On Thursday morning, many participants were probably looking up anxiously to see how the weather would develop for the 2014 Gaisberg Race. And the organizers Gert Pierer, Hermann Schwarz and Thomas Matzelberger were probably also praying to Peter that the torrential rainfall of the previous year would not be repeated.
However, the weather forecast did not promise to spare the beautiful classics and one or two drivers of an open-top car were probably already wondering whether they should leave their little treasure in the dry hotel garage before setting off on Thursday.
But that's not what they had come to Salzburg for, they had come to drive, so they squeezed into their rain suits and set off for Hellbrunn Palace in Salzburg on the morning of the Ascension.
Traditions are not broken
The historic Gaisberg race took place for the twelfth time from 28 to 31 May 2014 and the organizers decided not to experiment and instead opted for the tried and tested.
In 2014, the City Grand Prix started on Thursday, followed by two mountain runs up the Gaisberg and the 150 km race through the Salzkammergut on Friday, as well as a few laps of the Salzburgring and another mountain run on Saturday. Just like the years before.
The participants seem to appreciate this continuity; after all, a significant proportion come year after year and there are quite a few who never miss a Gaisberg race.
Special rarities in Hellbrunn
The first highlight of the event is always the gathering in the courtyard of Hellbrunn Palace.
This was the first opportunity for the participants to take a closer look at the field of vehicles. In addition to the ever-elegant classics such as the Mercedes Benz 300 SL, Jaguar XK or Porsche 356 and 911, there were also some special features to be seen that are rarely seen at events.
For example, the Salmson 2300 S Coupé from 1954, of which just under 280 were built with bodies by Esclassan and Henri Chapron. With around 105 hp, they had enough power for a top speed of almost 180 km/h, which was quite an achievement in the 1950s. In fact, the Salmson Coupés even took part in Le Mans and the Mille Migla several times, in one case even with luxury equipment including a radio. The design was by Eugène Martin, the technology came from the predecessor vehicle and was thoroughly modern with rack-and-pinion steering and Cotal gearbox.
Another rarity was the Lancia Flavia Sport Zagato racing coupé from 1964, a prototype that was hidden from the public eye for many years and still causes a stir today with its brute appearance.
The Siata Daina Cabriolet, Simca 1200 S Coupé and the Alfa Romeo 2600 OSI have also become rare. Unfortunately, the Alfa limousine was only on the start list, but not at Hellbrunn Palace.
The Salzburg public, who were able to express their own preferences in a public vote on the Residenzplatz in Salzburg, chose the 1963 Fiat-Abarth 1000 as their favorite, which earned the owner a Carrera racetrack.
Pleasure drivers and time hunters
The Gaisberg race is a regularity event and competition-oriented people compete to complete the ascent to the Gaisberg in exactly 10 minutes or to complete certain zones of the city Grand Prix route at specified (city-compatible) speeds.
So while some meticulously tried to adhere to target times, others simply drove along for the fun of it, dispensing with stopwatches and enjoying the proper use of their sports or racing vehicle. Of course, you couldn't win with this tactic, but you could have a lot of fun.
The battle with the windshield wiper
The weather was, of course, a source of jokes. "In Salzburg, you can choose the weather: Rain warm or rain cold," one of the participants told us and another enlightened the tourists about Salzburg's "Schnürlregen", which is a specific form of drizzle or drizzle that occurs mainly in the Salzkammergut region during north-facing dust conditions and usually lasts for a long time.
So the windshield wiper played an important role in the closed cars and soon the most adventurous stories on this subject were doing the rounds. There was talk of wipers flying off during transportation, windscreen wiper motors breaking down and wiper arms not being properly attached. And those who had functioning windshield cleaning mechanisms could certainly sing a song about fogging windshields and penetrating water.
One consolation, however, was that the weather was the same for everyone.
In the slipstream of Walter Röhrl
The twelfth Gaisberg event was given a special highlight by the participation of rally legend Walter Röhrl, who drove a Porsche 356 B 1600 Carrera GTL Abarth from the factory museum from 1960.
