Zell am See - Grosslockner via the Hochtor Pass - Zell am See (120km)
Friday was the best ever. Not only did it pay for the trip, it paid for the car!
We started the day early with a mist drifting through the peaks of the surrounding mountains around Zell am See. It was a short drive to the Tauern Spa in Kaprun where we met up with the other attendees for a driver's meeting before starting off on two timed stages and then a free run to the top of the Hoctor Pass on one of the best roads in Austria.
From the looks of the number of cars staged for the rally, there look to be about 175 cars participating. There were some fantastic cars from old 356's to the newest Boxsters, Caymans, 911's and even one or two Panamera's and a Cayenne. Our time slot was at 8:46:30 and as is the case with most things in Austria, we left exactly on time.
The first two stages were more about finding your way and being able to maintain your time over a fixed course. We at least found our way and managed to not get lost on the first two stages but surely blew our time. In any case, for us it was more about enjoying the cars we were ridng with and the beautiful surroundings.
We then headed south to pick up the road to the top of the Hoctor Pass through the national park. We had anticipated a nice drive but not as nice as we got. We had the top off, the sun was out and the white clouds were drifting through the mountain ridges. It could not have been more perfect.
We manged to meet up with a group of Austrians from Tirol before heading up. All three of their cars were turbos and although we stayed with them for a while, it was not long before they pulled well ahead of us. Of course, given the weather and the quality of the road, it didn't matter. We enjoyed it all the way to the top with the Targa pulling hard and sounding fantastic.
The view along the way was just spectacular with several turn-offs where you could stop to enjoy the view. Once reaching the top, we were able to look back at the last few hundred meters of hairpin turns. It was then off the other side and down to Heiligenblut for a coffee and cake at a lovely roadside cafe.
After enjoying a little conversation with our new Tirol friends and a shot of Wolfgang and his wife in their Porsche "Thing", it was then time to head back up the south side of the Grossglockner and then down the north side.
It was equally fantastic despite the fact that the majority of the run was going down and not up. We ran hard down the north side using the engine and the new vented discs to the maximum all the way down.
We even experienced a bit of tire rubbing on the left front in a few hard turns where the bigger 7" tires rubbed occasionally on the inside fender lip. No damage but it took a while to figure out what the noise was.
Once coming back into Zell am See, there was one more timed rally section which we manged to botch completely. However, at that point we really did not care as the drive was more than we had ever expected.
The final stopping point was in the center of Zell am See's walking streets where the 50 oldest cars lined up. Ours was #34 and we parked right next to a beautifully restored maroon 356. We then gathered at the Congress Center for drinks and a light lunch, then headed off for a well deserved nap after an exhaisting but terrific day.
The evening was wrapped up with a cable car ride in the Porsche Design cable car to the top of the Schmittenhohe for a beautiful panaramic view of the surrounding mountains and a terrific sunset over the Alps. We then settled down to dinner and drinks with more new friends and talk about cars we would love to own but cannot afford.
All in all - the best day ever!
Mike & Chris
