Gaisberg race

Ascent in 2009. BMW 328 and Bentley 4.5l from 1937

The Gaisberg races were mountain races for motorcycles and automobiles that took place on the Gaisberg , the local mountain of the city of Salzburg ( Austria ), between 1929 and 1969.

history

On September 8, 1929, the first international Gaisberg race took place on the Gaisberg. Baron Franz von Preuschen, who lived in Salzburg-Aigen , was the president of the Salzburg Automobile Club that organized this race. It was won by Max von Arco-Zinneberg in a Mercedes-Benz SSK with an average speed of 80 km / h. Manfred von Brauchitsch was victorious in the touring car class with a Mercedes-Benz SS and an average speed of 72 km / h. On the motorcycle, Josef Walla won with a Sunbeam .

The race was first broadcast on the radio on August 31, 1930. The speakers were the Mozarteum director Bernhard Paumgartner and Wolfgang von Karajan . In 1933 the last race took place on Gaisberg before the Second World War .

After the war there was a competition run for the first time on October 19, 1952. Helmut Krackowizer rode a BSA 350. Until the end of the races (1969) he was the place speaker and press officer for the Gaisberg races. The driving school owner Willi Koch achieved the best time.

On August 15, 1957, international motorsport finally began again on the Gaisberg with the first “Austrian Grand Prix”. In front of 25,000 spectators, the Swiss Peter Daetwyler from Zurich won in a 2-liter Maserati in front of the Borgward - works drivers Hans Herrmann and Richard von Frankenberg in a Porsche RS.

The racing director of numerous post-war races on the Gaisberg was government councilor Fritz Stengl, whose father had been the racing director at numerous events in the Salzburg region before the Second World War and whose son Manfred was a successful motorcycle racer and luge rider. There were not motorcycle races at all events, as the Gaisbergrennen was mostly an event for automobiles. Among other things, the European Hill Climb Championship races were held here. Several fatal accidents have also occurred over the years, which ultimately was one of the reasons the event ended.

The penultimate race took place on September 8, 1968 as a run for the FIA's European Hill Climb Championship. Gerhard Mitter drove the 8.6 km long route in a Porsche 909 Bergspyder in the best time of 3: 41.54 minutes. The record time of 3: 39.7 minutes from the previous year is considered unlikely. He won the race after adding two races (7: 23.72 minutes) ahead of Dieter Quester (BMW-Monti) and Rolf Stommelen (Porsche).

On September 7, 1969, the last Gaisberg race took place in front of 10,000 spectators. Another fatal accident happened ( Toni Pelizzoni in a FIAT Abarth 2000 P), which was one of the reasons why the mountain was never again stormed at racing speed.

Attendees

Motorcyclists

Josef Walla Otto Artmeier, BMW dealer, with his wife Sophie as a "lubricant" in a sidecar Philipp Graf Boos-Waldeck from Hallein- Rif Peter Frohnwieser, motorcycle dealer in Salzburg Hans Gessele Otto Heinrich Kaltner Egon Hofer, Salzburg Rudolf Holzermayr Karl Imhof from Böckstein HG Kalchschmidt Willi Koch Alfred Koppenwallner, jeweler in Salzburg

Helmut Krackowizer Ferdinand Kranawetvogl Anton Magnus, owner of a driving school in the city of Salzburg Manfred Magnus , multiple Austrian motorcycle national champion Horst Miedaner, Salzburg Max Reheis, cinema owner in the city of Salzburg Hans Schmirl, Puch dealer in the city of Salzburg Josef Schörg from St. Johann im Pongau Manfred Stengl Rudi Thalhammer Helmut Volzwinkler

Automobile driver

• Max von Arco-Zinneberg
• Edgar Barth (1964 course record in a Porsche RS 61 with 8-cylinder engine: 8.652 km in 4: 11.5 minutes)
• Jean Behra
• Manfred von Brauchitsch
• Anton Fischhaber
• Richard von Frankenberg
• Sepp Greger
• Hans Herrmann
• Gerhard Mitter (1968 track record on a Porsche 909 Bergspyder : 8.6 km in 3: 41.54 minutes)
• Herbert Mueller
• Wolfgang Seidel
• Dieter Quester
• Rolf Stommelen
• Wolfgang Graf Berghe von Trips (1958 course record in a Porsche RS: 8.6 km in 4: 41.9 minutes)
• Jochen Rindt

This list is not complete.

swell

• Siegfried C. Strasser (preface by Hans Herrmann): The Rennberg . The races on the Salzburg Gaisberg. 1st edition. Weishaupt Verlag, Gnas 2004, ISBN 978-3-7059-0195-7 (190 pages, a well-researched overview).
• Hermann Schwarz: 75 years of the Gaisberg race . Ed .: Salzburg Rallye Club. Salzburg Rallye Club, Salzburg 2004 (an illustrated book - without ISBN - only available in Salzburg).
• Motorcycle literature and picture archive by Helmut Krackowizer. Retrieved September 6, 2009 . 

Web links

Commons : Gaisbergrennen  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• short film about the Gaisberg race in 1933

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Mercedes Benz Classic Days 2007. (No longer available online.) Mercedes-benz-clubs.com , archived from the original on August 15, 2014 ; Retrieved July 28, 2014 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
2. ^ Technical Museum Vienna