When asked about the best tactics for driving evenly around the Salzburgring - after a reference lap, the participants should achieve three times that are as identical as possible on the remaining laps - Röhrl said that driving at the limit is of course the most consistent. "But I can't do that here, because the Abarth-Porsche has just been overhauled and if I push it to the limit, the museum people will faint. So I'll take it easy on the car. During test drives at the limit on the Nürburgring, I consistently achieve lap times that are barely a second apart and this without a clock on board," said the long Bavarian.
The difficulty of driving gently was then compounded by the Gaisberg participants, who were clearly in the amateur league compared to Röhrl, and whose braking points and choice of lines probably often caused the passionate Porsche driver Röhrl to frown.
After all, the drivers of the racing car field were given ample opportunity to memorize the factory driver's line in the slipstream and admiringly study his skill at lapping. However, even the rally pro's consistency suffered from all the necessary braking and evasive maneuvers.
Gravel and sheet metal
"We stopped counting at 13," said Thomas Matzelberger in the evening, referring to the considerable number of vehicles that had turned off towards the gravel bed at some point on the Salzburgring.
Unfortunately, there were also one or two other cars with bodywork damage, but nothing that could not be repaired. The track, which was quite slippery in places, took its toll, while the drive on the City Grand Prix circuit was accident-free and very disciplined.
The technology also caused problems for one or two participants, but the cool weather at least kept the water temperature display in the green range.
Conciliatory final ride
As in previous years, the last discipline before the winners' ceremony was the third ascent of the Gaisberg. And indeed, the sun came out here and there, probably to show that Salzburg can be different from "Schnürlregen". The temperatures also rose, so there was nothing to stop the Gaisberg race coming to a conciliatory conclusion.
Heavily laden winners
As always, the award ceremony took place in Hangar 7 at Salzburg Airport. Large silver trophies, winners' wreaths and huge Carrera racetrack packs were handed out. The time hunters were able to collect the reward for their efforts and one or two were happy to have entered their car in the right racing category, as the competition was particularly fierce among the post-war sports cars, while pre-war touring cars could be counted on one hand.
Victory in the separate race over around 150 km went to Hermann Wallner and Barbara Vogel in a 1963 Porsche 356 B Cabriolet, followed by Gerhard and Astrid Witzany in a 1965 Ford Mustang 289 and Schorsch Memminger and Christopher Wallmann in a 1951 Pretzel Beetle.
Georg Geyer and Gerald Hegenbart in a 1969 Porsche 914/6 emerged as the overall winners of the Gaisberg overall standings. Second place went to Florian and Sybille Kunz in an Aston Martin DB4, while Karsten and Monika Wohlenberg took home the prize for third place in a Mercedes Benz 230 SL. These three teams were also the leaders in the post-war sports car category.
The other category winners were Wilfried Schaefer and Sandra Hübner in a 1932 Invicta S-Type in the pre-war sports car category and Thomas Henne and Barbara Wernle in a 1938 Atalanta Sport Tourer in the pre-war touring car category, Otmar Wacek and Roswitha Stöllner on a Puch 650 TR Europa from 1967 in the post-war touring cars, Peter and Franziska Sedlmeier on an Aston Martin 2 Litre Speed Ulster from 1937 in the pre-war racing cars and Jutta Roschmann and Gabrele Bürger on the AC Cobra 289 Sports from 1964 in the post-war racing cars.
Police and fire department deployment
Roschmann/Bürger also picked up the ladies' trophy. Before the successful conclusion of the 12th Gaisberg race, however, there were anxious minutes for Jutta Roschmann, who was used to success. Before the start of the Salzburgring, the fuel supply of the Cobra, which was so fond of drinking, no longer worked as usual. A "bypass" was quickly put in place, but in the heat of the moment, large quantities of fuel ended up on the ground. While the fire department dealt with the pools of fuel, a police escort accompanied the women's team with blue lights to the Salzburgring, where the Cobra arrived just in time and completed three timed laps before it ran out of fuel.
