Although it is the opening race of the Austrian National Rally Championship, the rally has often attracted a host of international stars to the event. This time, the biggest stars were absent, but the entry list still featured a total of 71 names.
The Jänner Rally has traditionally offered snow, ice, slush, and mud, and this year was no exception. Snow on the asphalt was, at times, excessive, causing some challenging situations.
The victory went to Austria’s Michael Lengauer. The 30-year-old Lengauer mastered the local conditions perfectly, having also won last year’s Jänner Rally. Driving a Škoda, Lengauer beat his compatriot, Hyundai driver Simon Wagner, by just under half a minute. The top two were exactly the same as in last January’s event.
Third place was taken by Czech driver Jan Černý, ahead of his compatriot Filip Mareš. Černý used the “January Rally” as preparation for the opening round of the World Rally Championship, Rally Monte Carlo, which takes place from 23 to 26 January.
Check out a few videos from the Jänner Rally below.
The Jänner Rally is a rally competition held near Freistadt, Austria. The event has been organised since 1969 and was once part of the European Rally Championship.
Previous winners of the rally include Kajetan Kajetanowicz, Robert Kubica, Jan Kopecký, and Adrien Fourmaux.
Jänner Rallye results:
| POS. | Driver | Car | Time |
| 1. | Michael Lengauer | Skoda | 2:12.32.1 |
| 2. | Simon Wagner | Hyundai | +28.3 |
| 3. | Jan Cerny | Citroen | +1:20.9 |
| 4. | Filip Mares | Toyota | +2:44.2 |
| 5. | Hermann Neubauer | Ford | +2:49.6 |
| 6. | Hermann Gassner | Renault | +6:01.8 |
