The 31st Ennstal-Classic is "over" and it was certainly one of the toughest ever. Especially the strong pre-war fraction with 33 cars had to fight hard with the capricious weather. Sunshine, fog, drizzle, heavy rain, hail, squalls and thunderstorms with lightning and thunder of the worst kind.
The interplay of emotions did not change daily, nor hourly, but almost from minute to minute. Roof up, roof down, roof up ... And if there was no roof, then it was wet, dry, wet and so on and so forth ...
Serial winner
The big winners of this year's edition were once again Helmut Schramke and Peter Umfahrer, who won the Ennstal-Classic for the fourth time after 2003, 2006 and 2012 with their black Jaguar XK 150 from 1960.
Second place went to Sebastian Klackl and Nicola Kovacic-Klackl in their 1969 Mini 1000 MKll and the last place on the podium went to Peter Schlöggl and Wolfgang Artacker in their 1970 Alfa Romeo Spider Veloce 1750.
Before the Porsche Design GP in the center of Gröbming, the intermediate classification provided clarity after the early morning Stoderzinken mountain stage had once again thrown everything out of kilter. However, Schramke/Umfahrer's lead from the two previous days was enough to maintain the lead, albeit only just. However, the father-daughter crew Kunz/Kunz, who had finished second the previous evening, dropped back from second to fourth place and handed over to the Alfa Spider of Schöggl/Artacker.
Weather changes without end
And once again the weather changed just in time for the very last special stage. The rain once again had Gröbming firmly in its grip. Once again difficult conditions with tarnished windows, wet roadbooks and fogged-up goggles.
As befits a top-class classic car rally, it remained exciting until the end, when the top ten from the previous days finally set off in reverse order on their hunt for points, once again in glorious sunshine.
Show run
Once again this year, many automotive rarities paraded at the Porsche Design GP. First and foremost the legendary Porsche 356 with the number 1 from 1948 with Wolfgang Porsche at the wheel. Powered by E-Fuel, as well as the 1957 Austin A35 with the Swiss-Austrian crew Bruno Flückiger and Caroline Hoi, who completed the entire rally with E-Fuel without any problems.
The fuel came from Horag-Racing, where it had been developed by Markus Hotz in collaboration with Mario Illien and Fredy Lienhard.
So apparently there are other technologies besides electricity that will work in the end and hopefully keep our hobby with combustion engines alive.
Aston Martin alongside Porsche
In the interest of Aston Martin's success in this year's Formula 1 with the Spaniard Fernando Alonso, there was also the "Aston Martin Tribute" next to all the Porsches, where several top-class vehicles could be admired, from the pre-war model B3 232 S (1933) to the Le Mans DB3S (1953) and the Vantage V8 N24 (2008).
And celebrities
Norwegian retired skier Aksel Lund Svindal drove the Porsche 911L with Gröbming's mayor, first up the Stoderzinken and then through the Styrian village.
The autograph session with Svindal, Stuck and Lietz was completely overrun and left the three of them barely able to keep up with writing.
Hard work
The organization team around the Ennstal-Classic once again did a great job, although this year, due to the capricious weather conditions, some improvisation was necessary.
The usual, always numerous Austrian fans at the side of the course were somewhat less present this year due to the chaotic weather conditions.
However, praise is also due to all the Styrian forestry workers who quickly cleared all the roads, even the smallest of the small side roads, of fallen trees, so that the entire planned route could be driven as normal, as it led over 423 kilometers for the prologue on Thursday and over 476 kilometers for the marathon on Friday.
Of the 197 cars from 1924 to 1972 that were stranded at the start, around 190 completed the last great adventure in Austria.
The number of participants was somewhat limited this year in order to guarantee the quality standard of the route and the driving experience. The timekeeping was increased, as it was GPS-controlled for the first time in addition to the conventional light barrier tests.
A look back
Stefan Pabeschitz aptly wrote in "Roadbook", the Ennstal-Classdic magazine, under the title "What's 30 years?": "In another 30 years, many people who haven't had a good opinion of today will also be ready to look back at the year 2023 with a rear-view mirror and tunnel view - with the same low level of reality as we do now with our past. In 2053, we might be saying "Well, an ID.3 with a real lithium-ion battery, that was something!" If so, pre-emptive condolences are already justified, but the lament could be much more dramatic, namely: "That was something back then - driving a car yourself!"
From the cockpit of a classic car, the whole history-repeating maelstrom can be viewed relatively casually anyway. Whether we use our cars as time machines or getaway cars is for everyone to decide. But let's just talk about it in 30 years' time - we'll definitely be a lot smarter then."
