Round 1 of the 2026 FIA European Hill Climb Championship took place this past weekend on the iconic Rechberg course in Austria, officially opening the new season. Competitors across both Category 1 ‘Production Competition Cars’ and Category 2 ‘Prototype Racing Cars’ delivered strong performances on one of Europe’s most established hill climb venues, with the top three drivers in each group listed below.

The opening round saw several leading contenders make an immediate statement at the start of the championship. In Category 1, Ronnie Bratschi claimed victory in Group 1 at the wheel of his Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VII RS, while Kevin Raith topped Group 2 in a Porsche 992 GT3 Cup. Further class wins went to Diethard Sternad in Group 3, Matija Jurišić in Group 4 and Hannes Geier in Group 5, underlining the variety of machinery competing across the production-based category.

In Category 2, reigning front-runners and specialist prototype competitors were quickly on the pace. Christian Merli led the way in Group P1 with his Nova Proto NP01, ahead of Kevin Petit and Petr Trnka, completing a Nova Proto top three. Further group victories were claimed by O’Play in Group P2, Christian Ferstl in Group P3 and Lukáš Studený in Group P4, setting the early benchmark as the championship moves into its next rounds.

Category 1 – Production Competition Cars

Group 1

1. Ronnie Bratschi – Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VII RS
2. Nikolay Zlatkov – Audi Quattro Pikes Peak
3. Reto Meisel – Mercedes Benz SLK 340

Group 2

1. Kevin Raith – Porsche 992 GT3 Cup
2. Javier Villa García – BRC 110T
3. Alexandru Pitigoi – Porsche 992 GT3 Cup

Group 3

1. Diethard Sternad – Honda Civic FK7 TCR
2. Milovan Vesnić – Audi RS3 LMS
3. Marek Rybníček – Škoda Fabia RS Rally2

Group 4

1. Matija Jurišić – Peugeot 308 1.6 TCR
2. Patrick Mayer – Volkswagen Golf I 16V
3. Lukas Bicciato – Hyundai i30 TCR

Group 5

1. Hannes Geier – Honda Civic
2. Vojtech Bejda – Peugeot 308
3. Christian Schneider – Peugeot 205

Category 2 – Prototype Racing Cars

Group P1

1. Christian Merli – Nova Proto NP01
2. Kevin Petit – Nova Proto NP01
3. Petr Trnka – Nova Proto NP01 2 C

Group P2

1. O’Play – Nova Proto NP03
2. Fausto Bormolini – Wolf Mistral
3. José Antonio Alonso Liste – Tatuus F3 T318

Group P3

1. Christian Ferstl – Tatuus Master S2000
2. Sigrid Eva Ferstl – Tatuus Master S2000

Group P4

1. Lukáš Studený – Ligier JS51
2. Karel Berger – Osella PA21 JrB
3. Tereza Machová – Norma M20 F

High-resolution photographs from the Rechberg event are available for download here:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1MlGWtqyEtqGMKOHizEq-J9mxnvqfWD9d?usp=sharing