes, both the Norma of David Dedek and the Ligier of Lukas Studeny found close to half a second each with their second attempts but it was the former who took the Performance Factor Four glory by 0.605 seconds. Performance Factor Three pacesetter Josef Hlavinka put another 6.140 seconds onto his margin after the first runs to blow his Performance Factor Two opposition away by 10.386 seconds, headed by Christian Ferstl's Formula Master single seater. In the overall and Performance Factor One standings, Christian Merli was untouchable as he set the fastest time of the meeting with a 56.104-second climb to give the illustrious Italian victory with a combined total of 1 minute 52.315 seconds. The newly-crowned European champion achieved many of the successes in his career at the wheel of an Osella chassis and the company founder Enzo Osella sadly passed away on day one of the event aged 85, to whom the Italian dedicated his victory. Some 2.208 seconds down to the winner on aggregate in second place was the turbocharged Nova of Christoph Lampert, with the Austrian coming close to breaking into the ’56s’ second time up but was just over a tenth shy on 57.104 seconds. In an internecine battle of the Germans for third overall, Alexander Hin held a 0.448-second advantage from his son Benjamin Noll after their first attempts and there was just 0.029 seconds between the Osellas on their final timed run to give Hin the final overall podium position and Noll had to be content with fourth. The third Osella V8 of Petr Vitek retained fifth. The only changes to the finishing positions inside top ten were brought on by Schagerl’s issues so Georg Lang moved up to sixth from Josef Hlavinka, David Dedek and Lukas Studeny's 2-litre machines, with the Dallara F302 of Andreas Stollenberger promoted to tenth. Schagerl's Golf ended up fifteenth overall as eleventh to seventeenth overall were all taken by the leading Category One machines.
In the Historic competition, the top six places were all filled by class winners as the Osella PA20S BMW of Czech Josef Cermak flew to the overall win by a hearty 9.498 seconds from the glorious Audi Quattro S1 E2 of Harald Neuherz. The Formula Two Chevron B42 of Jaroslav Prasek completed the podium finishers another 4.901 seconds back from the Group B rally car. The more modern Volkswagen Golf Rallye G60 of Reinhard Sonnleitner was fourth, ahead of the Formula Ford 1600 PRS of Florian Mauhart in fifth. A varied top six was rounded out by the beautiful Porsche 911 Carrera of Gerald Glinzner.
In the Historic competition, the top six places were all filled by class winners as the Osella PA20S BMW of Czech Josef Cermak flew to the overall win by a hearty 9.498 seconds from the glorious Audi Quattro S1 E2 of Harald Neuherz. The Formula Two Chevron B42 of Jaroslav Prasek completed the podium finishers another 4.901 seconds back from the Group B rally car. The more modern Volkswagen Golf Rallye G60 of Reinhard Sonnleitner was fourth, ahead of the Formula Ford 1600 PRS of Florian Mauhart in fifth. A varied top six was rounded out by the beautiful Porsche 911 Carrera of Gerald Glinzner.
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Mini feature: Dietmar Lustig-Jungwirth - Ford Escort Cosworth
Lustig-Jungwirth was raised locally to the Upper Austrian venue, living just 8km from the course before the impressionable teenager first visited the event in 1991. Hooked, he made his driving debut with a Mk2 Escort RS2000 in 1992 before moving into two and four-wheel-drive Sierra Cosworths and finally building up the 500bhp Escort Cosworth in use today. Dietmar used to compete alongside his brother Christian until his sibling's retirement in 2004, who'd recovered from a serious crash in competition during the year 2000 to return to the driving seat. |
Top Tens
Overall/Category Two (Racing Cars)
