1000 Hills Rally

Waldherr drives for his father’s legacy

Luca Waldherr is on his way to his first (home) victory in the championship.(Bild: Daniel Fessl)

Nobody knows the roads here better than him, the Bucklige Welt is his home. And when the "OBM Land of 1000 Hills" rally starts on Friday at 4.30 pm in Krumbach, Luca Waldherr will start with the number 1 for the first time. In the absence of champion Simon Wagner, the man from Zöbern is suddenly the favorite. His first victory in a national championship race is within his grasp. But it's not quite that easy.

"I'd like to take the number 1 spot with me to the finish," nods Waldherr. He is three points short of securing the runner-up title in the Citroën Rally2 at the finale. What is more important: the home win or the runner-up? "Both weigh the same." But: "My father took three overall victories in the championship, but he never managed it at home," the 30-year-old recalls his dad Andi, who passed away in 2011, "so a home win would also have an emotional value."

Friday and Saturday host of the "OBM Land of 1000 Hills" rally: Luca Waldherr.(Bild: Jochen Fessl - rallyepics.at)

However, there is another driver against whom his father has already raced: Raimund Baumschlager, and the record champion has Filip Kohn (Tsch), the newly crowned European champion (ERC3), in the second BRR-Skoda. "I'm really looking forward to the beautiful and fast stages in the Bucklige Welt," reveals "Mundl", "and also to the joint appearance with Filip."