The weekend of 19–20 September was a very groundbreaking and essential weekend for us.
We were able to drive our first rally at the Austrian Rally Legends.
The Austrian Rally Legends is a show rally event in the Styria region of Austria.
As Hannah was working as a mechanic at this year’s Murtal Rally, I was also there at the side of the track, where I met Martin Gutternigg, a member of the Austrian Rally Legends board.
Martin was very interested in my/our rally plans and invited us to take part in the Austrian Rally Legends.
We looked into it and decided: this will be our first rally!
85 kilometres of special stages are ideal for a start. In comparison, the Rallye du Valais has around 185 kilometres of special stages.
It is important to mention that there is no timekeeping at this rally. Therefore, the race report here does not contain any results!
The first time Recco
During this rally, Hannah and I had to write down the various special stages for the first time so that we could drive at racing speed.
Hannah put a lot of effort into the road book (left) to guide me correctly to the special stages and showed me where we had to go. In the notes (right), we wrote down which bends and other obstacles lay ahead so that we could drive at a fast pace during the rally itself.
Start at the Austrian Rally Legends!
After inspecting the tracks, we were a little nervous about what it would be like to drive the Peugeot at racing speed.
On Thursday evening, the time had come! After the technical inspection, we headed to the ceremonial start:
There was a ceremonial start at the beginning of the rally, where we were interviewed.
Lots of children were excited and wanted autographs.
We felt like superstars! 😜
Fabian’s decision to install the light bar during servicing before the last two stages was a wise one. The extra light was a blessing in the dense forest on this stage.
🤩
The fastest and best drive of the first rally
On the second day of the rally, confidence in the Peugeot was even greater! Fabian felt more comfortable in the car, and Hannah was much more confident reading aloud and navigating between stages.
Here is a complete onboard video of what we consider to be the best stage for us in the entire rally:
Exit from the service park
The feeling was crazy 🙂
Technical failure on stage 7 Erb circuit
During the seventh special stage of the rally, I suddenly noticed that the power steering was no longer working properly. When something started rattling on the circuit afterwards, we had to end the stage early.
The decision to give up at this point was the right one, because we would most likely have suffered engine damage.
The engine mount broke off, which in turn caused the engine to fall onto the V-belt, which also flew off.
In addition, the mount pressed on the engine control unit and damaged the camshaft gear. The damage is therefore greater than initially assumed. Nevertheless, this will not stop us, because Hannah and the Richter car dealership are already repairing the Peugeot. Now the engine will be rigidly mounted with a mounting kit from France. I am infinitely grateful for this help!
Here we are pushing the Peugeot onto the trailer. The mood is a bit subdued at this point, as I didn’t know exactly what was wrong with the car or what lay ahead of us.
Final remarks
Despite technical problems, the rally was a complete success. The Zeller Racing team was great to work with.
The mechanics and catering staff did a really fantastic job!
Hannah performed at a very high level as co-driver on her first outing!
I was able to get used to the car and now feel ready for many more rally events!
I would like to thank the entire team and Autohaus Richter, who prepared us mentally and technically for our first rally and will continue to support us!
Thank you to Hannah for being such an ambitious co-driver!
What comes next?
Preparations are in full swing for the 2025 Rallye International du Valais, which will take place in a few weeks’ time in the Swiss canton of Valais!
The rally will take place around the town of Martigny.
Route map and schedule: https://riv.ch/en/public-308
Website: https://riv.ch/en/
We hope to see as many of you as possible at the service park and on the special stages!
Now follow lots of photos and impressions from the first rally!