1. Christian Merli - Nova NP01-2C Cosworth 1:52.315. Run One: 56.211 seconds (1). Run Two: 56.104 (1).
2. Christoph Lampert - Nova NP01-2C Honda Turbo 1:54.523 (+2.208 seconds). Run One: 57.577 (2). Run Two: 57.145 (2).
3. Alexander Hin - Osella FA30 Judd LRM 1:56.679 (+4.364/+2.156). Run One: 58.571 (3). Run Two: 58.108 (3).
4. Benjamin Noll - Osella PA30 Zytek LRM 1:57.156 (+4.841/+0.477). Run One: 59.019 (4). Run Two: 58.137 (4).
5. Petr Vitek - Osella PA30 Zytek LRM 2:01.317 (+7.368/+3.161). Run One: 1:00.899 (5). Run Two: 1:00.418 (5).
6. Georg Lang - PRC VW Turbo 2:09.299 (+16.984/+7.982). Run One: 1:04.686 (7). Run Two: 1:04.613 (6).
7. Josef Hlavinka - Ligier JS49 Honda 2:12.736 (+20.421/+3.437). Run One: 1:06.834 (8). Run Two: 1:05.902 (7).
8. David Dedek - Norma M20FC Honda 2:13.986 (+21.671/+1.250). Run One: 1:07.214 (9). Run Two: 1:06.772 (8).
9. Lukas Studeny - Ligier SS Honda 2:14.591 (+22.276/+0.605). Run One: 1:07.496 (10). Run Two: 1:07.095 (9).
10. Andreas Stollenberger - Dallara F302 2:15.373 (+23.058/+0.782). Run One: 1:08.007 (11). Run Two: 1:07.366 (11).
Overall/Category Two (Racing Cars)
1. Christian Merli - Nova NP01-2C Cosworth 1:52.315. Run One: 56.211 seconds (1). Run Two: 56.104 (1).
2. Christoph Lampert - Nova NP01-2C Honda Turbo 1:54.523 (+2.208 seconds). Run One: 57.577 (2). Run Two: 57.145 (2).
3. Alexander Hin - Osella FA30 Judd LRM 1:56.679 (+4.364/+2.156). Run One: 58.571 (3). Run Two: 58.108 (3).
4. Benjamin Noll - Osella PA30 Zytek LRM 1:57.156 (+4.841/+0.477). Run One: 59.019 (4). Run Two: 58.137 (4).
5. Petr Vitek - Osella PA30 Zytek LRM 2:01.317 (+7.368/+3.161). Run One: 1:00.899 (5). Run Two: 1:00.418 (5).
6. Georg Lang - PRC VW Turbo 2:09.299 (+16.984/+7.982). Run One: 1:04.686 (7). Run Two: 1:04.613 (6).
7. Josef Hlavinka - Ligier JS49 Honda 2:12.736 (+20.421/+3.437). Run One: 1:06.834 (8). Run Two: 1:05.902 (7).
8. David Dedek - Norma M20FC Honda 2:13.986 (+21.671/+1.250). Run One: 1:07.214 (9). Run Two: 1:06.772 (8).
9. Lukas Studeny - Ligier SS Honda 2:14.591 (+22.276/+0.605). Run One: 1:07.496 (10). Run Two: 1:07.095 (9).
10. Andreas Stollenberger - Dallara F302 2:15.373 (+23.058/+0.782). Run One: 1:08.007 (11). Run Two: 1:07.366 (11).
Category One (Touring Cars)
1. Thomas Strasser - Volkswagen Minichberger Corrado R Turbo 2:15.493. Run One: 1:08.313 (13). Run Two: 1:07.180 (10).
2. Stefan Promok - Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 8 2:16.282 (+0.789 seconds) Run One: 1:08.681 (14). Run Two: 1:07.601 (12).
3. Kevin Raith - Porsche 992 GT3 Cup 2:16.319 (+0.826/+0.037). Run One: 1:08.051 (12). Run Two: 1:08.268 (14).
4. Bernhard Permetinger - BMW Z4 GT3 2:17.538 (+2.045/+1.219). Run One: 1:09.306 (17). Run Two: 1:08.232 (13).
5. Karl Schagerl - Volkswagen Golf Rallye TFSI-R 2:17.787 (+2.294/+0.249). Run One: 1:02.982 (6). Run Two: 1:14.805 (64).
6. Peter Probhardt - Mitsubishi Lancer WRC05 Evo 3 2:18.492 (+2.999/+0.705). Run One: 1:09.738 (20). Run Two 1:08.754 (15).
7. Milan Langer - Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 7 RS 2:18.536 (+3.043/+0.044). Run One: 1:09.408 (18). Run Two: 1:09.128 (16).
8. Rupert Schwaiger - Porsche 993 Bi-Turbo 2:18.636 (+3.143/+0.100). Run One: 1:09.459 (19). Run Two: 1:09.177 (17).
9. Felix Pailer - Lancia Delta Integrale Evo 2:21.018 (+5.525/+2.382). Run One: 1:10.965 (25). Run Two: 1:10.053 (20).
10. Heiko Fiausch - Opel Astra STW 2:21.424 (+5.931/+0.406) Run One: 1:10.847 (23). Run Two: 1:10.577 (24).
1. Thomas Strasser - Volkswagen Minichberger Corrado R Turbo 2:15.493. Run One: 1:08.313 (13). Run Two: 1:07.180 (10).
2. Stefan Promok - Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 8 2:16.282 (+0.789 seconds) Run One: 1:08.681 (14). Run Two: 1:07.601 (12).
