The Österreichische Alpenfahrt (also known as the Austrian Alpine Rally or the Rally of

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

) was a

rally Rally or rallye may refer to: Gatherings * Political demonstration, a political rally, a political demonstration of support or protest, march, or parade * Pep rally, an event held at a North American school or college sporting event Sport ...

that was part of the inaugural

World Rally Championship The World Rally Championship (abbreviated as WRC) is an international rallying series owned and governed by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, FIA. Inaugurated in 1973, it is the oldest FIA world championship after Formula One. E ...

1973 Events January * January 1 – The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 14 - The 16-0 19 ...

History

Modelled on the German Prinz-Heinrich-Fahrt, the Alpenfahrt was first run in 1910, making it older than the

Rally Monte Carlo The Monte Carlo Rally or Rallye Monte-Carlo (officially Rallye Automobile Monte-Carlo) is a rallying event organized each year by the Automobile Club de Monaco. From its inception in 1911 by Albert I, Prince of Monaco, Prince Albert I, the rally ...

. The route across the

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was considered one of the hardest rallies in Europe before

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. The cars at this time were unreliable and mountain roads were sometimes no more than steep insecure paths. Nevertheless, between 1912 and 1914 Audi Type Cs (''Alpensieger'') proved reliable and rapid enough to win the rally in three successive years. Oswald, p 41 In 1911,

Ferdinand Porsche Ferdinand Porsche (3 September 1875 – 30 January 1951) was a German automotive engineering, automotive engineer and founder of the Porsche, Porsche AG. He is best known for creating the first Petrol engine, gasoline–Electric motor, el ...

and

Austro-Daimler Austro-Daimler was an Austrian car manufacturer from 1899 until 1934. It was a subsidiary of the Germany, German ''Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft'' (DMG) until 1909. History In 1890, Eduard Bierenz was appointed as Austrian retailer. The company so ...

were awarded the team prize. The last rally for more than three decades took place in 1914. After the First World War,

couldn't finance the event alone, but with the participation of several automobile associations an ''Internationale Alpenfahrt'' rally could again be held from 1928 to 1936. The rally ran through Austria,

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and

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

. After the Austrian ''

Anschluss The (, or , ), also known as the (, ), was the annexation of the Federal State of Austria into Nazi Germany on 12 March 1938. The idea of an (a united Austria and Germany that would form a "German Question, Greater Germany") arose after t ...

'' to

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, two ''Internationale Deutsche Alpenfahrt'' competitions running from

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Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

were held by the NSKK organization in 1938 and 1939. The first Austrian Alpenfahrt after

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

started in 1949. Until around 1965 mostly

motorcycles A motorcycle (motorbike, bike; uni (if one-wheeled); trike (if three-wheeled); quad (if four-wheeled)) is a lightweight private 1-to-2 passenger personal motor vehicle Steering, steered by a Motorcycle handlebar, handlebar from a saddle-style ...

entered the Rally (due to economical reasons). From 1965 to 1973 cars regained the majority in the entry list. The 1973 Austrian Alpine Rally was part of the 1973 World Rally Championship, but after that year the Rally ceased to exist because of the Oil Crisis. In 2002 an annual classic rally was restarted as ''Internationale Österreichische Alpenfahrt'', which celebrated the centenary of the competition at

Bad Kleinkirchheim Bad Kleinkirchheim is a municipality and spa town in the district of Spittal an der Drau, in Carinthia, Austria. Until the middle of the 20th century, agriculture was the dominant focus, but it is now a renowned spa and ski resort. Although recor ...

Carinthia Carinthia ( ; ; ) is the southernmost and least densely populated States of Austria, Austrian state, in the Eastern Alps, and is noted for its mountains and lakes. The Lake Wolayer is a mountain lake on the Carinthian side of the Carnic Main ...

in 2010.

Winners

Literature and sources

* Martin Pfundner: ''100 Jahre Alpenfahrt'', Böhlau Verlag, Wien-Köln-Weimar 2010 *

External links

Rally of Austria at juwra.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Osterreichische Alpenfahrt World Rally Championship rallies