Participants in Austria's most beautiful winter sheet metal event were spared nothing on the second day (Saturday) of the Planai-Classic 2020. At the first special stage of the day, at the Niederöblarn Alpine airfield, even walking was a dangerous business - not to mention driving fast and on time. But even the Berlin pilots of the pre-war Riley 12/4 from 1936, the oldest car in the entire field, rose to the challenge.
Winter weather
Directly from the airfield, the 200-kilometre-long Hochwurzen Trophy took off across the country, where the long-awaited snow covered the roads for the first time at higher altitudes.
However, the joy of the white happiness did not last long - the wind soon came up. Or rather: a storm. Not only did it turn the thick drifting snow during the stopover in Schladming into a rather horizontal affair, but it also temporarily paralyzed the power supply in the Gröbming district.
With repairs
However, the weather was kind to the 24th edition of the Planai-Classic. All the wintry elements - snow, ice and sunshine - came together perfectly over the three days. After a lot of rain and the associated ice formation, it snowed through the night just in time for the drifting fun on the Gröbminger trotting track.
The crunchy, icy ground picked up snow and the track conditions were perfect. A complete field of participants was ready to start, including the two vehicles affected by technical defects the day before, the Riley 12/4 with start number 2, where the power leak was found, and the Fiat 2300 S Coupé Abarth from 1963 with start number 11, where the gearbox was replaced overnight.
Old hand
The participants met from 9am for free practice, and from 10:30am for the judged ring race on the trotting track. A few spins, but no serious crashes, testified to the passion with which the participants performed. Old master Hans-Joachim Stuck showed how to drift properly with the rally golf car.
Sun at last
Contrary to the meteorological forecast (snowfall was expected throughout the day), the Planai presented itself in its best outfit, bright sunshine accompanied the race up the Planai, which consisted of two special stages from the middle station up to the Planaihof. The grand finale in the Planai stadium in Schladming also took place in clear visibility and the best, slightly slippery track conditions.
Mercedes for the third time
In a photo finish at the grand finale in the Planaistadion Schladming, the defending champions in the Mercedes 350 SLC, Alexander and Florian Deopito, finally decided the entire competition in their favor with a superior victory. And thus completed the hat-trick of a third Planai-Classic overall victory in a row. Challengers Günter Schwarzbauer and Erich Hemmelmayer in a Datsun 240Z took second place, and were even in the lead after day 2. The race for third place was dominated by the duel between Fritz and Karin Müller (Porsche 914/6) and Hansi Mlcoch and Martin Laaha (Volvo 121), which was ultimately won by Mlcoch / Laaha - by a very narrow margin of just 64 (!) points.
Alexander Deopito on the third victory: "It was again very exhausting, especially the long stage on Saturday demanded everything from us. It's not easy not to lose concentration over such a long time, whether you're the driver or co-driver, the team has to work every second." A few cold deformations in the field also testified to this. Even in the last all-important special stage in the parking lot of the Planai Stadium, some of the competitors got lost and lost a much better position.
Racing legend
Hans Joachim Stuck started as the lead driver with start number 0 in the 282 hp VW Golf Rallye G60 from 1990, which was perfectly restored in 2015. Volkswagen began developing rally cars based on the Golf 1 back in the 1970s.
The Golf 2 celebrated great international success as the GTI 16V and won the Group A World Championship title with the Eriksson/Diekmann team in 1986. In 1987, Volkswagen then developed the 160 hp Golf G60 rally car. From 1989 to 1991, 5000 vehicles were built at the VW plant in Brussels, which meant that the number required for homologation as a Group 1 production touring car had been reached.
Reunion in summer at the Ennstal-Classic
After a really great 24th edition of the Planai-Classic, which presented an impressive spectrum of pretty much all weather conditions that a winter rally can show, the classic car community is now looking forward to its big brother, the summer Ennstal-Classic , which will be holding up its motto "Driving in the last paradise" for the 28th time from July 22 to 25, 2020.
