The 30th edition of the Ennstal-Classic was exciting right up to the very last photocell, even though the winners could be guessed very soon. Nevertheless, the rally remained open until the very end, as a change in the lead would have been possible during the final special stage of the top ten in Gröbming. However, the two professionals Radinger and Wagner in their 1971 Mini 1275 GT remained in command right to the end and held on to their points lead to win the rally for the fourth time. Florian and Dieter Böhmdorfer came second in a Mercedes-Benz 350 SLC, with the 2006 winners Helmut Schramke and Peter Umfahrer in a Jaguar XK 150 in third place.
In extreme heat of well over 30 degrees Celsius, the 235 cars battled their way through the almost 1000-kilometer rally without air conditioning, which also led over the Grossglockner for the first time in 30 years. The predicted thunderstorms almost never materialized. Only on Thursday evening did it crash heavily in the Flachau-Ramsau area. Hail brought the convoy to a partial standstill. A police escort motorcycle had to wait over half an hour until the centimeter-high hail had finally dissolved into water again.
Tiring for man and machine
Nevertheless, the rain did us good. After more than 400 hot kilometers, hardly any participant was angry about the long-awaited cooling. Everything was demanded of man and machine. Hats off to all the co-drivers who were able to maintain their concentration over the long distance. But it was no walk in the park for the drivers either, especially those of pre-war cars. Austrian touring car legend Dieter Quester drove a 1937 BMW 328 and stated at the finish: "I've never had such heavy legs in my life. It was really brutal."
Former Swiss Formula 1 driver Jo Vonlanthen was no different: "At the age of 80, a full eight hours in the car in this brutal heat pushed me to my physical limits." Despite all the effort, in the end there were only satisfied faces, albeit burnt by the sun. In the end, the engines needed just as much water as the drivers and co-drivers combined on the 800-kilometer uphill and downhill route. Refueling the expensive petrol became a minor matter.
