FIA Hill Climb Champions under the spotlight in Austria 14.11.2014: photo caption: 2014 FIA European Hill Climb Champions Stefanoski (Cat1) and Faggioli (Cat2)

 



photo caption:  2014 FIA European Hill Climb Champions Stefanoski (Cat1) and  Faggioli (Cat2)


Hill Climb: The prize winners of the 2014 editions of the FIA European Hill Climb Championship and the FIA International Hill Climb Cup were honoured this Saturday, 8 November in Fladnitz, in Austria.
 

Whilst it is true that the very cradle of the European Hill Climb Championship, the environs of the famous Rechbergrennen, did not attract the 25,000 spectators who normally gravitate there towards the end of April each year, last Saturday, the key players of the recently-ended international hill climb season were all very much in attendance.
 

By tradition, the organisers of the dozen events that make up the European Championship take turns in hosting the presentation of the competition’s official prizes. After the Czech Republic in 2012 and France in 2013, the task of honouring the Champions fell this time to Austria.


For the first time, the ceremony was not restricted to the prize winners of the European Championship but was broadened in order to be able to celebrate the best performers in the FIA International Hill-Climb Cup, the calendar of which is also quite healthy, even if it is concentrated more and more on the countries of Eastern Europe.
 

For the seventh time in his career, the Italian Simone Faggioli (36) was crowned European Champion in Category 2 of the prototypes, single-seaters and silhouettes. “This is one of my greatest titles,” explained Faggioli. “After 15 years with Osella, we changed car and went with Norma.


To open a season with a new car is never easy, all the more so given that we were unable to get in much practice before the first race and that there was a certain lack of geographic proximity between our team, based in Italy, and the workshops of the NormaAuto Concept, which are located in the south-east of France, not too far from Spain!


Nevertheless, we very soon got our bearings and were able to race our way to a dream new season. I have no hesitation in dedicating this title to Mauro Nesti, who sadly passed away several months ago.” 


As the winner of the 11 European Championship races in which he has participated, also setting various new absolute records to beat those he already held, Faggioli, with his 7 European titles, continues to edge closer and closer to the record of 9 titles set by his fellow countryman Mauro Nesti.
 

Having finished first in the E2-SS single-seater Group with his Reynard K02-Mugen, for the second year in a row the Italian Fausto Bormolini found himself gracing the second step of the final podium, one step above the Czech Dan Michl, who finished third in the general classification but first in the Group E2-SH for the cars known as “Silhouettes” in his original Lotus Evora with its V8 engine.
 

In addition to securing the personal title in Category 1 with his Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X Group N, Igor Stefanovski put in an historic performance by becoming the first Macedonian driver ever to lift the FIA European Hill Climb Championship.


“This title actually had a double impact and is a brilliant reward not only for me but also for my country,” Stefanovski confirmed. I have competed so many times in my own country and in the Balkans region, and I wanted to hit new heights in 2014. This is why I set out on this European campaign. It has been a truly great and magnificent adventure, full of discoveries.


From a strictly sporting point of view, each of the Championship courses was new for me and I had to get to know them all. To win eight of the twelve races and break four absolute records in Group N in the races I contested was a source of even greater satisfaction for me.


 In 2015, I would like to realise my dream of being able to line up in Category 2 with a prototype. I am working on securing a budget and also on bringing together the technical package with which to achieve this.”
 

In the final classification of Category 2, the first eight places of which were monopolized by the Mitsubishi Lancer, Igor Stefanovski edged out the Czechs Jaromir Maly, the winner of Group A, and Jiri Los.
 

 - FIA also photo