Fifth win in the season 2008 for Adreas Gabat in Mickhausen!!!
Next surprise in the second last race for the Austrian Automobile Mountain Climb Championship 2008. Andy Gabat was winning with his extremely powerful Ford Gabat Cosworth in front of Herbert Pregartner and Felix Pailer.
The win came even though the race was not starting in a good way.
The Gabat team was travelling the 470km to the race in Mickhausen (Germany) in the usual way on Friday before the race weekend.
Everything was running to schedule and Muenster was reached at 3.00pm. Also the working place in the pit area was organised very well by the organisers of the race. Everything seemed to be perfect.
After Andy went onto the race track with his private 90Hp Golf to familiarise himself with the track, the big surprise happened. Without any exemption it was forbidden to inspect the race track other than through a one and only ride as a passenger in a specially prepared taxi.
Based on this circumstance Andy decided to resign from the race and to travel back home. Without an extremely well inspection of the track and the route itself it would not make any sense to start. Anyway, the championship would have been lost at the same time in any case.
However, the managers of the race made it possible for Andy to inspect the race track again as a passenger of the taxi but for as many times as needed.
We asked Andy about the situation:
I think it is negligent by the organisers to let people race with 800Hp strong cars over a race track they did not get a chance to inspect very carefully before.
I am still angry over this incidence and the fact that I had to inspect the track as a passanger in a taxi.
It might not have been such a big problem fort he people like Felix Pailer and Herbert Pregartener as they have been racing here a couple of times already which gives them the experience needed to be competitive.
Also the training sessions did not make the situation easier. Rain, Rain, Race suspended, rain, again race suspended, etc.
The planned 4 training runs got reduced to 2, which made the situation complicated fort he race.
The first run in the training brought a sensation. Andy was the absolute fastest with 1min and 6sec, the next pilot already 5sec behind, which was almost unbelievable. The same picture in the second run.
The News people were surrounding the Gabat team like Michael Schuhmacher in the best of his time; an unbelievable situation!
Sunday, race day, finaly sunshine but extremely cold Morning frost!!
Andy was taking it from the safe side in the first run and was putting himself onto the first place in the Austrian Automobile Mountain Climb Championship 2008. In the overall race he was placed on the 4th place.
The second race was different and Andy was attacking. This brought a 4sec gap to his competitors in the Austrian championship. He could also improve his ranking in the overall race to the 3rd place.
In the third and last run in the race, Andy again was taking it from the safe side which brought him the superior overall win in the Austrian competition and the excellent overall 3rd place in the touring car race in Mickhausen.
The last race in the Austrian Automobile Mountain Climb Championship 2008 will be in Cividale / Castelmonte (Italy) next weekend and the preparations are already running.
Is there still a possibility to win the Austrian Automobile Mountain Climb Championship 2008?
It is not impossible but extremely difficult over Europes most challenging 6,6km long race track in Civicale with its extremely difficult turns.
Austrian Championship: Herbert Pregartner Porsche GT2 261 Gabat Andy Ford Gabat Cosworth 246 Schweiger Chris VW Golf Kitcar 184 Pailer Felix Lancia delta Integrale
all the best
your
Gabat Tuning Team
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Mountain Climb Race Cividale/ Castelmonte 2008 Gabat Andyby mr870023,484 views
absolutly fantastic, good job Andy... Claudio
rallypassion 3 years ago