Press release entry results and program
The Austrian Grand Prix on the Rechberg attracts the best mountain racing drivers from all over Europe!
269 participants from 18 nations set a new entry record.
The organizing team is expecting a large crowd of spectators.
The Rechberg race, which has been held on the Rechberg in the Almenland region since 1972 and is being held for the 52nd time this year, is one of the most important motorsport events in Austria and is obviously incredibly popular with the teams. From historic vehicles and brand-new touring cars to brute formula cars, everything is represented that delights the motorsport heart.
269 entries were received by the organizers up to the last second of the entry deadline: “Some teams made it really exciting, because we knew they were coming, but the entry didn’t arrive. But now we can proudly say that we are one of the biggest hill climb races in Europe!” said a visibly delighted Werner Faustmann, race director at the Rechberg.
The organizing trio Mario Klammer, Peter Eibisberger and Christian Ferstl add: “The fact alone that we are welcoming drivers from 18 nations shows just how famous and sought-after our beautiful race track is throughout Europe. And everything is in place for our 52nd race on the Rechberg. There will be even more entertainment for the fans in the form of the Red Bull Truck with DJ in the Lackner Reith between the two races on Sunday.”
A look at the entry statistics
| Overall nomination result: | 269 (new record!) |
| EHC (European Championship Modern) | 75 |
| HHC (European Championship Historical) | 29 |
| ÖBM (Austrian Mountain Championship) | 151 |
| ÖBM-Hist (Austrian Historical Championship) | 28 |
| Slovenian Modern Championship | 14 |
| Slovenian Championship Historic | 4 |
| Slovakian Championship Modern | 13 |
| Slovak GR Championship | 6 |
18 nations
- Austria (159)
- Czech Republic (26)
- Slovenia (18)
- Italy (13)
- Slovakia (11)
- Germany (10)
- Poland (6)
- Switzerland (5)
- Spain (5)
- Croatia (3)
- France (3)
- Serbia (2)
- Romania (2)
- North Macedonia (2)
- Hungary (1)
- Kosovo (1)
- San Marino (1)
- Norway (1)
Record number of Styrian entries: 80 men and 5 women with full Styrian power, and a new record for the women: 11 racing Amazons take up the challenge.
And the entry list in category 2 features big names from the European mountain elite:
Christian Merli (ITA), Joseba Iraola Lanzagorta (ESP), Christoph Lampert (AUT), Hermann Waldy (AUT), Fausto Bormolino (ITA), Kevin and Sebastian Petit (FRA), Alexander Hin (DEU)… just to name a few. Plus Tanja Floss (AUT), Christian and Sigrid Ferstl (AUT) and Tereza Machova (CZE).
There is an extremely good and fast starting field this year, especially in the touring car entry list. “We’ve never had such a collection of top mountain drivers on the Rechberg!” explains a visibly proud Peter Greiter, the event’s driver liaison officer.
And indeed, the Who’s Who of Category 1 has called:
PF1: Last year’s winner Reto Meisel (SUI) is being chased by the likes of:
Ronnie Bratschi (CZE), Dan Michel (CEZ), Niki Zlatkov (AUT), Milan Bubnic (SLO), Igor Stefanovski (MKD), Domagoj Perekovic (CRO) and Grzegorz Rozalski (POL) – he is coming to the Almenland in a 1,000 hp (!) Mitsubishi…
The Austrians Rupert Schwaiger, Felix Pailer, Thomas Nöst and Franz Kogler also want to be right at the front. Of course, last year’s fastest lady will also be there. Kerstin Taus is already looking forward to her performance and is coming to the Almenland well prepared.
PF2: Felix Pailer (AUT), Peter Probhard (AUT), Martin Jerman (CEZ), Kevin Raith (AUT), Thomas Strasser (AUT), Bernhard Permetinger (GER) are probably the fastest in this class and definitely good for a top position in the overall touring car standings.
PF3: Austria is strongly represented here by, among others: Didi Sternad, Hermann Blasl, Michael Kogler, Heiko Fiausch and Herbert Perwein. Strong competition comes from Marek Rybnicek (CZE), Jiri Theimer (CZE) and Milovan Vesnic (SRB).
PF4: As a local hero, Bernd Mayer wants to achieve a top result in his home race. However, headwinds are not only coming from his own (Austrian) ranks with Stefan Datzreiter, Dieter Holzer and Norbert Strasser sen. International competitors in this class include Maximilian Gast (GER), Norbert Nagy (HUN) and Matija Jurisic (CRO), who is very successful in Category 1 (European Champion 2024).
PF5: Chris-Andre Mayer is the hunted here. The man from Tulwitz naturally wants to perform well in front of his friends and fans at his home race. Some will be up against it, such as Luis Antonio Penido Lopez (ESP), Nils Abb (GER), Manfred Suppan (AUT) and Kilian Mandl (AUT), who is chasing good times on the Rechberg for the second time this year.
