Things are slowly getting tight with the 36th LKW FRIENDS on the road January Rallye 2022 powered by Wimberger, as the traditional event in the Freistadt area is officially called. The newly scheduled date from February 25th to 27th is also increasingly shaky. On the one hand, the organizers and the responsible authorities are in agreement about the traffic-related part and the number of entries from the rally teams is also rare. In addition, the cooperation with the twelve rally communities and the commitment of many motorsport clubs, fire brigades, police, rescue services and countless volunteer helpers is on track.
But the number of visitors allowed hovers over the rally classic like a great sword of Damocles. The Freistadt exhibition hall could currently be used as a rally center with a visitor volume of 1,000 people in assigned seats. The sticking point, however, is the number of people who are allowed to be in the open-air visitor zones during the individual special stages. Although this number was corrected from 25 to 50 people per spectator zone, for the usual dimensions of the January rally with up to 100,000 fans over three days, this amounts to a de facto ban on spectators.
Georg Höfer, Managing Director of Jännerrallye Freistadt gGmbH, sincerely hopes that this number will be corrected significantly upwards: “Of course, that is very difficult to accept when you read about the easing that other countries are doing. Without the income from the spectators, we as organizers would be headed straight for financial ruin.” The organizers are certain: there can’t be a January rally without spectators. Höfer: “If the number of spectators in the outdoor visitor zones is not increased, we will be forced to cancel.”
At the Rallye Club Mühlviertel, the principle “hope dies last” still rules.” The factual situation also affects chairman Christian Birklbauer: “It would be really sad if we couldn’t show our elaborately planned highlights. The media concept is at World Championship level and the circuit directly in Freistadt could set new standards.” The new special stages would be equally attractive for the fans as they would be easily accessible.
The cancellation would not only be a loss for rallying, but even more so for the entire Mühlviertel. The event has so far brought 4 million euros to the region every year. In the event of cancellation, tickets and entry fees that have already been paid will be refunded. The team organizing the January Rally hopes that the grueling wait for conditions that can be met will soon come to an end and that the season can start. The organizing team would like to wait until Sunday evening. Then you want to decide whether to cancel or not. You can’t wait any longer, the necessary preparations are too intensive for everyone involved.
Source: Nachrichten
