By It is time to close the helmet visor and turn the throttle handle, the 2025 edition of ‘Landshaag Bergrennen’, (hosting European Road Race Hill Climb Championship affiliated contests) is sprinting into centre stage this Saturday and Sunday.
Landshaag is a traditional road race/hill climb race organized by ‘MSC Rottenegg’ in Austria, less than an hour’s drive from Czech border.
Since 1979 this 2.25-mile-long track with 754.59 feet drop from ´Landshaag´ to ´St. Martin im Muhklkreis´ welcomes the racing braves to conquer the high-speed time-trial.
There are more than enough contenders for the title of fastest racer this weekend. The winners of each class will be decided according to the sum of the times from two race heats.
If we see a record time this year, surpassing the time record set in 2016 by Andreas ‘Gangolf’ Gangl (1.09.940), the organiser is offering a 1000 Euros award.
Selected names primed for upcoming Superbike Landshaag competition, include:
(Top roads scene achievements, positioned near rider’s name)
• Stefano ´Bonny´ Bonetti, Italian legend. (fastest Italian racer of Landshaag, TT and Northwest 200, multiple European Road Race Hill Climb and CIVS Champion, Frohburger Dreieck and Circuit de Chimay exponent in recent years)
• Maurizio Bottalico, another Italian superstar. (reigning Superbike European Road Race Hill Climb Champion, Julbach, Luckendorfer Bergrennen lap-record holder also multiple Champion in this racing discipline and CIVS, runner-up of 2024 Junior Manx Grand Prix)
• David ´Datziii´ Datzer, Bavarian express. (IRRC SBK 2024 Champion, fastest German racer of Landshaag and TT Races history, overall lap record holder of Horice, Dymokury, Stare Mesto, Trencin Airport races)
• Austrian Thomas Altenhuber. (last year overall Landshaag winner and very fast newcomer at Czech TT in Horice as IRRC wildcard rider last August)
• Christian Steinhauser from Italy. (last year overall Julbach Hill Climb winner experienced also with Horice and Frohburger Dreieck)
• Salvatore ´Salvo´ Sallustro is next Italian joker in the pack. (Manx GP rider, overall 2nd in 2024 European Superbike Road Race Hill Climb Championship experienced for example also in Chimay as IRRC wildcard)
• Thomas ‘Uccio’ Altendorfer, local hero competing under ‘MSC Rottenegg flag, the man featuring in this year’s promotional race poster. (Overall 3rd in European Superbike Road Race Hill Climb Championship, fastest exponent of his home nation for Dymokury and Stare Mesto, experienced also in Horice).
• Same applies to next Austrian names in Superbike start list David Schaberreiter and Thomas Mitgutsch and not starting this weekend Landshaag record holder Andreas Gangl.
• Frenchman Jean-Luc David (overall best time record holder for Boecourt-La Caquerelle Hill Climb, fastest French exponent of Landshaag, also last year IRRC experienced)
European Hill Climb Superbike category participations last years, amongst this weekend’s start-list are Frederic Bongard (Switzerland), Uwe Rademacher (Germany) and Giacomo Failla (Italy).
Notable Supersport/Moto 2 race entrants, keen to overcome the current Supersport record time held by Francesco Curinga since 2016 (1.13.020) include the above-mentioned Maurizio Bottalico and Uwe Rademacher:
Hartmann Engl, Stefano Meli (Italy), Loic Sirot (France), Michael Pils (Germany) againST fast riders from Austria like Mario Gastinger, Martin Hintringer, Alexander Kastenhuber, Daniel Kronschlager, Emanuel Reisinger and others.
Supersport 300 suitors are the Italian trio of Stefano Leone, Marco Vigilucci and Cosimo Sozzo.
The GP 250 start-list contains for example European Champion and fastest Belgian exponent of Landshaag, Bernard Depierreux, Rolf Haller from Switzerland, and Italian riders Guido Testoni, Angelo Testoni, Roberto Della Latta.
Already mentioned Thomas Altendorfer also has GP 250 tackle at his disposal. Yesteryear Sidecars, Supermoto heats will additionally take place.
Czech female racer Kristyna Jakesch (2024 Dymokury – Supersport 400 podium finisher) and Manx Grand Prix debutant this year, English rider now living in Germany, Finn ‘Crazy Chicken’ Chapman (2024 Horice Supermono race winner) will be newcomers to the Landshaag Hill Climb.
2025 Landshaag Hill Climb edition will also remember multiple event winner, deceased last year, the late great Wolfgang Gammer.
Landshaag 2025 weekend timetable (local time):
Saturday 12th April:
11:00 AM Riders Briefing
12:00 PM ca 18:00 PM Practice Session 1 / Practice Session 2
Sunday 13th April:
8:30 AM-10:30 AM Practice Session 3
12:00 PM ca 18:00 PM Races
19:00 PM Prize Giving Ceremony
Photo credit: Nick Wheeler
Words by Jan Vavra
