Jürg Dürig - touring car driver by tradition (obituary)
12/28/2021
One of the fastest Swiss touring car drivers of the seventies and eighties died shortly before Christmas: (Hans) Jürg Dürig (15.10.1947-17.12.2021) from Riggisberg.
He was practically born into motor racing: Dürig's father, who owned a car garage in Riggisberg, raced quite successfully in hill climbs from the 1950s to the early 1960s, including in an SS Jaguar. This remained in the family for many years.
Jürg Dürig mainly competed in races with BMW derivatives. With a Group 2 BMW 320, he became Swiss champion in the special cars category in 1979 and 1981. In 1979, the purely amateur team of Hans-Jörg Dürig / Peter Ulmann / Louis Bärtsch achieved a formidable 10th place in the 24-hour race at Spa-Francorchamps with their BMW 530.
In the early 1980s, Dürig was seen in a number of races in the European Touring Car Championship. He shared the steering wheel with Stephan Märki, driving an Eggenberger 320 Group 2 BMW.
He was also able to keep up with the fastest drivers on the international stage - although the team did not reach the finish line in many races. The best result was fourth place overall in the 1980 Grand Prix in Brno (CZ).
Dürig had driving qualities: his drifts were spectacular and he was able to power-slide to the delight of the spectators. At hill climbs, the spectators gave him a standing ovation. And his ambition was also considerable - it was not uncommon for him to bump into a competitor or two in circuit races.
In recent years, he used the only Eggenberger Group 2 BMW 635, which Hellmut Kelleners and Umberto Grano currently drove successfully in the European Touring Car Championship and which he carefully restored, in historic races.
We wish the family much strength in these difficult hours.