3. Kevin Raith - Porsche 992 GT3 Cup 2:16.319 (+0.826/+0.037). Run One: 1:08.051 (12). Run Two: 1:08.268 (14).
4. Bernhard Permetinger - BMW Z4 GT3 2:17.538 (+2.045/+1.219). Run One: 1:09.306 (17). Run Two: 1:08.232 (13).
5. Karl Schagerl - Volkswagen Golf Rallye TFSI-R 2:17.787 (+2.294/+0.249). Run One: 1:02.982 (6). Run Two: 1:14.805 (64).
6. Peter Probhardt - Mitsubishi Lancer WRC05 Evo 3 2:18.492 (+2.999/+0.705). Run One: 1:09.738 (20). Run Two 1:08.754 (15).
7. Milan Langer - Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 7 RS 2:18.536 (+3.043/+0.044). Run One: 1:09.408 (18). Run Two: 1:09.128 (16).
8. Rupert Schwaiger - Porsche 993 Bi-Turbo 2:18.636 (+3.143/+0.100). Run One: 1:09.459 (19). Run Two: 1:09.177 (17).
9. Felix Pailer - Lancia Delta Integrale Evo 2:21.018 (+5.525/+2.382). Run One: 1:10.965 (25). Run Two: 1:10.053 (20).
10. Heiko Fiausch - Opel Astra STW 2:21.424 (+5.931/+0.406) Run One: 1:10.847 (23). Run Two: 1:10.577 (24).
Class Winners
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Historic
Class A1 - Category One up to 850cc Christian Holzer - Steyr-Puch 650TR 3:03.346 (pictured) Class A4 - Category One up to 1600cc Max Lampelmaier - Ford Lotus Cortina 3:09.080 Class B3 - Category Two up to 1300cc Dominik Neumann - Mini Cooper 3:00.543 Class B5 - Category Two up to 2000cc Christian Trimmel - Ford Escort Mk1 RS2000 2:49.430 |
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B9 - Category Two Racing Cars up to 2000cc
Josef Sedivy - Chevron B21/23 3:03.120 (pictured) C2 - Category Three up to 2000cc Philipp Lernpass - Ford Escort Mk2 2:46.644 C3 - Category Three over 2000cc Gerald Glinzner - Porsche 911 Carrera 2:43.631 D1 - Catergory Four up to 1600cc 1982 - 1985 Thomas Beutle - VW Golf Mk1 3:09.628 |
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D3 - Category Four over 2000cc 1982 - 1985
Harald Neuherz - Audi Quattro S1 E2 2:31.398 (pictured) D5 - Category Four up to 2000cc 1986-1990 Johann Krammer - Alfa Romeo 33 2:49.572 D6 - Category Four over 2000cc 1986 - 1990 Reinhard Sonnleitner VW Golf Rallye G60 2:38.381 D10 - Category Four Racing Cars up to 3000cc Josef Cermak - Osella PA20S BMW 2:21.900 |
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E2 - Category Five Racing Cars up to 1600cc 1954 - 1982
Ales Gänsdorfer - Metalex MTX 1-03 Lada *1:30.775 E4 - Category Five Racing Cars up to 1600cc 1983 - 1990 Florian Mauhart - PRS RH02 Ford 2:41.688 E5 - Category Five Racing Cars up to 2000cc 1983 - 1990 Jaroslav Prasek - Chevron B42 BMW 2:36.299 (pictured) *Only completed one run |
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International
Category One (Touring Cars) Category One, Performance Factor Six Nick Mai - BMW 325i E36 2:38.954 (110th overall) Category One, Performance Factor Five Tobias Mayer VW Polo Mk1 16V 2:34.257 (88th) (pictured) Category One, Performance Factor Four Patrick Mayer VW Golf Mk1 16V 2:22.444 (28th) |
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Category One, Performance Factor Three
Heiko Fiausch - Opel Astra STW 2:21.424 (23rd) (pictured) Category One, Performance Factor Two Thomas Strasser - VW Minichberger Corrado R Turbo 2:15.493 (11th) Category One, Performance Factor One Stefan Promok - Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 8 2:16.292 (12th) |
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Category Two (Racing Cars)
Category Two, Performance Factor Four David Dedek - Norma M20FC Honda 2:13.986 (8th) Category Two, Performance Factor Three Josef Hlavinka - Ligier JS49 Honda 2:12.736 (7th) (pictured) Category Two, Performance Factor Two Georg Lang - PRC FPR VW Turbo 2:09.299 (6th) Category Two, Performance Factor One Christian Merli - Nova NP01-2C Cosworth 1:52.315 (1st) |
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KW Berg Cup
The German KW Berg Cup counted St Agatha as a round of the popular championship again in 2025 and was round ten of eleven, with the final round taking place at the Mickhausen course the following weekend. The series caters for some superbly engineered saloon cars and many feature motors that have had motorcycle engine cylinder heads grafted onto the OEM blocks to make them capable of spinning up to over 10000rpm in some cases. The cars have also sprouted some pretty wild aerodynamic appendages to create some of the most interesting competition cars around.
