(acm/mps) The “breakneck” Irishman Cameron Hanley snatched victory in the MercedesCard Jump & Drive from right under the noses of the previously highly successful Germans in a time of 105.11 seconds. In spite of a fault and the two second time penalty that went with it, the 33-year-old still beat the times of his nine opponents.
The win in the spectacular competition ended the host country’s series of wins that stretched back to 1999. In front of a record 8050 crowd – the number of equestrian enthusiasts turning up at the Hanns-Martin-Schleyer-Halle for the STUTTGART GERMAN MASTERS opener was the highest ever – Hanley first completed the jumping course saddled on his eight-year-old stallion S.I.E.C. Royal Star. After a dash and quick changeover to the driver’s seat of a Mercedes-Benz A 180 CDI, he accelerated off to show his driving skills around the slalom course.
Hanley’s well-earned reward for his efforts: he is allowed to take the very same car home in which he secured victory in Stuttgart. The Irishman prevented the first ever hat-trick in the competition that Christian Ahlmann (Germany) came so close to achieving. After sitting both on the saddle on Catwalk and at the steering wheel, the double 2003 European Champion, who had already won the MercedesCard Jump & Drive in 2004 and 2005, was only two tenths of a second slower than his Irish opponent. Third place went to the Finn Mikael Forsten, who went round the first part of the competition on Noble Lady.