Participating cars and results
| Class | StNo | Make | Type | Year | cc | HP | Team | comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| sports car | 1 | Bentley | 3 Litre | 1924 | 3000 | 70 | A/A | |
| Sports car | 2 | Buick | Speedster | 1924 | 4200 | 80 | A | |
| sports car | 3 | Chrysler | Imperial Speedster | 1927 | 3600 | 93 | A/A | 3rd place pre-war sports car |
| Sports car | 4 | Bentley | 4 1/2 | 1928 | 4500 | 120 | D/D | |
| sports car | 5 | Invicta | S-Type | 1929 | 4453 | 115 | CH/CH | |
| Sports car | 6 | Bentley | Speed-Six | 1930 | 7982 | 200 | D | |
| sports car | 7 | Lagonda | T2 Compressor | 1930 | 1954 | 85 | A/A | |
| Sports car | 8 | Invicta | S-Type | 1932 | 4500 | 120 | D/D | Victory pre-war sports car |
| sports car | 9 | MG | PA Supercharged | 1934 | 847 | 42 | A/A | |
| Sports car | 10 | Riley | MPH | 1934 | 1500 | 80 | CH/D | |
| Sports car | 11 | BMW | 328 Roadster | 1937 | 1971 | 80 | D/D | |
| sports car | 12 | BMW | 328 Roadster | 1937 | 1971 | 80 | A/A | |
| sports car | 13 | Riley | 12/4 | 1937 | 1500 | 70 | D/D | |
| Sports car | 14 | Jaguar | SS 100 | 1938 | 2687 | 90 | GB/D | |
| Sports car | 15 | BMW | 328 Roadster | 1938 | 1994 | 120 | A/D | 2nd place pre-war sports car |
| sports car | 16 | Alvis | 12 70 | 1939 | 1800 | 80 | D/B | |
| Sports car | 17 | BMW | 328 Roadster | 1939 | 1984 | 80 | A/A | |
| sports car | 18 | BMW | 328 Autenrieth convertible | 1939 | 1957 | 80 | A/A | |
| Sports car | 19 | Siata | Daina Gran Sport | 1952 | 1478 | 55 | l/A | |
| Sports car | 20 | Jaguar | XK 120 OTS | 1953 | 3442 | 200 | A/D | |
| sports car | 21 | Denzel | 1500 | 1954 | 1488 | 80 | A/A | |
| Sports car | 22 | Jaguar | XK 140 OTS | 1954 | 3417 | 209 | A/A | |
| sports car | 23 | Aston Martin | DB 2/4 | 1955 | 2922 | 103 | D/D | |
| Sports car | 24 | Mercedes Benz | 190 SL | 1955 | 1897 | 105 | A/A | |
| sports car | 25 | Austin Healey | 100/4 BN2 | 1955 | 2660 | 66 | CH/CH | |
| Sports car | 26 | Jaguar | C-Type | 1955 | 3800 | 220 | CH/CH | |
| Sports car | 27 | Swallow Doretti | Shapecraft | 1955 | 2000 | 115 | CH/CH | |
| Sports car | 28 | Porsche | 356 A Speedster | 1956 | 1600 | 75 | D/A | |
| sports car | 29 | Jaguar | XK 120 | 1953 | 3442 | 160 | A/USA | |
| sports car | 30 | Mercedes Benz | 300 SL Roadster | 1957 | 2996 | 215 | D/D | |
| sports car | 31 | Ferrari | 250 GT Scaglietti Spider | 1957 | 2953 | 240 | A/D | |
| sports car | 32 | Porsche | 356 A Coupé | 1958 | 1600 | 90 | A/A | |
| sports car | 33 | Triumph | TR3A | 1959 | 2000 | 100 | CH/CH | |
| Sports car | 34 | Porsche | 356 A | 1959 | 1600 | 60 | A/A | |
| sports car | 35 | MG | MG A Roadster 1600 | 1959 | 1990 | 90 | GB/GB | |
| sports car | 36 | Austin Healey | 3000 MK I | 1960 | 2912 | 126 | D/D | |
| Sports car | 37 | Austin Healey | 3000 MK I | 1960 | 3000 | 130 | D/D | |
