2023-05-16 22:00:00
Although this year’s event is only the 18th edition of the popular regularity run, the organizers of the Gaisberg race in 2023 are celebrating a milestone birthday.
It all began in the early summer of 2003: The success story of the Gaisberg race began 20 years ago with a regularity run on the apron of Salzburg Airport that is still unique today. “For me personally, this is one of the absolute highlights,” enthuses Thomas Matzelberger from the Salzburg Rallye Club (SRC). “Seeing the historic racing vehicles drive over the airfield was a unique experience and the starting signal for the idea of the City Grand Prix.”
Together with his colleagues Gert Pierer and Hermann Schwarz, Matzelberger managed to make the Gaisberg race a fixed point in the calendar of events over the years. And although the three-day event with around 130 historic vehicles from Germany and abroad repeatedly calls opponents into action, according to the organizers, the positive reactions outweigh the negative ones. “
Above all, the comeback last year after a two-year Corona break will always be remembered. The enthusiasm of the spectators was fantastic, you could literally feel how happy they were to be able to experience the old cars up close again in the old town after the pandemic,” says Thomas Matzelberger. The two-year break between 2020 and 2021 is also the reason , why “only” the 18th edition will take place from June 8th to 10th, 2023.
Special run with Porsche vehicles
The fact that the trio of organizers became a duo last year – Hermann Schwarz is now fully concentrating on the Classic Expo vintage car fair – does not detract from the Gaisberg team’s zest for action. On the contrary: to the usual program, which will take place over three days in the city of Salzburg, on the Salzburgring, in Flachgau and of course on the Gaisberg, there will be another program item on the occasion of the 75th birthday of the Porsche sports car brand: “In the run-up to the Stadt Grand Prix there will be a special run with Porsche brand vehicles this year.”
Also taking part is Rudi Lins, a real Gaisberg veteran who, with the Porsche Carrera 6, was already a successful driver at the historic Gaisberg race in the late 1960s as a Porsche works driver. Further highlights of this year’s starting field will be an original Formula Vau racing car driven by Florian Piëch and an entire racing team from the Ferdinand Porsche world of experience fahr(T)raum from Mattsee. None other than Ernst Piëch will start with a Lohner-Porsche from 1899. The special thing about it: It is one of the first electric cars in history. Of course, racing veteran Dieter Quester cannot be absent from the Gaisberg race. The living legend of domestic motorsport will drive a BMW 328. A total of 135 teams from 13 nations and thus a total of 47 different car brands will be at the start this year.
“Our goal is not to make the event bigger”
Thomas Matzelberger, SRC
As far as the future plans for the Gaisberg race are concerned, which bears this name only as a reference to the historical model, Thomas Matzelberger remains down to earth: “Our goal is not to make the event bigger or more spectacular. Rather, the memory of history should continue. “
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