Soon I was off to Austria. This is their border control checkpoint area. It's no longer active.
I would never have tried taking this photo when they were checking passports at the border crossing.
Austria was stunning. The roads were good and the scenery outstanding.
I wish I had more time to spend here.
I arrived in the Lambrechten, Austria area, sight of tomorrow's race at sundown. The track's location was well signposted.
The area was surrounded by beautiful farms.
One scene was better than the next.
As the sun set over Austria, I wondered why Arnold left.
This smalll town is home to the Lambrechten Stock Car Track.
I love it when there are signs telling about the upcoming event.
I thought it unusual that this stock car sign was placed in front of the cemetary.
Notice anything unusual about this farm picture? Check out the two stock cars!
When the sun went down I had to find a hotel. Tonto came through as always with a location near the track.
Every one of my hotels offered breakfast in the price I paid. I was starting to feel a little better. The eggs looked good.
My Chevy was still in the hotel parking lot. That was a good sign.
What do you think the nickname of this town's high school is? How about the “mothers”.
The Austrian farms were picturesque. The house and farm buildings were huge. They always formed a “courtyard”. I wished I was able to get a tour of the grounds.
There's a reason the grounds look so green. They get their share of rain here.
Why would they print the word “Stop” in English when no other words on any other signs in the area are in English?
The canola fields have just about finished blooming for this season.
This sunflower section is on its last legs as well.
Pretty as a picture....this Austria.
The scenery featured rolling hills, perfectly manicured landscapes and meticulously maintained homes.
It was just a pieceful Sunday morning in rural Austria.
When I approached the track's ticket sellers I was greeted with a “Are you Randy?” I didn't have a name tag on. How did they know who I was? That's Dani (short for Daniela) on the left. She had left a welcoming message in my guestbook on www.ranlayracing.com.
This was my first view of an Austrian stock car. Yes.....they are mean looking machines.
The track sits amongst rural Austrian farmland and a gravel pit.
This is the concessions tent. I was still recovering from my food poisoning and didn't buy anything today.
This is a view of most of the paddock area.
This is my rightside panoramic view of the Lambrechten Stock Car Track. These small chicanes on the backstretch were most treacherous. There were several flips here.
This is the center panoramic view of today's track. Even at a small track like this, they have corporate sponsorships.
This is the left one-third of the track's panoramic view. These cars are all lined up for “technical control” aka inspection.
You won't see very many Audis towing a stock car to the track.
Never seen anything like this one!
There were nine different divisions racing today. All of these cars are part of the same racing “team” although they may race in different divisions.
I don't know if these Austrians ever got away from the basic tank design!
These can't be very lightweight.
Check out that “window net”.
I spent the first hour in the paddock area. Later I would end up watching the races next to the barn in the background.
This looks more like a tank with machine gun racks than a racecar.
This car has a very large BMW engine jammed into it.
The cockpit is spartan.
Check out the #416's interior. Hey.....what's that guy in the red doing?
That jack is probably worth more than the entire car.
Is this one coming or going?
The boys from “technical control” are busy inspecting.
I don't think these guys like what they see.
How did a Buick get in this picture?
These cars are lined up for inspection.
Just like they fill the race car tank in the states.
I wonder why the words “Stockcar Racing Team” are in English.
This is “Space”. He was my Austrian contact for today's show.
There wasn't much formal seating at today's event.
It's always a good idea to come prepared.
The first race of the day is lined up and ready to go.
As it began to rain, the cars kicked up more debris.
The racing surface reminded me more of a gravel road than anything else.
As the rain came down harder, more umbrellas popped up.
There were lots of spins and flips. This one happened in the women's division.
Corner workers displayed both red flags (stop) and yellow flags (keep going with caution).
Almost every race I saw had at least one flip.
The rescue crew simply turned the car back on its wheels and the car and driver went back to racing.
After a while it was hard to get a good view because of the umbrellas.
Some fans took shelter in this old barn.
The drivers had a hard time keeping their cars headed straight.
This is the panoramic view of turns three and four.
That small dirt mound to the right of this car caused several drivers to lose control and turn over.
This was a most unusual track design.
The street class takes to the track. Any ideas on what the “WC” sign means? It marks the way to the toilets.
This was the wildest section on the entire track.
Mayhem!
In this class, disabled cars were left in position as the race continued.
From time to time more cars plowed into the already stopped racers.
The track was not always wide enough for everyone to get through.
Car #158 and the two cars near him were stopped on the track. The remainder of the field tried to avoid hitting them, but often did anyway.
After the races I headed back to Germany for my flight home. I passed through what used to be passport control in Germany.
While I was stopped in a very bad traffic jam, I could at least admire this vineyard.
When traffic on the motorway became jammed, I asked “Tonto” to take me on a more scenic and even quicker route.
I had to try McDonalds just one time while I was here. It was pretty much the same as in the U.S. except their small drink really is small.
This was my last hotel stay of the trip. All of my hotel rooms were unique. Many came with twin beds and a comforter as a blanket.
