Spyder Großglockner Challenge 2019
From June 13th to 15th, 2019 the annual Grossglockner Challenge took place again: Around 280 riders from different nations with their 175 Spyders – and for the first time also with the new Ryker – came to experience Upper Austria from its most picturesque side and climb the highest mountain of Austria. 27 employees of BRP-Rotax also took part.
On Thursday, old and new friends met at Schloss Ebenzweier in Upper Austrian’s Altmünster on Lake Traunsee to register, get their badges and receive their welcome package.
On Friday, the journey continued and the participants gathered at the Rotax-parking lot, while the other part of the group enjoyed a relaxed excursion ride through Upper Austria. The 140 enthusiastic Can-Am Spyder drivers had a factory tour and they got to know the company which is building their Spyder’s engines that bring the driving pleasure. In the afternoon, they drove over romantic streets from checkpoint to checkpoint to qualify for the grand prize at the gala dinner.
On Saturday, the summit trip to the Grossglockner was on the program, the most famous alpine road that leads directly into the heart of the Nationalpark Hohe Tauern: 48 kilometers of superb panoramic roads, 36 bends and 2,504 ascent meters demanded a lot from the pilots, but offered them the best views of the unique Alpine landscape with meadows, forests, rocks and the (almost) eternal glacier ice as a reward. Arriving at the Kaiser-Franz-Josefs-Höhe, everyone was happy to have made it, posed for group photos, selfies and enjoyed the atmosphere. In the subsequent descent, there was next to joy and pride a little sadness in the air, because it will now take another year to come back.
The evening was crowned by the gala dinner in the event tent, where the winners got their prizes and got acclaimed. Besides, everyone had a reason to celebrate, because as always, the focus was on the unique Spyder driving experience and the Spyder friendship, which connect their owners across boarders and even personally once a year. Long live the Spyders!
