Despite the downpour on Saturday morning, the crowds of spectators at the Group B Rally Legends could hardly be managed by the security service.
It all started on Friday at 08:00 in the covered paddock at Interspar in Saalfelden. Thousands of visitors were thrilled by the drivers and their spectacular rally cars from four decades. At 7 p.m. the time had finally come and the horsepower monsters started their engines at the shakedown in the ÖAMTC test area and the fans could hardly be held back, so the security service had their hands full.
On Saturday at 08:00 in front of the town hall square in Saalfelden, the Group B rally legends were officially opened with gun salutes and the driving on the various special stages took its course, eagerly awaited by thousands of fans from home and abroad.
Around 80 top drivers and collectors from eight European nations lined up at the start with their unique cars and made the hearts of the countless rally fans beat faster. At 17:00, the supporting program started in the witches' cauldron of Saalfelden with the Audi Quattro meeting, the sports car and tuning show. As a highlight, Mr. Ernst Piëch chauffeured the mayor of Saalfelden, Mr. Rohrmoser, through the narrow streets of the town center in his Prinz Heinrich car from 1910.
Finally, the Gr.B rally legends thrilled the 8,500 excited visitors in the secured public zones in the center of Saalfelden. At the latest when the vehicles drew breathtaking drifts into the asphalt, the witches' cauldron was boiling and the atmosphere was at its absolute peak. The presenters entertained the visitors with all the details about the drivers and their cars.
The IGM-Gr.B Rallyelegenden Österreich and its participants handed over a donation check to "Wings for life" and thus supported the foundation for the cure of paraplegia.
The event was accident-free and was rated by the organizers as a complete success for the region, both in sporting and economic terms, which is quite an achievement considering it was the first time it had been held. And logically, the organizers are already working on new plans for 2015.
Further information can be found on the event website.
