As if on rails, the 29-year-old ÖBB train driver from Grünbach drove to triumph in front of thousands of spectators and in the most difficult conditions, ahead of the big favorite, national champion Simon Wagner.
But his campaign in the Mühlviertel this year will not be a flash in the pan: with the success behind him, the Skoda driver was able to scrape together money from some sponsors and will start next week in the Rebenland Rally, the second championship round of the season.
“I’m extremely happy that it’s possible thanks to some supporters. This is of course a completely new challenge for me and my co-driver because we’ve never driven there before. We have to be realistic enough to drive the car “We haven’t yet taken part in a rally on dry asphalt,” says Lengauer, who will only be taking part in the 17th rally of his career there. For co-driver Erik Fürst it is only the twelfth.
The competition in Carinthia is fierce: 19 Rally2 cars are on the entry list published yesterday. In addition to the two-time Rebenland winner Wagner, who is looking forward to another duel with Lengauer, the strongest local drivers are Hermann Neubauer, Julian Wagner and many more included. Record champion Raimund Baumschlager, who supplies the car to Lengauer, is also there. “He’s really fast on any surface, he’s simply a natural talent. And he lets himself be told something and implements what he says perfectly. I sincerely hope that someone will finally notice him and spend money on it he can really drive a rally,” said Baumschlager after Lengauer’s victory in the Mühlviertel.
Dominik Feischl
