Saalbach Hinterglem, Oct 07: More than eight hundred bikers take part in spectacular offroad festival. The Alps provided the perfect backdrop as over 800 motocross riders took part in the Saalbach Hinterglemm "Speed of the Alps" offroad festival on Sunday (October 5). The six-hour race produced some spectacular action over the most testing terrain imaginable. Werner Mller and Markus Tischard took the team title despite a broken chain in the early stages. The Austrian duo completed 45 laps of the five kilometre course in the six hours. Their victory owed much to Muller's experience as an Enduro rider which enabled him to fix the chain in quick time. Fellow-Austrians Sigi Bauer und Erich Brandauer finished second with 44 laps. Germany's Gerhard Gradl and Gerhard Forster completed 42 laps for third. Slovakia's Zlatko Novosad took the individual prize with 40 laps. Austria's Manfred Gollnitzer, with 37 laps, finished second ahead of Michael Mailhammer. The Italian completed 36 laps. Veteran Austrian snowboarding star Martin Frenademetz completed 34 laps to finish a creditable seventh.


The previous evening there was a special treat for motocross fans with an uphill speed competition to the top of the Reiterkogel producing another Austrian winner as Michi Staufer claimed the first prize of 2,000 euros.


Bureau Report