44 brazen teams rang in the new 2013 classic car season at the weekend with the 17th Planai Classic. As is so often the case in the Enns Valley, the weather once again showed all its finesse and pitfalls. The first special stage on the harness racing track in Gröbming had to be canceled at short notice. The trotting track looked more like an ice rink. The heavy rain had turned the normally coarse sandy surface into a natural ice rink - far too dangerous to send four vehicles on their laps at the same time.
Not to be flustered
The heavy rain continued throughout the day. Roads were flooded, mudslides moved entire houses in Liezen, but the Planai Classic once again refused to be disturbed and so the second special stage started punctually at 3 pm.
The hardy drove openly
Only two teams braved the sometimes heavy rain without a roof. Team Baier in the oldest vehicle, a 1927 Lea Francis P-Type, and Team Roubinek in a 1962 Porsche Bergspyder were indeed not to be envied and only with weatherproof clothing was it possible to defy the cool temperatures and damp weather. The "Emperor" Rudi Roubinek did not get through the individual special stages without any problems and his prediction before the start of the rally was to come true: "I've taken part in the Planai-Classic several times and it's always been wonderful and a real experience every time. But this year, I'm afraid the weather will also be an experience."
However, as soon as the rain and snow subsided, some of the other participants opened their convertibles and enjoyed the perfect view of the next bend.
On rally trails with the American station wagon
Hilmar Wörnle and Mathias Metten brought an unusual car to the Planai Classic. Instead of the originally registered Porsche 911, they entered an American Ford station wagon from 1968. With around 390 hp, lack of power was the least of their problems. It was rather the fitting of snow chains that presented the crew with major challenges. Not only did they have to lift the heavyweight Ford Country Sedan, they also had to find the jack first. In the end, however, it wasn't the snow that killed the station wagon, but a transmission that went up in smoke and mirrors.
The Dachstein road in a snowstorm
After the circuit in the pouring rain at Niederöblarn airfield, a mountain stage led up the Dachsteinstrasse in a snowstorm. The teams battled their way up the extremely steep, but fantastically snow-covered mountain road as darkness fell. With or without chains, the rally vehicles were driven through the serpentines.
Gangster sedan on snow-covered mountain roads
The Buick 8-57 Sedan from 1931 is familiar from gangster films such as "The Untouchables", but it is rarely seen here as a rally car. Friedrich and Maximilian Huber, however, were not afraid to drive the eight-cylinder car through snow and ice and carefully modulate the 70 hp. It wasn't enough to win, but the arrival was also worth celebrating and there was certainly a drop to warm up after the rally in the crate in the rear, in which whiskey was smuggled during Prohibition.
Warmth for crews and cars
After a stopover in Schladming, the tour continued to the stage finish in Irdning, where a warm meal was waiting at Schloss Pichlarn. As befits a castle, not only the drivers and co-drivers were made to feel at home, but also the cars. They were allowed to recover from their exertions on a red carpet in the tennis hall.
A Mini like a Noah's Ark
The second day began at the Niederöblarn airfield, again in pouring rain. The three following mountain stages on the Planai were the highlights of the event. A fairytale landscape of snow awaited the teams. In 2013, the approximately six kilometers were ridden three times instead of just twice previously. The new route with more kilometers resulted exclusively in positive feedback from the teams.
Third-placed rally legend Rauno Aaltonen said that the Planai Classic 2013 was the best of all his 12 participations. Rauno continued: "We had rain, heavy rain and sometimes torrential rain, plus snow and ice on the road. But a Mini Cooper S is like a Noah's Ark and with the right tires there is never a problem. It was great fun!"
Close result and repeat winner
In the end, there was a repeat winner with Schlierenzauer, just like at the Four Hills Tournament. Pius Weckerle and his co-driver Othmar Schlager won with their Porsche 912 for the second time since 2011 with an incredible 1.003 s lead. The pair had dominated the Planai-Classic right from the start and were able to extend their lead on the second day on the Planai mountain road.
Weckerle was able to enjoy his victory to the full: "The new stages made it more interesting, the routes were very varied. The weather played its part."
Michael Haberl and Theresa Moser, also driving a Porsche (911, 1965), took second place with 1600 points (equivalent to 1.6 seconds difference). Haberl explained: "Despite the miserable weather, it was a real experience."
Third place went to the Finnish "rally professor" Rauno Aaltonen and his Austrian navigator Helmut Artacker in a Mini.
Unfortunately few spectators
The extremely bad weather prevented many potential spectators from attending the rally along the route. As a result, this year's Planai took place almost to the exclusion of the public. The Austrians are normally big fans of historic cars, but in 2013 only die-hard fans found their way through the deluge to Gröbming or the snow-covered side roads around Schladming, which was besieged by Russian tourists.
