Winter rallies have their own dynamics and demand the maximum from vehicles and crews. The Planai-Classic is no exception, as the restriction to 1972 and older ensures that neither ABS nor electronics, xenon lights nor ESP help when driving on snowy or icy roads day and night.
And for the two very determined drivers who venture into the snow in an open-top pre-war racing car, not even a heater or any power assistance makes driving easy.
Tough conditions
And the weather makes the rally even tougher than in other years. There is 20 centimetres of snow at the Niederöblarn airfield - it has to be cleared. The Dachstein toll road is covered in snow throughout. The special stages in the Enns Valley and the side valleys are in the depths of winter - something that has not happened in recent years.
Without studded tires, the classic cars have a hard time. The batteries are also under strain: At night, temperatures drop to minus 15 degrees in some cases. The 40 km/h average becomes a challenge in these conditions. Sliding and drifting is fine, but too much slippage distorts the distance measurement on which the entire system of the regularity competition is based.
Technical scrutineering before the rally
Before the participants embark on the Planai-Classic 2015 adventure, the vehicles must undergo technical scrutineering.
As the participants of the Planai-Classic are also driving in regular traffic on their way through the picturesque winter landscape of the Schladming/Dachstein region, indicators, lights and, of course, the tires are also subjected to a hearing and visual inspection. Then the technical inspectors Huber and Steinbacher take care of the installation and inspection of the odometer (Halda).
These odometers work purely mechanically and are driven by the speedometer cable. After installation, the Halda must be calibrated on a specified reference track to ensure smooth and, above all, accurate measurement operation.
European Rally Champion Andreas Aigner had to change his plans before the start of the 2015 Planai Classic. The Tatra 603 in which Aigner had originally planned to tackle the rally refused to work. Aigner will therefore start with a Volvo P1800 Coupé from Ernst Harrach's collection.
Selecting the conditions
The Planai-Classic 2015 will start with a special stage around Pichlarn Castle.
The following day, it's off to the Gröbming trotting track. Bright sunshine and mild temperatures attracted many spectators to admire the crews of the classic cars as they circled the oval in a "species-appropriate" manner, i.e. drifting.
As on the previous evening, Ingrid Corsmann and Thomas Voglar came out on top with their VW 1302 S. 64 points secured victory on the trotting track ahead of Franz Brachinger and Gottfried Sommerauer in a BMW 2002 tii (77 points). Third place went to Erich Landerl and Gilbert Ragowsky in a Volvo 123GT (129 points) ahead of Thomas Matzelberger and Martin Rettenbacher in an MG A Coupé (136 points).
Andreas Aigner and Ulrike Glöckner were able to finish the special stages on the trotting track in 17th place, Franz Wittmann and Alberto Doma suffered a "mental error" and finished the SS in 25th place.
Rain, snow and sunshine
The second day of the Planai-Classic 2015 demanded everything from the drivers and vehicles due to the adverse weather conditions. Rain, snowfall and sunshine alternate constantly in the afternoon and change the road surface accordingly
Due to these capricious weather conditions, the Stoderzinken mountain classification had to be canceled as the road was no longer passable.
Normally, racing drivers pull a long face when a cancellation is announced, but this time even long-established Planai Classic drivers like Pius Weckerle are grateful. "I've often started at the Planai-Classic, but I've never had weather like this."
Plenty of action in the prologue too: Christian Clerici and Peter Rossmanith have to cope without windshield wipers on their Porsche. Franz Wittmann and Alberto Dona stop to help a participant who is stuck. "We stopped and pulled him out. I can't leave him there."
The two pre-war crews in their open-top cars, Johann Kofler in his Sunbeam Supersport (1930) and Carlo Hasenöhrl in his Austin 7 Single Seater (1936), suffered the most. But they also reach the finish line in Gröbming and are greeted with a hearty round of applause from the spectators.
Franz Wittmann makes up ground on the Moosheim stage (6-9) with just 37 penalty points, while Andreas Aigner does his best on the Niederöblarn airfield stage in his Volvo P1800 and scores 0 penalty points.
On the "Dachstein Bergauf" stage, Pius Weckerle and Otmar Schlager (Porsche 911) score the fewest points, while Peter Kapeller and Beat Sutter in their Volvo PV544 from Switzerland do the same downhill.
