8 January 2023
 Currently, the weather is one of the main topics in Austria. The country's calendar is set together with schedules focusing on events that can only happen when enough snow covers the landscape like ski races or events that are organized for participants who come for example because of the thrill to drive a car on icy roads such as at Austria's most prominent winter rallye Planai Classic in the Styrian Ennstal. The warmer weather due to climate change impacts indirectly also attractions that are closed over the colder months such as exhibitions in castles which open in the most cases not earlier than from March. The argument for the long closure time is likely to become less and less comprehensible in the future. But back to the thrill of the Planai Classic. Is it foreseeable that the participants with 63 cars from six nations will enjoy icy roads or not? The old-timer rallye happens from 12 until 14 January. The national meteorological and geophysical service ZAMG forecast from today 6:41 AM shows rain and snow for Thursday the 12 January in the Ennstal in Styria. The best conditions for a slippery road! An additional challenge for the drivers is the fact that their street-legal cars were built before 31 December 1972 which means less technique for preventing or balancing driving errors. Driving without steering servo, without ABS and other electronic aids. The oldest car of the 26th Planai Classic is a 1950 Healey Silverstone, an open roadster. Participants must follow the electronic regulations which are described closely at planai-classic.at/de/teilnahmebedingungen-planai-classic/. Only mechanical watches or odometers are allowed, LED devices are forbidden as well as programmable or wireless devices which are connected to the car or which receive data from electronic sensors mounted on wheels, etc. Forbidden are also notebooks, smartphones or GPS, etc. Permitted are spikes, hemp ropes and chains for the rallye, which leads over the mountainous roads of the Schladming-Dachstein region at an average speed of 40 km/h. Image: The picture shows one of the participating cars of the Planai Classic 2019 at the special test at the WM-Park Planai in Schladming, Styria. The Porsche 356 B-1600 S, Bj. 1961 was driven by Ronny Groeneveld und Martin Utberg (NED). Photo: © Planai-Classic / Martin Huber. |
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