56 Styrian men and 4 Styrian women are very good.
The fact that our popular and well-known seed oil is not only healthy, but apparently also makes you fast, is probably one of the many reasons why 60 starters from Styria – the green heart of Austria – are competing in the time hunt on the Rechberg.
Sigrid Ferstl (#8), Kerstin Taus (#54), Stella Ocherbauer (#103) and Birgit Huber-Gschanes (#187) are the Styrian racing amazons and compete with 56 seasoned Styrian boys for the internal title of “Fastest Styrian participant“.
“According to unconfirmed rumors, the famous Stoanis are even planning to change the name of their hit song “Steirermen san very good” for our racing ladies,” says Peter Eibisberger with a mischievous smile on his lips. But he immediately waves it off and adds: “We are mighty proud of our Styrian power, which we find in the entry list – no matter who is behind the wheel!”.
Across all classes, our Styrians are divided and will thus almost continuously provide for cheers – especially for the Styrian fans.
All of them have resolved to really step on the gas on “their home mountain” in order to keep the Styrian flags flying high.
“We definitely have some contenders for victory in individual classes and with Sigrid Ferstl probably also the fastest lady on the Rechberg,” says Mario Klammer.
And the aforementioned Sigrid Ferstl says with a laugh: “Of course I want to shine with good times at my appearance, but it’s always something special to start at my home race. That’s why: let’s see – then we’ll see!”
The starting numbers and classes of our Styrian mountain glowers:
Historic:
Class A1: #267-Jürgen Pachteu, #263-Christian Holzer,
Class A6: #252-Hans Jud,
Class B4: #243-Rudolf Sporer,
Class B5: #240-Andreas Schögler, #239-Patrick Knoll,
Class C2: #225-Thomas Tkaletz, #221-August Gratzer,
Class C3: #218-Reinhold Prantl,
Class D3: #214-Harald Neuherz,
Class D5: #212-Johann Krammer,
Class D6: #209-Gernot Bittner,
Class E5: #191-Bernhard Pongratz
Modern:
PF 6: #190-Markus Gruber, #187-Birgit Huber-Gschanes, #186-Stefan Mehlmaier, #185-Josef Schögler, #183-Maximilian Adlmann, #181-Ronald Reiß, #178-Wolfgang Schutting, #174-Rene Auner, #173-Bernd Mayer
PF 5: #172-Erich Rossegger, #171-David Zottler, #170-Johann Harrer, #164-Manfred Suppan, #163-Dominik Rabl, #162-Florian Neuherz, #161-Patrick Flechl, #149-Chris-Andre Mayer
PF 4: #147-Karl Heinz Schauperl, #146-Daniel Sailer, #145-Thomas Papst, #137-Tobias Weberhofer, #130-Werner Jud, #129-Hans-Jürgen Januschkowetz, #126-Michael Taucher, #125-Andreas Mussbacher, #121-Dieter Holzer
PF 3: #115-Stefan Karl, #112-Andreas Höfler, #111-Markus Gruber, #110-Michael Auer, #109-Thomas Weberhofer, #108-Manfred Fuchs, #105-Heiko Fiausch, #103-Stella Ochabauer, #92-Christian Schweiger, #90-Diethard Sternad
PF 2: #82-Werner Karl, #75-Markus Binder, #64-Felix Pailer, #63-Kevin Raith, #62-Peter Probhardt
PF 1: #57-Franz Kogler, #54-Kerstin Taus
Group E2-SH, class +2000: #40-Rupert Schwaiger,
Group CN, E2-SC, Class -3000: #24-Andreas Hasler,
Group D, E2-SS, Class -2000: #8-Sigrid Ferstl, #7-Christian Ferstl
Voices of some of our Styrian participants:
Sigrid Ferstl“This is my second time competing on the Rechberg. Although I’ve been active since 2016, it only worked out last year. But I’m not going to put any pressure on myself, instead I’m going to use Saturday for good training runs to get the feel for the Rechberg again. And on Sunday I’ll try to really step on the gas. The title “Fastest woman on the Rechberg” sounds tempting.”
Kerstin Taus: “I’m really looking forward to my home race. I have to give it my all just because of the fans. I definitely want to put on a great show…and if the times are right too, then I’ll be a very happy Kerstin!”
Felix Pailer: “I’m really impressed that so many Styrians are stepping on the gas here. But on the other hand, it’s not surprising either. The Rechberg is something very special on the racing calendar – and obviously everyone wants to be there.”
Rupert Schwaiger: “Very cool! I’m happy about every starter from Styria, even if that means I have to work even harder. But I’m happy to do that, because I want to prove that even the “old guys” can still give it a good go.”
Kevin Raith“This is exactly what so many great people have been working so hard for here for weeks. So that our compatriots can take home an unforgettable experience from the Rechberg. My goal is to finish well in my class. It would be really cool to be in the top 5. It won’t be easy, but with the help of the fans I’ll give it my all!”
The ultimate hill climb on the Rechberg starts on April 26th with the administrative and technical scrutineering of all participants around the community and fire station in Tulwitz from 07:00 to 19:00.
Saturday, April 27, will be dominated by the three scheduled training runs, with the first run starting at 08:00.
Two races are scheduled for Sunday, April 28. First start at 09.00, second start at 14.00.
The official opening ceremony starts at 08.30 a.m. with Governor Christopher Drexler, the President of the AMF Prof. Dr. Harald Hertz, the mayors Peter Raith (Fladnitz an der Teichalm) and Gottfried Rieger (Semriach), as well as the head of the organization team.
Willi Gabalier will sing the national anthem, the ceremony will be accompanied by the Fladnitz/Teichalm music band and children from the Fladnitz/Teichalm elementary school as cheerful flag bearers.
Information for fans – 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.