Jänner Rallye

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The Jänner Rallye, also known as the Internationale Jänner Rallye, is an international rallying event based in Freistadt in northern Austria. The event is the season opening round of the European Rally Championship, the Austrian Rally Championship 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.

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 became the first multiple winner of the event in 1973, but Franz Wittmann, Sr. 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 Audis 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, Václav Pech, Jr. and Jan Kopecký 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 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 mangament board.^[1] The rally restarted in 2018 as a round of the Austrian Rally Championship.

Sourced in part from:^[2][3]

Year	Winner	Car
1969	Heinz Weiner	Citroën DS 19
1970	Helmut Bein	BMW 2002
1971	Rudolf Müller	BMW 2002
1972	Achim Warmbold	Opel Ascona
1973	Achim Warmbold	Volkswagen 1302S
1974	not held
1975	Franz Wittmann, Sr.	BMW 2002
1976	Franz Wittmann, Sr.	Opel Kadett C
1977	Franz Wittmann, Sr.	Opel Kadett C
1978	Beppo Sulc	Volkswagen 1302S
1979	Franz Wittmann, Sr.	Porsche Carrera
1980	Franz Wittmann, Sr.	Audi 80 GTE
1981	Franz Wittmann, Sr.	Audi Quattro
1982	Franz Wittmann, Sr.	Audi Quattro
1983	Franz Wittmann, Sr.	Audi Quattro A1
1984	Franz Wittmann, Sr.	Audi Quattro A2
1985	Wilfried Wiedner	Audi Quattro A2
1986	Georg Fischer	Audi 80 Quattro
1987 - 1999	not held
2000	Felix Pailer	Lancia Delta Integrale 16V
2001	Herwig Hüfinger	Mazda 323 4WD
2002	Hermann Gassner	Mitsubishi Carisma GT Evo VI
2003	Franz Wittmann, Sr.	Toyota Corolla WRC
2004	Raimund Baumschlager	Mitsubishi Carisma GT Evo V
2005	Václav Pech, Jr.	Ford Focus RS WRC
2006	Raimund Baumschlager	Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VIII
2007	Václav Pech, Jr.	Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX
2008	Václav Pech, Jr.	Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX
2009	Raimund Baumschlager	Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX
2010	not held
2011	Beppo Harrach	Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX
2012	Jan Kopecký	Škoda Fabia S2000
2013	Jan Kopecký	Škoda Fabia S2000
2014	Robert Kubica	Ford Fiesta RRC
2015	Kajetan Kajetanowicz	Ford Fiesta R5
2016 2017	not held
2018	Johannes Keferböck	Ford Fiesta R5
2019	Julian Wagner	Škoda Fabia R5

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Jänner-Rallye.

• Official website
• European Rally Championship