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By
Billie Ann Lopez
Beginning
with a parade, almost 100 Old Timer automobiles gathered together in
Krems for a weekend of fun--October 5-7. The Thousand Minutes
Old Timers Rallye included five international teams from Germany,
Switzerland, Finland, the Netherlands, and Argentina amongst the many
Austrian entrants.
The
Thousand Minutes Old Timers Rallye began in Krems. A scheduled
Saturday mid-day lunch at Schloss Rosenau, and another scheduled
mid-day reststop at the Carthusian Monastery in Gaming on Sunday,
provided crowds the opportunity for a closer look, before
participants finished the weekend event back in Krems Sunday evening.
Participants
were divided into two categories, Historic and Classic. The
Historic motorcars, all built before 1945, were required to drive 500
kilometers, and performed seven different tests. The Classics
were built after 1945, driven 700 kilometers, and performed 12
different tests. Speed was not the primary criteria as
participants were required to reach certain points at certain
times. Each driver was accompanied by a navigator. Maps
of their route were distributed just before the Rallye began.
Click
on photo for larger view
Amongst
the highlights from the Historic category was the splendidly
restored 1930 Graef & Stift SP8, weighing 3,200 kilos, capable of
140 kms per hour. It was driven by the Austrian team Stephan
and Barbara Reitgruber. Mr. Reitgruber has spent the last 40
years exploring the history of Graef & Stift. Other
Austrian teams drove a 1934 Rover Special, a 1938 MG Midget TA, a
1938 Citroen 15 Avant, and a 1941 Cadillac 62-41 Convertible Coupe.
From
the Classics category, a rare 1951 Marauder A was driven by the
Austrian team Michael and Gabriele Mayr-Harting. Of the 15
Marauders built, 11 survive today. Herbert Fischer and Peter
Weilharter drove a 1955 Bentley S1, and Walter and Sonja Branter
drove a 1955 Austin Healy 100 Le Mans. Ing. Peter Denzel, who
owns the Denzel dealership in Vienna, drove a Denzel 1300 SS from
1954. Ing. Denzel's father, Wolfgang, built the Denzel
sportscar, defeated Stirling Moss in the 1954 Criterium des Alpes in
a Denzel 1500, and was instrumental in saving BMW by designing the
successful BMW 700 in 1959.
There
were a large number of vintage Porsches and Jaguars
participating. Amongst the Porsche teams was Rauna Aaltonen,
known as the "Flying Finn" for his many successful rally
victories. He drove a 1972 Porsche 911 Carrera RS. 1975
was the cut-off year for this year's participants.
The
Recent Racing Club, RRC 13, organized the event seeking to revive a
similar competition from 25 years ago. The RRC 13 hopes the
Thousand Minutes Old Timers Rallye will become an annual event and
part of the European championship in 2002. Plans for the 2002
Thousand Minutes Old Timer Rallye are already underway. For
more information about the 2002 event, contact:
Automobilsportclub, RRC 13, "1000 Minuten Klassik 2002",
Penzinger Str. 69/10, A-1140 Wien. |
