The Jänner Rallye, also known as the Internationale Jänner Rallye, is an international

rallying Rallying is a wide-ranging form of motorsport with various competitive motoring elements such as speed tests (sometimes called "rally racing" in United States), navigation tests, or the ability to reach waypoints or a destination at a prescribed ...

event based in

Freistadt Freistadt (, ) is a small Austrian town in the state of Upper Austria in the region Mühlviertel. With a population of approximately 7,500 residents, it is a trade centre for local villages. Freistadt is the economic centre of a district of the sa ...

in northern

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 ...

. The event is the season opening round of the

European Rally Championship The European Rally Championship (officially FIA European Rally Championship) is an rallying, automobile rally competition held annually on the European continent and organized by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The champion ...

, the

Austrian Rally Championship Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ** Austria-Hungary ** Austria ...

and the Czech Rally Championship. Translated from German the name means ''January Rally''. The mid-winter calendar position means the rally is frequently snow-bound with the surface a mix of ice and asphalt.

History

First run in 1969 as the Casino Rallye, it quickly became a feature of the Austrian championship and soon joined the European championship although only in the lower co-efficient category.

Achim Warmbold Achim Warmbold (born 17 July 1941) is a German former rally driver. He won the West German Rally Championship in 1971 and 1980, and scored two outright victories during the inaugural World Rally Championship season in 1973 at the Rally of Poland ...

became the first multiple winner of the event in 1973, but

Franz Wittmann, Sr. Franz Wittmann (born 7 April 1950 in Ramsau, Lower Austria, Ramsau) is an Austrian rallying, rally driver, who won the 1987 Rally New Zealand, a round of the World Rally Championship (WRC). Career Wittmann began rallying in 1970. He competed main ...

came to dominate the rally. He won the rally nine times in a ten-year period from 1975 to 1984, including six straight wins in

Audi Audi AG () is a German automotive manufacturer of luxury vehicles headquartered in Ingolstadt, Bavaria, Germany. A subsidiary of the Volkswagen Group, Audi produces vehicles in nine production facilities worldwide. The origins of the compa ...

s as the 4WD era dawned. The rally ended in 1986 because of environmental concerns. The rally returned in 2000 and in 2003 Wittman won the rally for a tenth time. In recent times honours have been shared between Austrian and Czech drivers, reflecting the dual national championship status the rally has acquired.

Raimund Baumschlager Raimund is thought to be a variant of the name Raymond. It is closely related to . Raimund may refer to: People Given name * Raimund Abraham (1933–2010), Austrian architect * Raimund Bethge (born 1947), East German bobsledder * Raimund Herincx ...

, Václav Pech, Jr. and

Jan Kopecký Jan Kopecký (born 28 January 1982) is a professional rally driver from Czech Republic who drives for Škoda Motorsport. He is the 2013 ERC champion, 2018 WRC-2 champion as well as a multiple champion of the Czech Rally Championship. Career ...

have claimed multiple victories. In 2012, the rally rejoined the European Championship after having dropped out with the demise of the co-efficient system in 2004. The rally replaced the

ELPA Rally The ELPA Rally was a rally competition held in the Chalkidiki peninsula in Greece. The rally was organised by the Automobile and Touring Club of Greece (ELPA) and was the second most important rally event in Greece after the Acropolis Rally. The f ...

in Greece which had been cancelled in 2011. In 2016, the rally didn't take place since the Rallye Club Mühlviertel (responsible for the rally organization) was struggling with lack of candidates to assume the management board. The rally restarted in 2018 as a round of the

List of winners

Sourced in part from:http://www.ewrc-results.com/events.php?id=36&t=Janner-Rallye

References

External links

Official websiteEuropean Rally Championship
{{DEFAULTSORT:Janner Rallye Rally competitions in Austria European Rally Championship rallies