The 34th Ascent to La Santa has this weekend, finally, with the participation of 67 registered pilots, including 24 pilots of AC Totana, as well as the Formula 1 driver, Javier Villa, BRC B53, Garikoitz Flores, BRC B49, the Balearic María Pau Higuet, Talex M2 + or Augusto Lezcano, Norma M20FC.
As for passenger cars, José Antonio López Fombona, Lamborghini Huracán, Gerard De La Casa, Subaru Impreza, Francisco M. Jiménez, Mitsubishi EVO X, Jordi Gaig, Porsche 997 GT3 will meet, among others.
The test is organized by the Automobile Club Totana, penultimate test of the Spanish Mountain Championship;
and it takes place on a route of 3.8 kilometers on the RM-502 road, from the sites of the Sale of Los Pinos and to the crossing of the Angel.
This edition will officially begin tomorrow night with the verifications of the vehicles participating in the fairgrounds, which will also be the scene, starting at 9:00 p.m., of the protocolary departure ceremony.
On Saturday, the competition will start with the free practice sleeves, starting at half past eleven in the morning, followed by two training sleeves and one running race throughout the afternoon.
The program will be completed on Sunday starting at half past eight in the morning with the start of the last training climb followed by the remaining two running sleeves.
The competition was last year, on its return to the national calendar, the scene of an exciting outcome for the season and this time it can once again be decisive for the award of the titles in play in the different categories and classes of the championship.
In category 1, the leader of the general classification is Christian Broberg thanks to the regularity shown throughout the campaign with his Radical of the national barquet group.
With three second places, a third and a quarter in the five climbs played to date, the Marbella driver heads the table ahead of the winner in the first four races of the year, Javi Villa.
The abandonment by failure of his new BRC BR53 in the fifth, Chantada, lost the first position of the table to the Spaniard, who still keeps his options to the title intact but can no longer afford any other false step in the remainder of the campaign .
In fact, if he does not score in Totana, it would be enough for Broberg to finish fourth to proclaim himself a champion in the absence of the final event of the year in the Alicante Ascent to Les Revoltes d'Ibi.
The participation in La Santa of the current champion of the Mountain Lift Open, Augusto Lezcano, with a Norma boat, adds more incentives to category 1, which will not lack the presence of Mari Pau Huguet, third of the general and leader the women's trophy with its Talex CM +, and two other drivers who have already taken part in other national events this season, such as Pedro Aldomar, with a Speed ​​Car GT1000, and Antonio Llamusí, with a BRC B52.
Category 2 arrives in Totana with Domingo Estrada and Garikoitz Flores in full fight for the title.
The victory of Estrada in Chantada allowed him to take advantage in the classification and makes him the only one of the two who has the possibility of leaving mathematically sentenced in his favor the championship in La Santa.
For this, the Cantabrian of the Silver Car S3 should achieve in the Murcia climb what would be his third win of the year and that Flores does not finish in the second position.
On the other hand, the BRC B49 Navarrese pilot needs to win in the two remaining appointments of the contest to depend on himself and revalidate the title achieved last year.
In the fight between the two, they will try to intrude, in addition, the rest of the pilots who are leading this year the fight for the top positions in the CM-Promotion category, as well as several local pilots who will try to make use of their good knowledge of Murcia's technique to measure yourself from you to the best of the national.
Equality at the top of the general of the Spanish Mountain Championship is even greater in category 3, with the title defender and current leader, Gerard de la Casa followed only six tenths by the six-national national champion José Antonio Lopez-Fombona.
A situation that is a virtual tie and that makes the last two tests of the championship two authentic finals since whoever scores the most points between the two will take the final triumph while if they get the same score in the sum of the two races Casa will renew the title that, on the other hand, could also be resolved in his favor in La Santa if he wins and Fombona does not score.
For all these reasons, the Andorran of the Subaru WRC and the Spaniard of the Lamborghini Huracan Super Trophy will, logically, be the top favorites to win at La Santa in the category reserved for the GT and cars, which will have more than forty registered.
Among them are the leaders of classes 7, 9 and 10, José Blanco Rosales (Mitsubishi), Fran Benítez (Citroen) and Miguel Ãngel Clemente (SEAT 124), the triple junior champion "Lolo" Aviles (SEAT León), the N group champion in 2017, Francisco Jiménez (Mitsubishi) and an interesting series of riders with good-quality frames, led by the Catalan Jordi Gaig and his powerful GT3, who will contribute to the show on the ramps that leave from the vicinity of Totana and They lead to the Sanctuary of Santa Eualia.
