The Dubrovnik hill climb race is over, which the heavy rain could not delay, nor could it discourage all ready drivers
Dubrovnik Award 2021 - Željko Đuratović Memorial completes the automotive season of the Croatian championship on hill climb race tracks.
The novelty of the competition is that this time the ride was on a new track on the section Mokošica-Osojnik where the start was at the Bridge Dr. Franjo Tudjman, and the finish line near Barutana.
The length of the section itself was 3,345m in which there are 17 bends, and the rise is 7.56 percent.
The race consisted of 79 drivers from Croatia and Montenegro whose drives were scored for the national championship.
We listened to the drivers and what challenges they were struggling with, and what tactics they had to use in order to pass this competition with the best possible results and collect as many points as possible.
After the first good kilometer of the track, came a slippery terrain on which a good balance had to be found between slippery terrain and the car, and here only calmer drivers gained time, while those whose foot was heavier on the gas pedal did not perform satisfactorily.
Off the track, various modifications were made in the driver's stands. From minor repairs in some cases, to larger repairs in other cases. All these are the charms of this sport that all competitors respect; they live for every race drive, they respect the rules, respect every driver, so when any of them wins the podium they know that victory is deserved and that the winner should be praised with a rain of champagne.
Who was brilliant, and to whom the bad weather ruined the plans and caused unexpected problems?
The overall ranking of the Dubrovnik hill climb race:
Category 1
Domagoj Pereković in his Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX, set a record on the new track with a second point drive with the time of 2:08.434, and an average speed of 93.76 km / h. The victory refers to the general and the defended title of the national champion for the second time in a row in Category I.
Vasilije Jakšić in Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX, as well. With the second place, he celebrated victory in his national championship.
Stijepo Manenica, a member of the organizers of the racing competition - Auto Club Dubrovnik Racing, also in Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX.
Group A
Žarko Knego in Ford Fiesta Rally 4, overall ranking the 4th place
Ivan Pulić in Ford Fiesta Rally 4, overall ranking the 5th place
Marin Božićević (AK RI autosport), overall ranking the 6th place
Group N
Stijepo Manenica, overall ranking the 3rd place
Nikola Radnjić, overall ranking the 8th place
Danijel Šimunović from AKK Fly with Kolman Zagreb.
Đivo Franić who justified all expectations and with the 5th place won his third title of a national champion, and thus the prestigious trophy ''Golden Helmet of HAKS''.
Group E1
Domagoj Pereković
Matija Jurišić (AK Župa Dubrovačka), overall ranking the 9th place
Boris Katic (BC Rijeka), overall ranking the 7th place
We must not forget that this last race in this season was decisive for one more champion.
In Croatia Championship before this Dubrovnik event, only one point was shared by the two favorites i.e. Božidar Matijaš from AKK Rogoznica and Dino Ćućić from AK Opatija.
Ćućić was better this time and with the best two times he achieved victory and thus became the winner of that category with the status of the national champion.
Matijaš was a bit weaker, the rain ruined his plans and brought him down to the 5th place with the title of vice champion.
Croatian Championship of Historic Cars in total
Ćucic (AK Opatija, Suzuki Swift) 5:07.856 min
Vičević (AK Rijeka, VW Scirocco) +8.328 sec
Poldrugovac (AK Buzet Autosport, Fiat Ritmo +8.733
Our RaceTrip team followed the top driver Eris Marotti, who finished the season as the Croatian vice-champion in the N3 class. The whole RaceTrip is extremely overjoyed and proud. The Peugeot 206 RC N3 car that was brought by the whole team to perfection is just the proof that a good job is being done and that we must maintain that level of quality in all further races.
Our Dario Šamec took advantage of this hill climb race and weather to test his Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX. In rainy and slippery conditions, he tested several maps of differentials and antilags. Evo IX passed the test and proved to be ready for the next rally season. To make it even more interesting to the spectators, Dario used the slippery conditions to entertain the audience with real rally sideways.
The new driver of the RaceTrip team, Florijan Šalec, also took part in the race with his Citroen C2R2, which is ideal for such races. He used the race to test the car in order to make as many kilometers as possible in it and got used to all its performance so that he could attack the top of the class as ready as possible next year.
At the very end, we must say that AK Dubrovnik Racing proved to be an excellent host and organizer who, despite the difficult and demanding conditions, managed to hold all the announced trainings and two races. They provided a safe road, and all cars were carefully inspected to ensure that everything went according to plan and program.
It is quite certain that nothing could spoil such a ceremony of motorsport. It is a track with a lot of potential and we have no doubt that it will not attract more participants until next year, but this time we hope for a ray of sunshine to complete the epilogue and experience of the race in full glory as it deserves.
Until the next reading, kind regards!