| Sports car | 38 | Porsche | 356 B GT | 1960 | 1600 | 90 | A/A | |
| sports car | 39 | AC | Ace | 1960 | 1971 | 102 | A/D | |
| Sports car | 40 | Aston Martin | DB 4 | 1960 | 3700 | 286 | A/A | Overall runner-up, 2nd place post-war sports car |
| Sports car | 41 | Porsche | 356 Convertible | 1960 | 1600 | 75 | A | |
| Sports car | 42 | AC | Ace Bristol Roadster | 1960 | 1971 | 130 | A/A | |
| sports car | 43 | Aston Martin | DB 4 | 1961 | 3700 | 240 | NL/D | |
| Sports car | 44 | Jaguar | E-Type | 1962 | 3800 | 269 | D/D | |
| sports car | 45 | Triumph | TR3 B | 1962 | 1991 | 95 | CH/CH | |
| Sports car | 46 | Austin Healey | 3000 MK II | 1962 | 3000 | 130 | A/A | |
| Sports car | 47 | Porsche | 356 B Super 90 | 1963 | 1582 | 90 | A/A | |
| sports car | 48 | Porsche | 356 B Convertible | 1963 | 1600 | 75 | A/A | Victory in the classification |
| sports car | 49 | Porsche | 356 SC/Cabrio | 1963 | 1600 | 95 | A/A | |
| sports car | 50 | Porsche | 356 Convertible SC | 1964 | 1584 | 95 | A/A | |
| sports car | 51 | Porsche | 356 Convertible Police | 1964 | 1600 | 75 | A/A | |
| sports car | 52 | Porsche | 356 SC | 1964 | 1800 | 130 | A/A | |
| sports car | 53 | Elva | Courier MK III | 1964 | 1500 | 75 | A/A | |
| Sports car | 54 | Austin Healey | 3000 MK III | 1964 | 3000 | 150 | A/A | |
| Sports car | 55 | Mercedes Benz | 230 SL | 1964 | 2800 | 200 | D/USA | Third overall, 3rd place post-war sports car |
| Sports car | 56 | Lotus | Elan S2 | 1965 | 1558 | 105 | A/A | |
| sports car | 57 | Porsche | 911 | 1965 | 1992 | 145 | A/A | |
| sports car | 58 | Austin Healey | 3000 MK III | 1965 | 2912 | 150 | D/D | |
| sports car | 59 | Porsche | 356 C | 1965 | 1582 | 55 | A/A | |
| Sports car | 60 | Corvette | Sting Ray | 1965 | 5400 | 220 | D/D | |
| sports car | 61 | Ford | Mustang 289 | 1965 | 4790 | 270 | D/D | 2nd place in the classification |
| sports car | 62 | Ferrari | 330 GTC | 1967 | 3967 | 300 | CH/CH | |
| Sports car | 63 | Alfa Romeo | Spider Duetto | 1967 | 1600 | 109 | A/A | |
| sports car | 64 | Porsche | 911 S | 1967 | 1991 | 160 | D/D | |
| sports car | 65 | Aston Martin | DB 6 | 1967 | 3995 | 242 | D | |
| sports car | 66 | Sunbeam | Tiger 2 | 1967 | 4737 | 320 | A/A | |
| Sports car | 67 | Triumph | TR5 PI | 1968 | 2498 | 150 | CH/CH | |
| Sports car | 68 | Morgan | 4 4 | 1969 | 1600 | 80 | A/A | |
| Sports car | 69 | Porsche | 911 E | 1969 | 2311 | D/D | ||
| sports car | 70 | Porsche | 914/6 | 1969 | 1991 | 110 | A/A | Overall victory, post-war sports car victory |
| Sports car | 71 | Alpine | A110 1600 S | 1969 | 1600 | 125 | D/D | |
| sports car | 72 | Mercedes Benz | 280 SL | 1969 | 2778 | 180 | D/A | |
| sports car | 73 | Ferrari | Dino 246 GT | 1969 | 2418 | 198 | A/A | |
| sports car | 74 | Porsche | 911 S | 1969 | 1991 | 170 | A/A | |
| sports car | 75 | Porsche | 911 S Targa | 1969 | 1991 | 170 | A/l | |
