Red Bull Alpenbrevet Sees Playful Riders Follow Picturesque Routes In The Swiss Alps.
Red Bull Alpenbrevet has been a motorsport event unlike any other, a colourful, fun and noisy festival of mopeds and their riders in Switzerland where the average speed is the name of the game rather than being the fastest to the finish line. Here is all you need to know:
Glarus, the smallest canton capital in Switzerland, nestles between mountains at the foot of the Glärnisch ridge and, on Saturday, July 9, was home to Red Bull Alpenbrevet for the 13th time.
Around 1,000 moped riders gathered in perfect weather against a fantastic backdrop to ride their two-stroke machines around an idyllic 148-km route initially in the direction of Kerenzerberg after they launched off the start line surrounded by hundreds of enthusiastic friends and fans.
The riders, who wore an eye-catching array of cool helmets, goggles, jackets and costumes, continued around the stunning Lake Walen - also known as Walensee - in the direction of Toggenburg, and then the route led back to the Glarus finish via the aid station in Wildhaus-Alt St. Johann.
As is the case every year, the same rule applied this time: it wasn't the fastest rider who won, but whoever came closest to the average driving time of all participants with their time.
Back in 2015, Spanish MotoGP legend Dani Pedrosa took part when the riders started out at the Cornaredo Stadium in Lugano. He explained its allure when he said, "When you are here in Lugano and see all the different set-ups of the people and all the village, it is very nice. I had great fun with the outfit and the helmet. It makes it much more exciting."
In 2022, Claudio Steimen from Waltenschwil was the closest to the average time for the doubles while Alfredo Cattani from Ticino was the most accurate for the automatic mopeds with the riders needing almost seven-and-a-half hours on average to complete the enjoyable route.
Bernhard Zgraggen's stylish Elka model won the title of "Miss Alpenbrevet 2022" for the prettiest moped on show at this year's edition with Zgraggen receiving the prize from his son for his 55th birthday.
he "Gang of the Year" award went to local heroes thanks to the performance of the Pfupferclub from Glarus, who revealed: "We founded our moped gang two weeks ago and now we're standing on the podium here. Thanks to the organisers. What a day!"
Red Bull Alpenbrevet may not be the biggest moped festival in the world like the annual Isle of Wight International Scooter Rally in the UK, however, the quirky Swiss event still remains one of the most fun.
