Despite coughing up blood, Simon Wagner secured his victory in a dramatic final showdown at the Rebenland Rallye, claiming his fifth consecutive win at the event together with codriver Hanna Ostlender in their Hyundai i20 N Rally2.
“On Friday, for the first time in 15 years, I actually thought about quitting,” Wagner admitted. “My ENT surgery just 14 days ago affected me more than I expected. I spent the entire day dealing with bleeding in my sinus cavity and extreme pain.” Despite the struggles, Wagner ended the first day of the rally in second place.
Saturday then was like a remarkable comeback. “In the morning I decided to skip the painkillers and just grit my teeth throughout the day,” Wagner explained. Setting six fastest stage times proved that the decision paid off. Although Wagner was clearly not able to perform at his full physical capacity due to the recent surgery, he once again demonstrated his ability to deliver under extremely difficult circumstances, turning what seemed almost impossible into reality in a thrilling, second-by-second battle.
Going into the penultimate stage, championship rival Michael Lengauer was leading the rally by nearly 24 seconds and already looked like the winner. However, rapidly changing weather conditions set the stage for a dramatic showdown.
“On the 20-kilometre Schlossberg stage I knew it was now or never,” Wagner said. “The stage was incredibly tricky – everything from completely dry sections to heavy rain showers. It was immediatly clear we had to push as hard as possible if we wanted to have any chance for the win.”
And that is exactly what they did. Wagner and Ostlender brought back incredible 23 seconds on the leading Lengauer, reducing the gap to just one second and setting up a breathtaking final showdown before the 7-kilometre Power Stage. Once again Wagner and Ostlender kept their nerves under pressure and ultimately secured the victory by just 1.1 seconds.
“We never stopped believing and fighting,” Wagner said at the finish. “It was an incredibly exciting, heart- stopping finale with the maximum points. With the Powerstage win and the overall victory we achieved the best possible result for the Austrian championship. It’s absolutely amazing and we’re more than happy.”
“Hanna and the entire team once again did a fantastic job. And of course a huge thank you to all our partners and sponsors who make this possible. Hats off to ‘Lengi’ as well – he was incredibly strong all weekend. Battles like this are what make rallying so exciting, and I hope it will be just as thrilling again at the Lavanttal Rally,” Wagner concluded.