| sports car | 76 | Jaguar | E-Type Coupé | 1969 | 4200 | 300 | CH/CH | |
| Sports car | 77 | Ferrari | Dino 246 GT | 1969 | 2418 | 200 | A/A | |
| sports car | 78 | Porsche | 914/6 | 1969 | 1977 | 110 | D/D | |
| sports car | 79 | Jaguar | E-Type Coupé | 1969 | 5354 | 295 | A/A | |
| sports car | 80 | Maserati | Ghibli | 1969 | 4709 | 320 | A/A | |
| sports car | 81 | Ferrari | Dino 246 GT | 1969 | 2418 | 195 | D/A | |
| sports car | 82 | Mercedes Benz | 280 SL | 1969 | 2748 | 170 | A/A | |
| Touring car | 85 | Rolls Royce | Phantom I | 1930 | 7688 | 70 | A/A | 2nd place pre-war touring car |
| Touring car | 86 | Lagonda | W24 Tourer | 1932 | 3181 | 90 | D/D | |
| Touring car | 87 | Atalanta | Sport Tourer | 1938 | 2500 | 120 | CH/CH | Victory pre-war touring car |
| Touring car | 88 | Alfa Romeo | 6 C 2500 SS | 1949 | 2443 | 110 | D/D | |
| Touring car | 89 | Jaguar | XK 150 DHC | 1960 | 2443 | 104 | CH/CH | |
| Touring car | 90 | VW | Pretzel convertible | 1951 | 1500 | 65 | D/D | |
| Touring car | 91 | VW | Pretzel | 1951 | 1500 | 65 | D/D | 3rd place in the classification |
| Touring car | 92 | VW | Pretzel twitter | 1952 | 1800 | 81 | A/A | 2nd place post-war touring car |
| Touring car | 93 | Salmson | 2300 S | 1954 | 2300 | 105 | A/A | |
| Touring car | 94 | Lancia | Aurelia B20 S | 1956 | 2451 | 110 | D/D | |
| Touring car | 95 | Maserati | 3500 GT | 1959 | 3500 | 191 | D/l | |
| Touring car | 96 | Facel Vega | HK 500 | 1959 | 5990 | 500 | CH | |
| Touring car | 97 | Alvis | TD 21 DHC | 1962 | 3000 | 120 | D/A | |
| Touring car | 98 | Steyr Puch | 650 T | 1963 | 643 | 25 | A/A | |
| Touring car | 99 | Volvo | 122S | 1963 | 1778 | 90 | D/D | |
| Touring car | 100 | Fiat | Abarth | 1963 | 1000 | 87 | CH/CH | |
| Touring car | 101 | Jaguar | MKII | 1963 | 3781 | 220 | D/A | |
| Touring car | 102 | Lancia | Flaminia Coupé Touring | 1964 | 2800 | D/ | ||
| Touring car | 103 | Alfa Romeo | 2600 Spider | 1964 | 2584 | 107 | A/A | |
| Touring car | 104 | Alfa Romeo | 2600 OSI | 1965 | 2584 | 107 | A/A | not at the start |
| Touring car | 105 | Alfa Romeo | 2600 Sprint | 1966 | 2584 | 107 | A/A | |
| Touring car | 106 | Ford | Mustang 2+2 | 1965 | 4736 | 200 | A/A | |
| Touring car | 107 | Volvo | 122 S | 1965 | 1780 | 86 | Irish/D | |
| Touring car | 108 | Renault | Caravelle | 1967 | 1100 | 39 | A/A | |
| Touring car | 109 | Alfa Romeo | Sprint GT Veloce | 1967 | 1600 | 109 | A/A | |
| Touring car | 110 | Puch | 650 TR Europe | 1967 | 650 | 27 | A/A | Victory post-war touring car |
| touring car | 111 | MG | C GT | 1968 | 2912 | 160 | A/A | 3rd place post-war touring car |
| Touring car | 112 | Renault | 8 Gordini | 1968 | 1254 | 60 | A/A | |
| Touring car | 113 | Jaguar | MKII | 1968 | 2480 | 133 | D/D | |
| Touring car | 114 | Simca | 1200S Bertone | 1968 | 1200 | 80 | CH/CH | |
