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Last weekend the Gassner jr. / Mayrhofer team travelled to neighbouring Slovenia. It was the first foreign assignment for the duo and one of the highlights of the current racing season – the 37th Rally Saturnus, held in the Ljubljana area.
The 147 demanding and testing kilometers and summery temperatures demanded everything the participants had to give. After surveying the special stage tests, Ursula Mayrhofer reported: It is with great joy and motivation that we've come here to settle the score left open from last year's event. We would also like to show people that we can perform abroad just as well as we do on our home circuits. But proving this fact won't be easy because the curvy course is extremely demanding for both the drivers and the co-pilots too. Constantly varying asphalt and extreme gravel surfaces, frequent rhythm changes, and extreme temperatures in the cockpit mean that it'll be a full-on task requiring complete application to the job.“
The event will begin on Friday evening with the 3.45km-long show stage check at the Sport Center in Stozice. Gassner Jr. managed to achieve the first personal best, resulting in his starting as "Dominator" on the second day.
Hermann Jr. sums up following the first circuit of the 2nd stage: "So far everything is in order, the car's running perfectly, but the checks we've made will be difficult to rely on completely. The surface grip changes constantly and you never really know what you're in for. Even though we're leading at the moment, the rally is still very long and, as everybody knows, it's all about what happens at the end.“
During the next of the trials, Gassner Jr.'s colleagues Kössler/Hofmann, Gassner/Thannhäuser, Stajf/ Rajnoha and last year's champion Aleks Humar with co-pilot Florian Rus tried their best to keep up with him but it became clear that Gassner Jr. was unassailable on the day. The German / Austrian duo kept their lead right up until the end and finished the rally with a 1:16 min lead, as well as 7 of the 8 best times overall on the initial rankings. Second place went to his father Hermann, and third was taken by Vojtech Staif. It's the first German team victory in nearly 30 years, and the double Gassner family victory will put them into the Rally Saturnus record books.
At the finish, the happy winner said: "We are really happy about this hard-won victory. Once again we have shown that we are fast outside of Germany too. And I'm even happier about the fact that both of the R4 Gassner Motorsport cars that we used came in first and second. The only downside is the new FIA tyre regulations because they endanger the participants and spectators, not only on wet surfaces but also in hot weather. There's got to be a change to the rules before someone has a bad accident.“
The motivated duo's next outing is on the 4th/5th of July 2014 in Lower Saxony at the next stage of the German Rally Championships.
Photo: Marco Mayrhofer