In the overall standings after the second day, Güter Schwarzbauer and Erich Hemmelmayer (1555 points) in a Datsun 240Z lead the field and also Era 3 (built between 1965 and 1972). Planai Classic veterans Pius Weckerle and Otmar Schlager (1684 points) took second place in their Porsche 911 ahead of Ingrid Corsmann and Thomas Voglar (2120 points) in the VW 1302 S.
Fourth place went to Werner Fessl and Peter Schöggl (2308 points) in a Fiat Abarth, followed by Franz Brachinger and Gottfried Sommerauer (2581 points) in a BMW 2002 tii. Franz Wittmann and Alberto Dona (2976 points) took sixth place overall. The leaders of Era 2 (vehicles built between 1950 and 1964) follow in seventh place: Thomas Matzelberger and Martin Rettenbacher (3246 points) in an MG A Coupé.
Andreas Aigner and Ulrike Glöckner follow in tenth place, with Rauno Aaltonen and Helmut Artacker in twelfth place. Carlo Hasenöhrl is in 30th place overall and thus leads Category 1 (vehicles built up to 1949). Johann Kofler follows him in 32nd place overall.
And then another storm
The Planai-Classic 2015 will live long in the memory of many a participant. After rain and snowfall had already made the roads impassable in parts on the first two days, a storm on the third day increased the level of difficulty.
But the participants of the Planai-Classic defy even these adverse conditions, it is and remains a real winter rally, with all its pitfalls and challenges. The first stage of the last day traditionally takes place at the Niederöblarn airfield.
In the overall standings, Pius Weckerle and Otmar Schlager (Porsche 911, 1888 points) took the lead ahead of Günter Schwarzbauer and Erich Hemmelmayer in the Datsun 240Z (1958 points). Ingrid Corsmann and Thomas Voglar in the VW 1302 are in third place with 2190 points before the Planai mountain stage.
Final stage in chains
The Planai mountain stage is the final act on the program and rally legend Rauno Aaltonen already announced in Niederöblarn that he would be using snow chains for the first time in his long career in Austria: "Until now, I have only used chains as an approach aid in the mud of Kenya and Nairobi."
Günter Schwarzbauer and Erich Hemmelmayer (2547 points in total) coped best with the adverse conditions in their Datsun 240Z. They regained the lead from Pius Weckerle in the Porsche on the stage to the Planai mountain stage. Of course, the overall victory also means victory in Era 3.
Second place was secured by Ingrid Corsmann and Thomas Voglar (3014 points) in the VW 1302. The pair were among the front runners from the start and were able to maintain their excellent position right to the finish.
Third place in the overall standings went to Franz Brachinger and Gottfried Sommerauer (3084 points) in a BMW 2002 tii. To ensure their success, Brachinger opted for traction and without further ado loaded a crate of 50 kilograms of nails and three bottles of mineral water into the trunk of his BMW.
Werner Fessl and Peter Schöggl (Fiat 124 Abarth) took fourth place ahead of Pius Weckerle and Otmar Schlager in a Porsche 911, while former rally champion Franz Wittmann and Alberto Dona (Porsche 911 T Coupé) were able to move up to sixth place. Wittmann said at the finish: "The old men here drive pretty fast, now I'm an old man too."
The top ten was completed by Thomas Matzelberger with co-driver Martin Rettenbacher (MG A Coupé/Winner Epoch 2), Michael Haberl and Sebastian Haberl, also in a Porsche 911. Ninth and tenth places were secured by Rauno Aaltonen in a Mini Cooper and Andreas Aigner in a Volvo P1800. Christian Clerici and Peter Rossmanith (Porsche 911) finished 16th overall ahead of Rudi Roubinek and Günther Schrems in a Volvo 142.
The pre-war heroes
The two drivers in Era 1 take on unimaginable hardships. Johann Kofler in the Sunbeam Supersport and Carlo Hasenöhrl in the Austin 7 Single Seater Special drive the Planai-Classic 2015 with an "unsoldered" car, i.e. without a protective roof and without a co-pilot.
Despite these aggravating circumstances, the two of them put up a good fight and were greeted with loud applause from the spectators. Kofler came 27th overall, followed by Hasenöhrl in 29th place.