PF6: Victoria Schütz (AUT) puts her Golf GTI through its paces and wants to leave many a man in her wake. But with Stefan Mehlmaier, Klaus Demuth, Stefan Franischen and a few other young guns, she has strong male competition.
Voices of the drivers
Christoph Lampert (fastest Austrian in 2025): “Poah, yes, I don’t know what to say, but the Rechberg is one of my favorite mountains on the racing calendar. The euphoric welcome you get there, how the fans go wild when you ride up there – that’s something really special. Not to mention the return trip. It certainly won’t be easy this year. We have a new car and not much experience with it yet. That’s why I’m just going to let the training on Saturday come to me. Then a good analysis and max attack for Sunday!”
Sigrid and Christian Ferstl (a very fast couple from Eastern Styria): “This is our fourth time competing on the Rechberg. Although we’ve been active since 2016, it’s only been since 2023. We’ll be there again this year with our formula cars. And we’re really looking forward to our home race, the fans and the unique atmosphere that always prevails.”
Felix Pailer (a Rechbergrennen without him? Unthinkable!): I probably had the biggest and most emotional success of my career here on the Rechberg…the victory in 2007. It will stay with me forever. Since then, the Rechberg has been one of my absolute favorite routes. My goal is to finish in the top 3 – that would be really nice. I’m sure the fans will cheer me up the mountain…and then I’ll be even faster!”
Rupert Schwaiger (Porsche glowers in a class of their own): “It’s amazing what the organizers have put together again this year! Now it’s our turn as drivers and we’ll do our bit to make it a success. I think I have a good chance of a top place, my car is perfectly prepared by my son as always and I’m highly motivated. The best part is always the drive back down to the valley…the joy and emotion that spills from the fans into the car is pure goosebumps every time!”
Kerstin Taus (rider and team manager): “After my success last year as the fastest lady, I am clearly fully motivated. The last few weeks have been tough. We had several projects running at the same time. Among other things, the three rounds of the Hillclimb Rally Cup, which my dad drives, and of course the preparations for the Rechberg. I will be at the wheel myself on this iconic track, because the feeling here on our home circuit is indescribable. What do I want? The same feeling as last year when my name is called out as the fastest lady at the Flower Ceremony. It won’t be easy, but with the help of the fans, I’ll give it my all!”
Hermann Waldy (formula hunter from Carinthia): “Do you see my smile? It’s such a pleasure for me to race up the mountain here on the Rechberg in front of tens of thousands of fans. What’s more, an incredible number of fast guys and girls from all over Europe come here.
I want to be the fastest Austrian – that’s my goal. This year is very interesting because I have a new car. We haven’t had much time for testing and now we have to see how the training goes. And then use these findings to give it our all on Sunday.”
2026 will be more exciting than ever and offers lots of goodies
For the more than 20,000 spectators who also want to experience the race in 2026, this means: get tickets in good time and prepare for the race days.
“Advance ticket sales are excellent – even better than last year. That means a lot to us, because it shows that the fans of previous years have made a firm commitment to the Rechberg this year. And that makes us proud and happy. The campsites are almost fully booked and press accreditations have also been running since the beginning of the year,” says Peter Eibisberger, who is responsible for the sporting and event-related areas together with Mario Klammer.
And Mario Klammer adds: “This year we have focused more on entertaining the fans. There will be our own Red Bull DJ truck on race Sunday, which will be going full throttle during the interval.
Two practice runs will be held on Saturday and Sunday will be packed with two races. ” Video walls have been installed in the large spectator areas to ensure that all fans can experience all the action from around the track. These will ensure that even more guests can experience live what happens in the lower section of the track from the start. In addition, an absolutely brilliant live stream will make the Rechberg race accessible to the whole world,” says an enthusiastic Christian Ferstl from the OC team.
Another innovation this year is that the Slovakian Championship will be held at Rechberg again in addition to the Slovenian Championship . These championships will bring around 40 additional cars and teams to the start.
After the two races on Sunday, there will be a flower ceremony and a brilliant award ceremony in the marquee.
Sustainable racing enjoyment guaranteed
In line with the motto “Never change a running system, just make it better”, a lot has been done again this year to offer fans and athletes the best possible platform. “It’s like a racing car. You have to develop it further to keep it fit for the future. Often it’s just the little things that make it even better,” says Peter Eibisberger and so the 2026 mega-event will be even better, even more sustainable and even more racy for fans and riders.
The Rechberg Race is also a flagship project in terms of sustainable racing events in 2026 – worldwide, as the FIA already announced in the final report for 2025.
An eCar sharing cooperation, 1,000 trees planted along the race route and e-fuel-powered official vehicles make the race itself completely CO2-neutral and thus document the pioneering role of the most important hill climb in the country.
Back in 2023, those responsible for the Rechberg Race, led by Sustainability Officer Werner Faustmann, committed to doing their part in terms of “sustainable motorsport” and launched an exemplary pilot project with the voluntary sustainability report.
At the same time, a regional tree planting campaign was launched with the aim of ensuring that direct emissions from “active racing operations” were contained. Since then, 1,000 additional trees have taken root and grown in the immediate vicinity of the race track.
