The 2024 classic car season opened on the weekend of January 11-13 with the Planai Classic. Challenging winter road conditions were combined with bright sunshine; 41 cars from Germany, England, Sweden, Japan, Italy and the USA lined up at the start in Schladming.
The thick blanket of snow, which had paralyzed the whole of Munich and the surrounding area last December, was preserved until the rally weekend thanks to cool temperatures and covered the Enns Valley in its most beautiful winter dress. No special stage had to be canceled; everything went as planned.
In addition to typical rally cars, there were also a few more unusual models among the starting field. Hans-Joachim Stuck started in a 90 hp Porsche 912 from 1968, while young influencer Jonas Lach impressed with the oldest and smallest, but probably also the most agile car in the field: an Austin Seven Ulster Special. Equipped with several cameras, he drifted around the small oval in the little English car at the speed limit and thrilled the numerous fans around the harness racing track in Gröbming.
Volvos already have a good reputation as winter cars due to their origins. They have wonderfully effective heaters, are robust and easy to operate. The experienced Planai duo Hansi Mlcoch and Martin Laaha have been using their 1970 Volvo 121 as a loyal competition car for many years, and this year they finished in first place for the first time.
Second place also went to a Volvo Amazon with Claude and Andrea Schwegler. Ingrid Corsmann and Thomas Voglar took third place with their VW Beetle! Fritz and Karin Müller in a Porsche 914/6, who had finished the first two days in third place, were relegated to fifth place in the final standings. Hubertus and Hannelore Suppan moved up to fourth place in their NSU TT. The leaders of the first day, Gerhard and Astrid Witzany in their Ford Mustang, took 15th place in the final standings.
There were no retirements or accidents. Although the technical team was on duty around the clock, they were always able to help with minor breakdowns.
What else we noticed....
- ...that all the drivers had fun and showed this time and again with wonderful drifts.
- ...that the Italian "navigation system" has its problems in Styria, as the crew of the Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint showed with its searching back and forth.
- ...that the small NSU TT not only feels at home on asphalt, but also in the snow if the driver has the rear-heavy vehicle under control.
- ...that a Bernese Mountain Dog filling the back seat of the Trabant 601 gave itself a good hiding for the entire three days.
- ...that the yellow Porsche 911 drove the mountain stages with the hood open in order to generate even more downforce despite the rear engine.
- ...that more and more historic cars are equipped with modern xenon lights for the dark, which offer the driver a good view, but unfortunately spoil many pictures for the photographer.
- ...that even the slightest carelessness, such as mistaking a time barrier for a photo tripod that just happens to be standing around, can result in a lot of penalty points.