And the skiers?
Hans Knauss achieves the impossible in the combined classification of the Planai Classic in the World Cup Park. He managed to complete two runs on the Planai World Championship slope with identical times and thus win the combined classification together with the winning team of the car classification, Günter Schwarzbauer and Erich Hemmelmayer.
Co-organizer Helmut Zwickl concludes: "This was pure driving. Formula 1 is not everything. Here you can see that you can also drive 60-year-old cars at the limit under extreme conditions."
Results of the Planai Classic 2015 in detail
| Rank | Start no. | Class | Vehicle | Year | Nation | Penalty points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 39 | 3 | Datsun 240Z | 1972 | A | 2547 |
| 2 | 42 | 3 | VW 1302S | 1972 | A | 3014 |
| 3 | 41 | 3 | BMW 2002 Tii | 1972 | A | 3084 |
| 4 | 38 | 3 | Fiat Abarth | 1972 | A | 3275 |
| 5 | 26 | 3 | Porsche 914/6 | 1969 | A | 3306 |
| 6 | 37 | 3 | Porsche 911 T Coupé | 1972 | A | 4282 |
| 7 | 5 | 2 | MG A Coupé | 1957 | A | 4366 |
| 8 | 17 | 3 | Porsche 911 | 1965 | A | 5431 |
| 9 | 36 | 3 | Mini Cooper | 1972 | FIN/A | 5571 |
| 10 | 14 | 3 | Volvo P 1800 | 1966 | A | 5574 |
| 11 | 15 | 2 | Austin Mini Cooper S | 1964 | A | 5802 |
| 12 | 24 | 3 | Volvo 123 GT | 1968 | A | 6193 |
| 13 | 6 | 2 | VW 11 Luxury | 1957 | A | 6248 |
| 14 | 3 | 2 | VW Beetle Mille Miglia | 1954 | D | 8111 |
| 15 | 25 | 3 | VW Beetle | 1968 | A | 9201 |
| 16 | 33 | 3 | Porsche 911 T Coupé | 1971 | A | 9342 |
| 17 | 21 | 3 | Volvo 142 | 1968 | A | 10024 |
| 18 | 32 | 3 | Lancia Flavia Coupé | 1970 | D | 12215 |
| 19 | 22 | 3 | VW Beetle convertible | 1968 | A | 12408 |
| 20 | 29 | 3 | Volvo 123S | 1970 | A | 12953 |
| 21 | 35 | 3 | Ford Escort RS 2000 | 1972 | A | 13913 |
| 22 | 9 | 2 | Volvo PV544 | 1960 | CH | 14273 |
| 23 | 40 | 3 | VW Beetle 1303S | 1972 | A | 14312 |
| 24 | 8 | 2 | Porsche 356B Coupe | 1959 | A | 14546 |
| 25 | 23 | 3 | Volvo Amazon P122 S | 1968 | D | 15665 |
| 26 | 7 | 2 | VW Beetle | 1958 | A | 16632 |
| 27 | 1 | 1 | Sunbeam Supersport | 1930 | A | 16932 |
| 28 | 18 | 3 | Volvo PV 544 S | 1966 | S | 17174 |
| 29 | 2 | 1 | Austin 7 Single Seater Special | 1936 | A | 17506 |
| 30 | 11 | 2 | Ford 17M P3 | 1961 | D | 17693 |
| 31 | 10 | 2 | MG A Coupé | 1961 | D | 18114 |
| 32 | 12 | 2 | Land Rover Series 2a Station | 1962 | A | 18140 |
| 33 | 19 | 3 | Volvo Amazon GT | 1962 | D | 18147 |
| 34 | 16 | 3 | MG B Roadster | 1965 | GB | 18519 |
| 35 | 20 | 3 | BMW 2000 Ti | 1962 | D | 19204 |
| 36 | 31 | 5 | Lancia Fulvia Coupé Zagato | 1971 | F | 21278 |
| 37 | 4 | 2 | Austin A30 | 1956 | A | 22015 |
| 38 | 28 | 3 | Maserati Indy | 1970 | A | 22229 |
| 39 | 43 | 3 | Mini 1000 | 1972 | A | 25838 |
| 40 | 30 | 3 | VW Beetle 1302 S | 1970 | A | 38071 |