| Touring car | 115 | Innocenti | Mini Cooper MK2 | 1969 | 998 | 55 | A/A | |
| Touring car | 116 | Austro Daimler | 1925 | A/A | 3rd place pre-war touring car | |||
| racing car | 118 | Alfa Romeo | 6 C 1750 | 1929 | 1750 | 120 | D/D | |
| Racing car | 119 | Alfa Romeo | 8C 2300 Spider Touring Corsa | 1932 | 2300 | 150 | A/A | |
| Racing car | 120 | MG | Magnette supercharger | 1933 | 1250 | 100 | CH/CH | 3rd place pre-war racing car |
| Racing car | 121 | MG | K 3 Magnette | 1934 | 1100 | 125 | D/D | |
| Racing car | 122 | Alvis | DKC 731 | 1936 | 3600 | 150 | CH/CH | 2nd place pre-war racing car |
| Racing car | 123 | Aston Martin | 21 Speed Ulster | 1937 | 1948 | 120 | D/D | Victory pre-war racing car |
| Racing car | 124 | Veritas | RS | 1949 | 1969 | 140 | D/D | |
| Racing car | 125 | Maserati | A6 GCS | 1954 | 1986 | 170 | CH | |
| Racing car | 126 | Jaguar | E Type Lightweight | 1963 | 4412 | 330 | A/A | |
| Racing car | 127 | Mercedes Benz | 300 SL Porter | 1955 | 2996 | 320 | D/D | |
| Racing car | 128 | Ferrari | 500 Mondial | 1955 | 2999 | 260 | D | |
| racing car | 129 | Porsche | 550 RS Spyder | 1955 | 1600 | 120 | D/D | |
| Racing car | 130 | Ferrari | 500 TR | 1956 | 1984 | 180 | D | |
| Racing car | 131 | Mercedes Benz | 300 SLS | 1957 | 2987 | 210 | D/D | |
| racing car | 132 | Enzmann | 506 | 1957 | 1600 | 75 | D/CH | |
| Racing car | 133 | Porsche | 356 A Carrera GS | 1957 | 1587 | 140 | D/D | |
| Racing car | 134 | Porsche | 356 1500 Carrera Speedster GT | 1957 | 1498 | 140 | D/A | |
| racing car | 135 | Porsche | 356 A Carrera GT | 1959 | 1600 | 115 | A/D | |
| racing car | 136 | Porsche | 356 B 1600 Carrera GTL Abarth | 1960 | 1587 | 135 | D/A | |
| Racing car | 137 | Alfa Romeo | Sprint Barchetta | 1961 | 1570 | 150 | A/A | |
| Racing car | 138 | JWF | Milano GT | 1962 | 2998 | 220 | CH | |
| Racing car | 139 | Porsche | 1963 | D/ | ||||
| racing car | 140 | AC Cobra | 289 Shelby | 1963 | 4726 | 320 | A/A | |
| race car | 141 | Porsche | 718 W RS Spyder | 1963 | 1981 | 240 | D/D | |
| racing car | 142 | Porsche | 904 GTS | 1964 | 1996 | 180 | D | 3rd place post-war racing car |
| racing car | 143 | AC Cobra | 289 Sports | 1964 | 4727 | 271 | D/D | Victory post-war racing car |
| racing car | 144 | Porsche | 904 GTS | 1964 | 1966 | 180 | A/A | 2nd place post-war racing car |
| racing car | 145 | Lancia | Sport Zagato Prototipo 1091 | 1964 | 1800 | 148 | A/A | |
| Racing car | 146 | Ferrari | 275 GTB 6C Speciale | 1965 | 3286 | 300 | A/A | |
| Racing car | 147 | Porsche | Carrera 6 | 1966 | 1991 | 210 | D/D | |
| racing car | 148 | Ferrari | Dino 206 SP | 1966 | 1986 | 215 | D | |
| racing car | 149 | Alfa Romeo | GTAm | 1968 | 1750 | 190 | CH/CH | |
| Racing car | 150 | Lola | T70 MKIIIb | 1969 | 6300 | 450 | D/D | |
| racing car | 202 | Porsche | 904 GTS | 1964 | 2000 | 180 | A/A |
