• Cup points leader Klaus Angerhofer wins both races in DTM program
• Laura Kraihamer with third and second place remains his fastest pursuer
• Two DNFs cost Pavel Heinik any chance of an overall victory
• Ski ace Klaus Kröll trumps with second place in race one

The highlight of the “X-BOW BATTLE” season, part of the German Touring Car Championship (DTM) program at the Red Bull Ring, was all about the fight for the overall victory. Klaus Angerhofer, Laura Kraihamer and Czech driver Pavel Heinik, the only three drivers in a position to win the brand trophy, all traveled to Styria with championship title ambitions. Klaus Angerhofer from Upper Austria already registered his intentions to dominate in qualifying for the first race. The “True Racing” driver was about eight-tenths faster than his closest pursuer, “Major Adolf Kottan” aka ex-rally driver Raphael Sperrer.

Jim Gebhardt, back behind the wheel after a lengthy injury lay-off, was in third place another tenth of a second off the pace. Pavel Heinik was in striking distance in fourth place in front of a surprisingly strong guest driver Klaus Kröll who had exchanged his downhill skis for a KTM X-BOW RR. Angerhofer’s toughest rival, the speedy Laura Kraihamer of Salzburg, failed to really find here rhythm in qualifying and had to settle for seventh place in front of a surprisingly fast Oliver Hörschläger, but also in front of Styrian Holger Baumgartner, who himself had Kraihamer’s teammate Uwe Schmidt behind him. “Plus City” boss Ernst Kirchmayr completed the top ten. Motocross legend Heinz Kinigadner provided excitement and spectacle by throwing his green Motorex X-BOW into the barrier with some force during qualifying. But thanks to the tireless efforts of the KTM pit crew he was still able to be on the start on time for the first race.

Race 1: “BATTLE SPRINT”
“First in, first served” – and in the case of the first round this was Klaus Angerhofer. Following an extremely turbulent race, it was he who topped the podium and was in a position to celebrate. Next to him in second and third and brandishing their champagne bottles were ski ace Klaus Kröll and the speedy lady Laura Kraihamer. But how did it arrive at this result, which before the race very few observers had expected? After a clean start it was Jim Gebhardt who was out in front. After a long absence from racing, it was easy to see that “Mister Magenta” was having fun and had a very fast car. Angerhofer, Sperrer & Co managed to close the gap with some difficulty. Behind them pressure came from Pavel Heinik who registered his intention to fight at the front of the pack. Then nearly eight minutes into the race there was a decisive incident. Heinik got ready to make the pass on Angerhofer just before the Remus corner but in the process he grazed the side of leader Jim Gebhardt.

While Heinik had to immediately slow down with a broken suspension, Gebhardt continued apparently without problems, but did not notice that his radiator was slashed and was loosing liquid. Then his radiator spilled most of its liquid either right in the braking zone or right on Jim Gebhardt’s back tires, which resulted in the Bavarian landing in the gravel. Things then went from bad to worse when a struggling Holger Baumgartner collided with him. The race was over for all three drivers and the incident brought the safety car onto the circuit. After the re-start Klaus Angerhofer took flight out front while behind him there was a serious fight for positions between – among others – Klaus Kröll versus Raphael Sperrer. On top of this the latter then not only had to let Kröll pass but also steer his X-BOW into the pits with technical problems. At the same time Laura Kraihamer surprised Ernst Kirchmayr in an extremely hard two-way battle after she overcame a catastrophic start and advanced up to fourth place. Then when Oliver Hörschläger, who was in a sensational third place, performed an involuntary pirouette, the podium was settled: Angerhofer in front of Kröll and Kraihamer! Uwe Schmidt was a great fourth in front of “BOB BAU” and Pierre Ludigkeit. Hörschläger secured place seven despite his spin and place eight went to an impressively placed and very satisfied Christoph Doppler, with his X-BOW, which had been rebuilt after a wild crash at the Slovakiaring. Radomir Duric of Serbia and Ernst Kirchmayr completed the top ten after Kirchmayr had incurred a drive-through penalty. This was particularly bitter for him because as subsequent analyzes revealed he had been unfairly punished for allegedly leaving the track on all four wheels.