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Results
NSU Bergpokal: In the NSU-only competiton for the rear-engined machines, Steffen Hofmann's TT prevailed by 3.34o seconds Korbinian Gast's similar TT after building on his 2.010-second lead from his initial run.
1. Steffen Hofmann - NSU TT 2:39.439
2. Korbinian Gast - NSU TT 2:42.779 (+3.340 seconds)
3. Thomas Krystofiak - NSU 1200C 3:01.326 (+21.887/+18.547)
Class A/CTC/F up to 1600cc: Andreas Schäfer took a narrow win with his Honda CRX by just 0.079 seconds from Robin Horn's C2 VTS, after the Honda held a 0.241-second advantage following run one before the Citröen just failed to snatch the glory later on.
1. Andreas Schäfer - Honda CRX 2:42.352
2. Robin Horn - Citroën C2 VTS 2:42.431 (+0.079)
3. Dieter Altmann Jnr - Citroën C2 VTS 2:43.972 (+1.620/+1.541)
Class E1/FS/H up to 1400cc: Tobias Mayer's Volkwagen Polo Mk1 16V had 0.439 seconds in hand over his stablemate and father-in-law Armin Ebenhöh's Minichberger Volkswagen Scirocco after their first runs but the screaming 1400cc Scirocco went up the hill 1.948 seconds faster than the Polo second time up to snatch away the glory by 1.509 seconds.
1. Armin Ebenhöh - VW Minichberger Scirocco 16V 2:32.748
2. Tobias Mayer - VW Polo Mk1 16V 2:34.257 (+1.509)
3. Jörg Davidovic - NSU TT 16V 2:37.551 (+4.803/+3.294)
Class E1/FS/H up to 1600cc: Tobias Auchter's highly developed Opel Corsa A 16V ran out a comfortable winner with a 5.458-second triumph over the only competition in the class put up by Folker Fink's Citroën C2 VTS.
1. Tobias Auchter - Opel Spiess Corsa A 16V 2:36.874
2. Folker Fink Citroën C2 VTS 2:42.332 (+5.458)
No other entries
Class E1/FS/H up to 2000cc: The Opel Kadetts of Lars Heisel, Marco Schöbel and Bernd Ehrle had a tough fight for honours in the 2-litre split. Heisel led way by 0.243 seconds from Schöbel and by 0.618 seconds from Ehrle after their first ascents. The latter was the fastest of the trio from Schöbel and Heisel in the afternoon but the order from their initial times settled the finishing positions, with all three covered by 0.378 seconds.
1. Lars Heisel - Opel Bohm Kadett C 16V 2:25.332
2. Marco Schöbel - Opel Kadett C 2:25.530 (+0.198)
3. Bernd Ehrle - Opel Minichberger Kadett C 2:25.710 (+0.378/+0.180)
Class E1/FS/H up to 3000cc: Marcel Gapp's BMW M3 E36 held on for a 0.351-second triumph over Michael Ostermann's 2.5-litre Kadett, the gap sat at 0.899 seconds after run one before the Opel took over half a second from the BMW but the gain wasn't sufficient to unseat Gapp.
1. Marcel Gapp - BMW M3 E36 2:23.787
2. Michael Ostermann - Opel Kadett C 2500 2:24.138 (+0.351)
3. Alexander Wolk - VW Minichberger Golf Mk2 Turbo 2:27.728 (+3.941/+3.590)
Class E1/FS/H over 3000cc: Patrick Orth, who used to pedal a very quick E30 BMW with some style, pushed his Porsche 997 GT3 to a 1.370-second victory from Holger Hoveman's Huracan Super Trofeo after the Porsche bettered the Lamborghini on both runs to seal victory.
1. Patrick Orth - Porsche 997 GT3 Cup 2:22.206
2. Holger Hovemann - Lamborghini Huracan Super Trofeo Evo 1 2:23.576 (+1.370)
3. Florian Hess - Porsche 997 GT3 Cup 2:27.479 (+3.903/+5.273)
NSU Bergpokal: In the NSU-only competiton for the rear-engined machines, Steffen Hofmann's TT prevailed by 3.34o seconds Korbinian Gast's similar TT after building on his 2.010-second lead from his initial run.
