Incident in the video

“Bad thoughts are still present!”

Julian Wagner is back in action with a Skoda in Rebenland, where the near-accident happened in 2019.(Bild: Manfred Binder, Screenshot, Krone KREATIV)

Julian Wagner from Mühlviertel almost crashed into a group of photographers at the Rebenland Rally in 2019 due to a careless PS fan. Even five years later, the incident has still not been forgotten. "There could have been fatalities," recalls the 29-year-old Skoda driver.

"I still have the images in my head and the terrible thoughts of what could have happened are still present," says Julian Wagner. Despite the anticipation of being able to start in the second round of the national championship after finishing third in the January rally, the younger brother of triple national champion Simon also has a queasy feeling before the start of the Rebenland Rally on Friday.

Spectator ran onto the road
Because exactly five years ago, Julian was able to prevent a serious accident with a great deal of skill, but also luck. Looking back: On the fourth of 16 special stages, Julian is on course for the podium and traveling at over 130 km/h when a horsepower fan and amateur photographer suddenly runs across the road. As a result, the man from Mühlviertel veers off course in his Skoda and almost crashes into a group of other photographers through no fault of his own.

"There could have been fatalities!"
"There could have been fatalities," says the 29-year-old! Fortunately, apart from damage to property, nothing happened and the organizer reacted accordingly. In the meantime, this notorious passage has been completely closed. Love-hate relationship with "Mundl"That could have turned out really badly," says Julian's team boss Raimund Baumschlager, who has something of a love-hate relationship with the Rebenland. Because at one of his favorite rallies in 2018, "Mundl" had a serious accident and suffered broken vertebrae.

Raimund Baumschlager's car after his accident in 2018.(Bild: zVg)

Great joy
On the other hand, co-driver icon Sigi Schwarz has a purely positive connection, as he celebrated his comeback in Styria in 2019 after a year out due to injury - he broke his arm and suffered internal injuries in an accident with Gerwald Grössing. "The joy of returning was simply huge," recalls the innkeeper from Steyrling.