Race 2: “BATTLE SPRINT”
Despite the rather adventurous starting time of 17:30, the large number of spectators who were still in the grandstand at the Red Bull Ring got their reward. The results of the first race decided the grid positions for race two, which put Klaus Angerhofer on pole. Laura Kraihamer started right behind him because Klaus Kröll had to make an early departure from the track while her teammate Uwe Schmidt was third. Angerhofer got the best start but after a few laps he had to concede to Kraihamer, who for a short while made herself comfortable at the front while Angerhofer came under pressure. Uwe Schmidt from Berlin was briefly in second place and then his compatriot Pierre Ludigkeit made ​​a move to overtake Angerhofer. Meanwhile Ernst Kirchmayr, who had stormed forward from place ten was also in the running for a podium place but Angerhofer was not about to give up the fight in what was essentially almost his “home game”. At times the four were driving parallel on the track before Angerhofer made a break and then only had Laura Kraihamer in front of him. Kraihamer had the bit between her teeth and there was a serious two-way battle for the lead over a number of laps. In the end she had to concede and crossed the line in second place. Uwe Schmidt, who for a long time was third, lost out to Ernst Kirchmayr after he made a tiny mistake in the final corner leaving Kirchmayr to enjoy his triumphant fight from grid place ten to the podium.

In contrast the weekend was a catastrophe for Czech driver Pavel Heinik, the other title aspirant. After his crash in the first race, Heinik had to bury his title ambitions when he then had to retire with a technical fault in race two. Places five to ten went to Pierre Ludigkeit in front of “BOB BAU” and “PETER PAN”, and the very well placed Radomir Duric, Holger Baumgartner and Christoph Doppler. In the “Battle of Giants” Heinz Kinigadner finished in front of organizer “Bernie Silverstone” (George Silbermayr) after the latter’s car was almost burnt out in in the first race and he had to change to one of his “T-Cars” for race two – greetings from ‘90s-style Formula 1. Klaus Angerhofer leads the overall standings with 172 points with two rounds to go (which incidentally will both be held on September 25-26 in Rijeka/Croatia). Laura Kraihamer is second with 153 points. It nevertheless stays exciting because the final decision in the “ENDURANCE” class still has to be decided.

RESULTS

Race 1: “BATTLE SPRINT”, 3 August 2014
1. Klaus Angerhofer (AT), 31:16.075 minutes (18 laps)
2. Klaus Kröll (AT), + 6.713 seconds
3. Laura Kraihamer (AT), + 9.043
4. Uwe Schmidt (DE), + 10.412
5. “BOB BAU” (AT), + 9.120
6. Pierre Ludigkeit (DE), + 20.484
7. Oliver Hörschläger (AT), + 26.271
8. Christoph Doppler (AT), + 33.330
9. Radomir Duric (SRB), + 34.890
10. Ernst Kirchmayr (AT), + 36.252
11. Eyke Angermayr (AT), + 36.606
12. Christian Loimayr (AT), + 43.549
13. Petar Matic (SRB), + 43.614
14. “BERNIE SILVERSTONE” (AT), + 54.579
15. Harry Rath (AT), + 55.003
16. “A.J. EARNHARDT” (AT), + 55.686
17. Heinz Kinigadner (AT), + 56.220
18. “JULIE WOOD” (AT), + 1 lap
19. “PETER PAN” (AT), + 2 laps
20. “MAJOR ADOLF KOTTAN” (AT), DNF
21. Jim Gebhardt (DE), DNF
22. Pavel Heinik (CZ), DNF
23. Holger Baumgartner (AT), DNF

Race 2: “BATTLE SPRINT”, 3 August 2014
1. Klaus Angerhofer (AT), 26:25.040 minutes (16 laps)
2. Laura Kraihamer (AT), + 1.005 seconds
3. Ernst Kirchmayr (AT), + 2.428
4. Uwe Schmidt (DE), + 2.813
5. Pierre Ludigkeit (DE), + 8.710
6. “BOB BAU” (AT), + 9.391
7. “PETER PAN” (AT), + 16.145
8. Radomir Duric (SRB), + 16.927
9. Holger Baumgartner (AT), 22.865
10. Christoph Doppler (AT), + 25.631
11. Eyke Angermayr (AT), + 27.633
12. Oliver Hörschläger (AT), + 27.816
13. Jim Gebhardt (DE), + 41.034
14. Heinz Kinigadner (AT), + 57.973
15. “BERNIE SILVERSTONE” (AT), + 58.581
16. “A.J. EARNHARDT” (AT), + 1:00.848 minutes
17. Harry Rath (AT), + 1:05.099
18. Christian Loimayr (AT), DNF
19. Pavel Heinik (CZ), DNF

EVENT DATES 2014

• Grobnik / Croatia (25 -26 September 2014)

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