The 36th Kitzbüheler Alpenrallye took place under perfect conditions.
Alexander Linz and Michaela Beznaus in the Alfa Romeo Giulia Carabinieri from 1972 performed best on the regularity runs and won the approximately 600-kilometer-long Alpine rally. This was the third time Linz had driven the beautiful Alfa Romeo to first place in the Kitzbühel Alpine Rally.
Florian Kunz and Gerald Hegenbart drove the Aston Martin DB4 to second place and the Mercedes-Benz SL 280 of Jürgen and Maik Wurster completed the podium in the Sport Plus class, which is driven without electric aids.
Stefan and Melanie Wirtgen won the sports classification, in which digital timekeeping is also permitted, in the 1958 300 SL, closely followed by Burkhard Müller and Fabian Mohr in the 250 SL. Jürgen Wirtgen and Stephan Heberer in the 300 SL in 3rd place ensured a pure Mercedes-Benz podium.
The Classic Trophy (same route, fewer special stages) was won by Thomas Kohut and Heike Kiess in their 190 SL. Second place went to Ulrich and Petra Knieling in their Triumph TR6 and third place was secured by Harald and Vera Hoffmann in their Corvette C3.
Perfect weather with a fantastic backdrop
It wasn't just the winners of the classes who had reason to celebrate, as all participants were able to enjoy the fantastic weather conditions. The first stage, the prologue to St. Johann, was crowned by the Air Independence Airfield special stage at the airfield. Burkhard Müller and Fabian Mohr came closest to the speed average in their Mercedes-Benz 250 SL and were delighted to receive a flying lesson in the Air Independence jet.
On Friday, the highlight of this year's edition was the Grossglockner circuit, where participants were treated to a stunning panorama and immense walls of snow. At the same time as Ferdinand Porsche celebrated the reopening of the Mankei inn, synergies were exploited and Austria's highest mountain was transformed into a sports car paradise.
On Saturday, the weather was just as fantastic as the day before as the participants headed towards Chiemsee and back to Kitzbühel via Ellmau, where numerous fans awaited them. The closed-off town center was quickly transformed into a Concours d'Elegance and thus offered the opportunity to observe the exclusive vehicles at close range.
During the gathering at the center, a renowned jury selected the 68-year-old Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Roadster of Argentinians Jorge and Matias Zubillaga as the most beautiful car of the 2023 Alpine Rally.
Successful start to a new era
Finally, an honorary award was presented to Markus Christ, who has managed the Alpenrallye for 20 years and handed over the reins to Florian Zinnagl before this year's Alpenrallye.
The introduction of the new Exceptional Cars class with younger vehicles was very well received and the further improvements to the event were greeted with overwhelmingly positive feedback.
The successful 36th edition lays the foundation for an innovative and high-quality future for the Kitzbühel Alpine Rally and fuels anticipation for the next edition from May 29 to June 1, 2024.
