January Rally: Which passages Michael Lengauer is particularly keen on

With a strong fourth place in the “LKW Friends On The Road January Rally powered by Wimberger” and a best time on the Unterweißenbach special stage, Michael Lengauer drove himself into the limelight of the local motorsport scene a year ago. This year too, the fast ÖBB train driver from Grünbach is one of the extended favorites. With a Skoda Fabia Rally2 prepared by Raimund Baumschlager’s BRR team, the 29-year-old is certainly ready for fast times again.

“I have never been as well prepared as I was this year for a January rally,” says Lengauer in an interview with the Mühlviertler Nachrichten. During a test day in Cetviny, the team got ready for the special stages in the Freistadt area. “The car was perfectly prepared by the team. I immediately felt very comfortable and got back into fast driving relatively quickly.” Team boss Baumschlager also had a similar view: “Lengi drove quickly straight away, got along well with the car straight away, and his statements about the setup changes were also perfect.”

In the fight for the podium places, Lengauer still sees himself as an outsider: “I expect that seven or eight teams will fight for the top three places. Personally, I would be very satisfied with a place in the top five.”

Lengauer’s favorite passages

When asked which passages are his favorite, Lengauer quickly has three answers: “St. Leonhard immediately comes to mind. The route along a stream towards Haid is really demanding. You need maximum precision on the steering wheel and on the accelerator. The atmosphere at the Super-Special Freistadt last year was amazing – a real goosebumps moment. I’m also looking forward to the action zone in Mairspindt. Simply because there are always a lot of fans from Grünbach cheering me on.”

Lengauer sees the fact that winter weather has been announced for Saturday and Sunday as an advantage for himself and all the other local heroes. “When the conditions get difficult, we people from the Mühlviertel definitely have an advantage. We know exactly where to expect snow and ice and how to adapt our driving style and setup accordingly.”

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