1. Steffen Hofmann - NSU TT 2:39.439
2. Korbinian Gast - NSU TT 2:42.779 (+3.340 seconds)
3. Thomas Krystofiak - NSU 1200C 3:01.326 (+21.887/+18.547)
Class A/CTC/F up to 1600cc: Andreas Schäfer took a narrow win with his Honda CRX by just 0.079 seconds from Robin Horn's C2 VTS, after the Honda held a 0.241-second advantage following run one before the Citröen just failed to snatch the glory later on.
1. Andreas Schäfer - Honda CRX 2:42.352
2. Robin Horn - Citroën C2 VTS 2:42.431 (+0.079)
3. Dieter Altmann Jnr - Citroën C2 VTS 2:43.972 (+1.620/+1.541)
Class E1/FS/H up to 1400cc: Tobias Mayer's Volkwagen Polo Mk1 16V had 0.439 seconds in hand over his stablemate and father-in-law Armin Ebenhöh's Minichberger Volkswagen Scirocco after their first runs but the screaming 1400cc Scirocco went up the hill 1.948 seconds faster than the Polo second time up to snatch away the glory by 1.509 seconds.
1. Armin Ebenhöh - VW Minichberger Scirocco 16V 2:32.748
2. Tobias Mayer - VW Polo Mk1 16V 2:34.257 (+1.509)
3. Jörg Davidovic - NSU TT 16V 2:37.551 (+4.803/+3.294)
Class E1/FS/H up to 1600cc: Tobias Auchter's highly developed Opel Corsa A 16V ran out a comfortable winner with a 5.458-second triumph over the only competition in the class put up by Folker Fink's Citroën C2 VTS.
1. Tobias Auchter - Opel Spiess Corsa A 16V 2:36.874
2. Folker Fink Citroën C2 VTS 2:42.332 (+5.458)
No other entries
Class E1/FS/H up to 2000cc: The Opel Kadetts of Lars Heisel, Marco Schöbel and Bernd Ehrle had a tough fight for honours in the 2-litre split. Heisel led way by 0.243 seconds from Schöbel and by 0.618 seconds from Ehrle after their first ascents. The latter was the fastest of the trio from Schöbel and Heisel in the afternoon but the order from their initial times settled the finishing positions, with all three covered by 0.378 seconds.
1. Lars Heisel - Opel Bohm Kadett C 16V 2:25.332
2. Marco Schöbel - Opel Kadett C 2:25.530 (+0.198)
3. Bernd Ehrle - Opel Minichberger Kadett C 2:25.710 (+0.378/+0.180)
Class E1/FS/H up to 3000cc: Marcel Gapp's BMW M3 E36 held on for a 0.351-second triumph over Michael Ostermann's 2.5-litre Kadett, the gap sat at 0.899 seconds after run one before the Opel took over half a second from the BMW but the gain wasn't sufficient to unseat Gapp.
1. Marcel Gapp - BMW M3 E36 2:23.787
2. Michael Ostermann - Opel Kadett C 2500 2:24.138 (+0.351)
3. Alexander Wolk - VW Minichberger Golf Mk2 Turbo 2:27.728 (+3.941/+3.590)
Class E1/FS/H over 3000cc: Patrick Orth, who used to pedal a very quick E30 BMW with some style, pushed his Porsche 997 GT3 to a 1.370-second victory from Holger Hoveman's Huracan Super Trofeo after the Porsche bettered the Lamborghini on both runs to seal victory.
1. Patrick Orth - Porsche 997 GT3 Cup 2:22.206
2. Holger Hovemann - Lamborghini Huracan Super Trofeo Evo 1 2:23.576 (+1.370)
3. Florian Hess - Porsche 997 GT3 Cup 2:27.479 (+3.903/+5.273)
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Mini feature: Werner Weiss - Zakspeed Ford Escort Mk2 RS1800
The KW Berg Cup features many brilliantly engineered machines but the German’s Ford Escort Mk2 is a little more traditional. The car is a replica of the Zakspeed Group 2 machines at heart and features a mechanically fuel-injected BDG under the bonnet. More modern touches are the sequential gearbox and the extensive aero additions that help keep the immaculate machine on the track. Fifth fastest in class first time up, Weiss was fourth quickest with his second run but it wasn’t enough to pip the Mk1 Golf of Ralph Paulick by 0.630 seconds. |
With the competion complete, the hills fell silent once more until the 2026 edition roars into action. Can anyone topple Merli if he returns?