From tunnels to top speeds: Meet Christoph and his journey on and off the water

At Yunex Traffic, careers are shaped by curiosity, dedication and a drive to push boundaries – whether on the job or beyond it. For Christoph Wondracek, responsible for Project Management & Technical Sales at Yunex Traffic Austria, that journey spans decades of international projects, technical innovation and hands-on delivery, paired with a passion for high-performance sport. 

In this blog, discover how Christoph combines his work on complex traffic solutions with his commitment to competitive waterski racing – and how resilience, preparation and a high-performance mindset connect both worlds. 

Hi Christoph, thanks for speaking with us! Can you please tell us about your role and what you do?

Christoph: Yes, of course. Currently, I am engaged in the Vehicle Occupancy Detection solution I have invented together with my colleagues here in Vienna. The target is to count passengers in the vehicle by using a special camera and a powerful LED illumination. With high accuracy, we are able to detect violators that are using a High Occupancy Lane that is meant to prioritize public transport or vehicles with two or more passengers. Additionally, I am involved in the project management of tunnel and tolling projects.  

How long have you been with #TeamYunexTraffic?

Christoph: I started with Siemens Programming and System Engineering in 1998. There, I worked in financial controlling before enhancing my skills in test and test management on projects such as the car telephony and entertainment system for BMW. I then started with a big tolling tender for the tender procedure for ASFINAG (the official public corporation in Austria responsible for building, maintaining, and collecting tolls on the country’s high-speed road network) in 2000. 

Projects and pilots for tolling solutions then followed in Singapore, South Africa, France, Spain, USA, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary. Starting in 2018, I became Test Manager for a big tunnel project in Hong Kong which kept me busy on site until 2020. We tested, commissioned and handed over the overall tunnel and control solution to the operator SERCO on completion. This tunnel is the bypass of Fanling and all the small villages in the north of Hong Kong’s New Territories, reducing congestion and making life easier for all the people living there. Due to constant traffic flow and state-of-the-art traffic management, travel became much safer than before, and the reduction of traffic jams is decreasing CO2 emissions.  

Additional tolling projects soon followed in France and Belgium, and as of today, I am working on a tolling project in the Netherlands. 

Outside of work, you are also active in competitive sport – how did you get into powerboat racing, and what led you to the Pavia Venezia race in 2026?

Christoph: Besides work, I always tried to keep myself fit with water skiing, cycling, inline skating, diving and alpine skiing. My waterski racing ambitions go back several years but with many international projects at work, I could not participate in training and competitions.  

A colleague of mine encouraged me, and pushed me, towards the World Championships of Waterski Racing in Gosford Australia in 2023. In readiness, I kick-started endurance and racing training which paid off – I secured second place in the World Championships of Waterski Racing in the Masters category. This led to a successful year in 2024. But in January 2025, my preparations for the next season came to a halt due to a meniscus rupture while skiing. A comprehensive rehabilitation program started until the end of 2025.  

Following my rehab, and with the competitive program in 2026 soon ahead, I jumped back in and prepared for the longest waterski racing of the World – Pavia-Venezzia. Here, I made it as Number 1 to the checkered flag. At a temperature of 34°, even skiing on water was a real challenge. Dehydration is a real issue in a time span of three hours, and I felt very happy to see the finish line and being waved aside by the judges and the checkered flag!

For those who may not be familiar with it, what makes the Pavia Venezia race and the Sciatore Nautico F1 category so challenging?

Christoph: First of all, it is the longest waterski race in the world. The total distance in 2026 was 280 km (compared to the original length of 350 km) as the low water level of the river Po made it difficult to start directly in Pavia. Additionally, sandbanks in the river stopped boats and some of them were unfortunately destroyed. There were three times where competitors touched the riverbed. For me, this caused me to crash on the water – however this did not stop me from starting the race again and finishing with a time of 3 hours and 11 minutes. For the Italians, this race is comparable to the road race from Paris-Dakar. This year, only 46 out of 97 boats saw the finish line – the rest needed to be rescued by the organizer’s rescue teams.

Do you see any connections between your work at Yunex Traffic and your approach to competing in high-performance sport?

Christoph: Yes, definitely. Similar to how I challenge myself in sports, I apply this to my work also. I am used to high performance in work and what I do. Our customers, the environment we work in and our technology require skills, training, endurance and passion to deliver world-class results. It gives me great satisfaction when expectations are met and we deliver a solution that meets our customers’ needs.

What advice would you give to others who want to push themselves and achieve ambitious goals – whether in their career or personal goals? 

Christoph: From my personal point of view, it is always important to have a customer-centric approach, treat the company you are working with as if it is yours and identify with what you do. It is not always easy to achieve new goals or new tasks, but with permanent learning and training, the new tasks can be achieved.  

It’s not just the race that is important, it’s also the preparation which takes usually much longer. It might be frustrating from time to time, and it doesn’t work at first, but give it a try, repeat again and again, and then finally there is success. I can describe the tunnel project I worked on in Litang, Hong Kong, as a multi marathon; learning a lot, trying a lot and failing frequently in between. But what counts is the success at the end – when traffic flowed through our tunnel and our team was successful.  

Thanks for sharing your story with us and congratulations again on your success! It’s been great to learn more about your journey and experiences!