In Austria most of the Volvo Original cars are 740´s. This car was one of the Volvos who started in Triestingtal Rallye 2009.


- It was a fantastic rally with wonderful spectators. I really liked it - even if the roads at the end of the rallye was not so nice to the cars. Specially one stage as we drowe four times was..., well, not so nice...
Swedish Volvo driver Henrik Levin liked his trip to Triestingtal Rallye and the second leg in the Volvo Original Nordic West Euro cup 2009. Henrik and his codriver Ida Isaksson won the first rally - on asphalt in Holland - in Mars and now it was the firt gravel rally for the year.
A lot of Volvo Original cars started in the rally - 18 cars.
14 of them started in the NW Cup: 2 cars from Germany, one from 
Sweden - and the rest from  Austria where the Volvo Original Cup is really growing this year.
Henrik Levin was seeded among the top drivers - and he really showed why. The 940 driver won the classe - and ended as nr. 9 overall!
- I am very satisfied. But I dont like I lost the 8.th place overall with only 2,5 seconds...
The only problem with his early start was that the swedish team hardly met the other Volvo teams during the rally:
-- And that I really missed, Its always fun to meet other Volvo drivers and diskuss how to handle a Volvo on a gravel road...
At the beginning Henrik had a nice fight with Jochen Walther, the  German veteran.
But Jochen had to retire after problems around propshaft:
- The hardy disk and the propshaft center bearing failed. Jochen tryed an emergency roadside repair, but in vain, Karl Rumpler - the man who took Volvo Original Cup to Austria - tells.
Karl did hot start in the rally this year - his 740 Original was driven by Dr Markus Sommer and Andy Hulak - and Hulak was the austrian of the day on SS 3 wher they bet Henrik with 5.4 second!  
Their time on the stage was 9th overall!
But - lso the Dr Sommer/Andy Hulak team had to diagnose a broken Compression strut on the right front suspension - shortly after they hit a tree. That happend on 9 (ss 10 was cancelled and the 11th stage was a 4 minutes roundcors in town Weissenbach...)
German 740.driver Andreas Leue drove a steady rallyre, guick and net to the 27th overall and 2.nd on the WEC - so he might be a very serious contender for a podium place at the "King of Gravel cup! this year.
The best austrian VOC-team was Andreas Schögler/Annemarie Drosg in the only 240 Original in the rallye.
4.th was Bernhard Engelmann - Jürgen Praschel fell from 4th to la6.th place when they had to stop o SS7 and change a wheel.
Some  of the Volvos had to retire not som far from finish - the rally was hard to the cars.
Four of the cars was not up to the regulations for the WEC so they dit not get any points in the Cup.

SEND HE APPLICATION FORMS NOW!
Next rally in the Nordic West Euro Cup is Rallye Sulingen in Sulinger, Germany may 1-2.
Its a nice asphalt rallye not so far from the border to The Netherlands. The rallye has 14 stages (140 kms) and as in Austria the last stage is a roundcourse in the town Sulingen.
Last date for entry is April 20 and you find all info You need on www.msg-sulingen.de.
At the moments there are  8 Volvo Orignal teams at the entry list (51 cars overall). Its John Bosscha - nr 2 in the first rallye) from The Netherlands amd from the same country comes also Jacco Waalewijn, Ruurd Ochse and Sander Pelle. From Germany comes at the monment Uwe Gottschalk, Philipp Musholt and female driver Anja C Freese in her 240.
- I shall check the car when I am back in Sweden. My plan is to start in Sulingen but iIam not sure at the moment, Cup leader Henrik says.

Two weeks later its the next gravel rallye in the Cup - South Swedish Rally.
Last date for enry to the big, swedish summer rally with very nice and hard gravel roads is April 27 and all foreign Volvo Original drivers starts for half the entry fee - this means 1.500 swedish crowns. Plus of cause 400 sek for english - or maybe german - pace notes. Because in Sweden there are no training before start for the Volvos.
Foreign drivers shall not send any money - they pay entry fee when arriwing to documentary control in Ljungby after the road E4

Result, Volvo Original Nordic West Euro Cup,Leg 2, Triestingtal Rallye, Austria:
1) Henrik Levin, w, 940, 1.05.19,6, 2) Andreas Leue, Germany, 740, 1.08.51,0, 3) Andreas Schögler, Austria, 240, 1.09.28,3, 4) Bernhard Engelmann, Austria, 740, 1.09.37,2, 5) Nenad Jovanovic, Austria, 740, 1.09.50,7, 6) Jürgen Praschl, Austria, 740, 1.16.54,9.
Robert Resch, Martin Schenk, Dr Markus Sommer, Marlies Mandl, Mag. Kurt Putz and Michael Pap, - all from Austria retired som also Jochen Walther, Germany.
Johann Drapela, Tjeck Republic, 740, Martin Wurm, Georg Gschwandner and Ernst Miller, Austria drove the rally in he VO-classe but dit not ger any Cup points as their cars was nou up to the NWC-regulations.

Volvo Original Nordic West Euro Cup, after two rallies:
1) Henrik Levin, 60 p, 2) Andreas Leue and John Bosscha, The Netherlands, 240, each 27 p, 4) Andreas Schögler and Rinse Zwaagstra, The Netherlands, 740, each 25 p, 6) Bernhard Engelmann, 23, 7) Nenad Jovanovic, 22, 8) Jürgen Praschl, 21. 9) Resch, Schenk. Sommer. Mandl. Walther, Putz and Pap, each 5 p.
Next rallye: 22-ADAC-Mobil-Pegasus-Rallye Sulinger Land, Sulingen, Germany May 1-2

Volvo Original Gravel Cup after 1.st leg:
1) Henrik Levin, 30 p 2) Andreas Leue, 27, 3) Andreas Schögler, 25, 4) Bernhard Engelmann, 23, 5) Nenad Jovanovic, 22, 6) Jürgen Praschl, 21., 7) Robert Resch, Martin Schenk, Dr Markus Sommer, Marlies Mandl, Mag. Kurt Putz and Michael Pap each 5 p.
Next rallye in the Gravel Cup (and 4.th in the NWC): South Swedish Rally, Ljungby. Sweden May 15-16.