“We can only surprise people.” That was the mindset Jiří Mičánek Jr. took into his first-ever round of the FIA European Hill Climb Championship at Ecce Homo in Šternberk. The approach could hardly have worked out better. On his debut at one of Europe’s most demanding and prestigious hillclimb events, the Mičánek Motorsport powered by Buggyra driver finished second in Group 2 of the European Championship classification and 16th overall.
“It’s a surprise to me and a huge source of satisfaction at the same time. Before the weekend, I had enormous respect for both the course and the competition. In every respect, this was the toughest hillclimb event I’ve ever entered. That makes the result even more rewarding,” said the driver, who also serves as team manager of Mičánek Motorsport powered by Buggyra.
The Mičánek name returned to the results of the Czech Republic’s most famous hillclimb event after an absence of more than a quarter of a century. The last appearance came in 2000, when Jiří Mičánek Sr. took to the start line. “The name still carries a lot of weight here. All weekend long, older fans were coming up to me and telling stories about supporting my father in the 1990s,” recalls Mičánek Jr. To mark his debut, he commissioned a special helmet design inspired by the one his father famously wore during his racing career.
Jiří Mičánek Sr. was present on Saturday to watch his son tackle the legendary course for the first time. The iconic event has been part of the European Championship calendar for 45 years. “Without taking anything away from the other Czech hillclimb courses, Ecce Homo is on a completely different level. It’s long, demanding, fast and unforgiving. On the straight after Sojka Corner I was selecting sixth gear and reaching more than 230 km/h. Your vision narrows, and it feels as though you’re driving through a tunnel,” Mičánek explains of the almost eight-kilometre course.
His fastest ascent came in 3:14.26. With a combined time of 6:31.10 from the two competition runs, he was beaten in Group 2 only by Austrian driver Kevin Raith. Along with Igor Stefanovski of North Macedonia, who competed in Group 1, Raith was one of only two GT drivers to finish ahead of Mičánek in the overall classification. Behind the Lamborghini Huracán ST EVO2, meanwhile, finished a number of prototypes and single-seaters.
The Huracán itself proved to be one of the key ingredients behind Mičánek’s standout result. “What we expected was confirmed: the Huracán is ideally suited to this type of course, even though we haven’t made any major changes compared to its circuit-racing specification. This track is all about commitment. You have to be willing to carry 160 km/h into places where you can’t even see the exit. The experienced drivers were absolutely right when they told me before the weekend that you need to race here several times before you truly understand the course and can be genuinely competitive,” he says.
And Mičánek hopes this will not be his final appearance at Ecce Homo. “It was a very special weekend, not only because of the result but also because of the atmosphere. The crowd was fantastic, and you could see how much everyone was enjoying the event. If the calendar allows and there are no clashes next year, I’d love to come back and do it all again.”