Over many decades, these mixed forest areas will absorb the majority of the resulting emissions (around 10.2 tons of CO2) per race and convert them into pure oxygen. To this end, an eCar sharing project has been launched in cooperation with the market town of Passail and the Almenland climate and energy model region, which means that with all the measures taken, more than 100% of the emissions from racing can be offset.
This is complemented by a continuous regional supply of food and drink and the environmentally friendly official vehicles. This pioneering role shows that racing is fully aware of its responsibility to protect the environment and at the same time offers a first-class experience for drivers, fans and the region.
Another look at the Styrian power on the Rechberg:
80 men and 5 women took part in their home race on the Rechberg – another new record!
The starting numbers of the Styrian participants:
| 214 | Josef SCHÖGLER |
| 212 | Franz KOLLMANN |
| 211 | Ronald REISS |
| 210 | Philipp HARRER |
| 209 | Philipp WILFLING |
| 208 | Walter KURZ |
| 205 | Gabriel POSCH |
| 202 | Martin BAUER |
| 200 | Stefan FRANISCHEN |
| 199 | Stefan MEHLMAIER |
| 197 | Angelo GRIESSER |
| 194 | Erich ROSSEGGER |
| 191 | Wolfgang SCHUTTING |
| 190 | Johann HARRER |
| 189 | Mario EISNER |
| 188 | Dominik RABL |
| 187 | Daniela MARCHAT |
| 184 | Kilian MANDL |
| 182 | Patrick FLECHL |
| 181 | Manfred KNAUS |
| 180 | Manfred SUPPAN |
| 165 | Chris-Andre MAYER |
| 162 | Sebastian HUBER |
| 161 | Karl Heinz SCHAUPERL |
| 160 | Johannes PABST |
| 159 | Gregor HUTTER |
| 158 | Tobias WEBERHOFER |
| 147 | Werner JUD |
| 146 | Michael HÖBEL |
| 145 | Daniel SAILER |
| 143 | Nino SCHANES |
| 136 | Bernd PÖLLABAUER |
| 135 | Dieter HOLZER |
| 132 | Dominik PIEBER |
| 128 | Hans-Jürgen JANUSCHKOWETZ |
| 127 | Mario PAPST |
| 126 | Karl STROBL |
| 125 | Andreas MUSSBACHER |
| 122 | Michael TAUTSCHER |
| 121 | Andreas PERHOFER |
| 118 | Bernd MAYER |
| 114 | Rudolf WINDBACHER |
| 112 | Stefan KARL |
| 111 | Markus GRUBER |
| 110 | Kristin GSCHIEL |
| 109 | Heiko FIAUSCH |
| 106 | Florian VÖTSCH |
| 104 | Stella OCHABAUER |
| 103 | Thomas WEBERHOFER |
| 101 | Manfred FUCHS |
| 94 | Diethard STERNAD |
| 91 | Roland WURM |
| 90 | Michael AUER |
| 87 | Werner KARL |
| 85 | Erwin HEIDENBAUER |
| 84 | Gerald HAIDENBAUER |
| 82 | Rene PIUK |
| 79 | David ZOTTLER |
| 78 | Lukas KICKER |
| 75 | Nico WINKLER |
| 72 | Bernhard LENZ |
| 70 | Felix PAILER |
| 64 | Christoph LIEB |
| 56 | Hannes ZENZ |
| 54 | Peter PROBHARDT |
| 53 | Karl Heinz BINDER |
| 52 | Thomas NÖST |
| 50 | Franz KOGLER |
| 49 | Rupert SCHWAIGER |
| 44 | Kerstin TAUS |
| 28 | Helmut HARRER |
| 22 | Christian FERSTL |
| 21 | Sigrid Eva FERSTL |
Tickets for the race weekend can of course also be purchased on site.
Fans can experience the great mountain classic on the weekend of April 24 to 26, 2026. And it will be the 52nd race on the Rechberg – no other mountain event in Austria can look back on such a history.
The ultimate hillclimb race on the Rechberg will be held this year as the first round of the FIA European Hillclimb Championship (modern & historic). And due to the changes to the FIA regulations, an even higher-caliber field of participants can be expected than last year. Of course, the Austrian, Slovenian and Slovakian Hill Climb Championships will also be contested.
Information of all kinds – constantly updated, of course – is available on the homepage www.rechbergrennen.co.at, as well as on the social media channels of Facebook and Instagram under #rechbergrennen.
Schedule:
Friday:
- Accreditation and technical inspection from 08.00 a.m.
- Passage of the Südsteiermark Classic from approx. 09.00 a.m.
Saturday:
- Two training runs from 09.00 a.m.
Sunday:
- Opening ceremony from 08.30 a.m.
- Race 1 from 09.00 hrs
- Race 2 from 14.00 hrs
- Flower ceremony after the 2nd race in Tulwitz (fire station)
- Award ceremony in the marquee in Tulwitz from 19.00 hrs.