The results in detail
| Rank | Start no. | Vehicle | Year of construction | Crew | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 12 | Porsche 912 | 1965 | Pius Weckerle /Othmar Schlager | Winner Ep2 |
| 2 | 13 | Porsche 911 | 1965 | Michael Haberl /Theresa Moser | |
| 3 | 33 | Mini Cooper S | 1972 | Rauno Aaltonen /Helmut Artacker | Winner Ep3 |
| 4 | 10 | Mercedes-Benz 230 SL | 1964 | Karsten Wohlenberg /Mike Höll | |
| 5 | 37 | VW Beetle 1302 S | 1972 | Volker Corsmann /Thomas Voglar | |
| 6 | 11 | Austin Healey | 1965 | Ralf Klaus /Charlotte Wucherpfennig | |
| 7 | 4 | MG-A | 1957 | Thomas Matzelberger /Andreas Holzleitner | |
| 8 | 40 | FIAT Abarth 124 Coupe | 1972 | Werner Fessl /Peter Schöggl | |
| 9 | 29 | VW Beetle | 1970 | Wilfried Peters /Christian Mitterdorfer | |
| 10 | 39 | Datsun 240 Z | 1972 | Günther Schwarzbauer /Gerhard Rundhammer | |
| 11 | 18 | Volvo 123 GT | 1968 | Alois Heidenbauer /Birgit Eisner-Heidenbauer | |
| 12 | 7 | Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint | 1963 | Wolfgang Stegemann /Barbara Stegemann | |
| 13 | 26 | Jaguar E-Type | 1970 | Walther Wawronek /Birgit Stutterecker-Danner | |
| 14 | 16 | Austin Mini Cooper S | 1967 | Albert Kröpfl /Gerhard Hierzer | |
| 15 | 14 | Volvo PV 544 S | 1965 | Wolfgang Stelzmüller /Wolfgang Gotz | |
| 16 | 21 | VW Beetle | 1968 | Rainer Borns /Birgit Borns | |
| 17 | 1 | Lea Francis P-Type | 1927 | Christian Baier /Margot Baier | Winner Ep1 |
| 18 | 34 | Skoda R 110 | 1972 | Klaus Pilz /Ulrike Glöckner | |
| 19 | 19 | Volvo 123 GT | 1968 | Erich Landerl /Gilbert Ragowsky | |
| 20 | 5 | Porsche 356 B | 1959 | Robert Steininger /Brigitte Steininger | |
| 21 | 32 | Porsche 911 T | 1971 | Christian Clerici /Peter Rossmanith | |
| 22 | 30 | Mini Cooper S | 1971 | David Kirby /Anita Kirby | |
| 23 | 35 | Ford Escort | 1972 | Christian Trierenberg /Nora Trierenberg | |
| 24 | 38 | Porsche 911 | 1972 | Wilfried Schäfer /Sandra Hübner | |
| 25 | 27 | Porsche 914/6 GT | 1970 | Michael Stoschek / Guido Brasch | |
| 26 | 36 | BMW 2002 ti | 1972 | Hermann Meier /Maximilian Meier | |
| 27 | 28 | Alfa Romeo Giulietta | 1970 | Johannes Burges /Tobias Hörl | |
| 28 | 22 | VW Beetle | 1968 | Peter Unterweger /Jutta Mocuba | |
| 29 | 8 | Tatra 603 | 1963 | Johann Kofler /Gery Hofer | |
| 30 | 42 | Volvo 142 | 1972 | Franz Wittner /Peter Steinlechner | |
| 31 | 44 | Porsche 914-6 M471 | 1971 | Benjamin Hendel /Wilfried Wolferseder | |
| 32 | 24 | BMW 2002 ti | 1969 | Florian Moser /Philip Rathgen | |
| 33 | 23 | Mercedes-Benz 280 SL | 1968 | Gerd-Dieter Mirtl /Monika Kastenhofer | |
| 34 | 2 | Buick 8-57 Sedan | 1931 | Friedrich Huber /Maximilian Huber | |
| 31 | Opel Rallye Ascona A | 1971 | Michael Münzenmaier /Peter Pech | retired | |
| 3 | VW Beetle | 1957 | Hermann Schwarz /Ruediger Boennecken | out of order | |
| 6 | Porsche Bergspyder | 1962 | Rudi Roubinek /Günther Schrems | failed | |
| 17 | Volvo Amazon P122S | 1968 | Bernd Werndl /Alexandra Schörghuber | out of order | |
| 20 | Ford Country Sedan | 1968 | Hilmar Wörnle /Matthias Metten | out of order | |
| 41 | VW Beetle | 1972 | Richard Ötsch /Martina Ötsch | out of order | |
| 43 | Mini Cooper | 1972 | Fritz Müller /Mariella Schurz | out of order |
