23.8.06
The first Ennstal Classic took place in 1993 with just 35 cars and no
Ferraris, this year there was a huge demand to participate. Of the 300
who applied 185 cars would compete in the magnificent surroundings of
the Tauern and Steiermark. The 185 competitors were split in four groups:
1924 - 1934, 1935 - 1949, 1951 - 1960 and with 50 cars Group 4, 1962 -
1972. The oldest car was the Bentley 4½ litre of Markus Daniel
(D). One of the latest models was a 1972 Lamborghini Miura SV driven by
Derek Bell. Most of all I admire the participants who live 1600 km away,
drive all the way to the Ennstal, do the scrutineering and talk with some
friends, drink a few beers and the next day drive their car to the top
of the Stoderzinken. On the other hand it’s more relaxing towing
your Bentley, Lagonda, Aston Martin or Marendaz Special there on a a trailer!
The Stöderzinken
The scrutineering of all 185 cars take some time and was set for Wednesday.
Of course, if "your" car has been checked there was plenty
of time to meet friends, do some strategic preparation for the next-day-special,
scouting the difficult parts of the hill-climb or just have that beer.
The first special stage - the hill-climb of the Stoderzinken with a
height of 2,048 meters and an average gradient of 9 to 10% - would start
this year at 11:00am. The pass was closed for all traffic at 09:00 am,
so if you weren’t in time as a spectator or photographer you had
bad luck.
The start was as usual in the center of Gröbming and we heard the
first cars in the first corner of the Stoderzinken at approx. 11:17.
This special hill-climb took 15 minutes (Groups 1 & 2) or 11 minutes
and 45 seconds sharp (all other Groups) and I must say, that some of
guys knew exactly what the spectators wanted to see... In the curve
I was in, I saw the Lamborghini with Derek Bell (5-times winner of Le
Mans) being driven like it ought to be! There was also a Mini Cooper
being driven spectacularly, but it was still only a Mini.
The Night-Prologue
Due to the earlier start of the hill-climb the night
prologue started at 04:30pm - never mind the heat. At the start I saw
all the Ferraris, Invictas, MGs, Mercedes 300 SLs, Lagondas, Alfa Romeos,
Jaguars, Porsches and all the other interesting and rare makes. It was
really great!
The night-prologue finished in Schladming, in the Planai Olympic stadium.
In the whole area of “Dachstein”, in every corner of it,
something was organized and this first day of action had been quite
an exciting day to me, not only due to the extreme heat. I felt my legs
as never before, it was like I had participated in the hill-climb -
but on foot! Like the last few years I stayed in the Sporthotel Dirninger,
which is situated along the track for Saturdays finale. A warm welcome
by Anni & Karl Dirninger and a nice room, a good breakfast and dinner
is guaranteed and from my balcony I always have a great view on the
surrounding mountains and it takes my breath away every time I’m
standing there. Driving the Ennstal through these surroundings - no
matter what car is used - had to be awesome!
The Tauernrunde
The next day was a day of much exertion for the participants, because
they had to drive a demanding route right through "Steiermarken"
and the "Tauern", the "Rockies" of this part of
Austria. This day’s tour was over 580 km long and my colleague
and I followed a German photographer who knew the way like nobody else.
Like all over Europe we were expecting hot weather but here in the mountains
of Austria you could expect really all kinds of weather from bright
sunshine to heavy rain, fog, snow etc. changing in less then 10 minutes.
But this year snow was not possible.
The first car started at 07:00 and we followed a quarter of an hour
later. The average speed of 50 km/hour was for safety purposes and we
had time enough to drive in a relaxed way to our first stop at the beginning
of the Sölkpass. We waited for the first cars and after a while
we drove to the top at approx. 1,700 meters. Taking photos here seemed
to be impossible, due to busloads of tourist from Japan and other countries,
walking through the surroundings and asking “What’s happening?”
or “Is there something going on here?”. “No Dear,
just a few old cars passing through!”.
During lunch we took some shots from the terrace, but in the background
there was a cemetery, so we just had the fun of taking them… After
lunch we drove on to our last spotting place high in the mountains of
the “Hohe Tauern” which had only view like postcards. Breathtaking…!
While we were waiting for the first cars - it was approx. 05:30pm -
it became dark, there was thunder and the rain was so heavy that an
umbrella was useless. I had a poncho, but it blew out of my hands and
never saw it again! So I took my photos dodging the raindrops. Afterwards
we heard of mud flows, roads washed away and very heavily rainfall.
Think about this, sitting in a Bentley and still having fun… that’s
The Ennstal Classic!
Saturday’s Tag Heur Grand
Prix
At Saturday the finals took place and started after the brunch with
line-up of the classic cars in the middle of Gröbming, watched
in - again - the hot sun by hundreds of spectators who were waiting
for the special demonstration cars. All the important guest stars, like
Sir Stirling Moss [what a surprise - Ed.] and his wife Lady Susie Moss,
Jochen Mass, Gerhard Berger, Christian Klien, Derek Bell and his wife
Misy, etc.- walked between the two fences on the mainstreet and were
interviewed, asked to sign an autographs or to sit in their special
car and pose for photographs.
Just this demonstration only attracted many spectators, only a few of
the most discerning realized just how special is was to see, for example,
a Ferrari 330P in the center of Gröbming. With this 330P Graham
Hill/Jo Bonnier finished second in the ’64 Le Mans and it was
sold by David Piper in 1967 to Egon Hofer, after a very heavy accident
at Oulton Park the previous year. It must be quite a job even driving
for fun this 4 litre with 370 hp at 7,000 rpm, weighing 755kg, which
still has a top-speed of 303 km/hour.
Dr. Axel Marx demonstrated the Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B Le Mans, first at
the Le Mans 24hrs. in 1938 and entered by the Museo Storico. Gerhard
Berger drove the Alfetta 159, considered as the most successful long-lived
Grand Prix cars ever. Build at Modena in 1937, in 1950 Giuseppe "Nino"
Farina won the first F1 Drivers' World Championship with this car and
of course Fangio won his first title in the tipo the following year.
Next there was Sir Stirling Moss in a Prototype Mercedes 300 SLR, now
the only car in freedom, because the other 9 cars are entombed in the
new Mercedes Museum. Maria Teresa de Filippis (almost 80 years of age)
- the Great Lady of car racing and the first woman with GP history -
was due to drive a Maserati 250F, the tipo she drove in four of her
five GPs, but in the end it was driven by somebody else. Last but not
least there was Michelle Mouton, driving the Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 in
which she became German Rally champion in 1986. This year the demonstration
lasted 5 laps.
After the demonstration the real Tag Heur Grand Prix of Gröbming
started at approx. 01:40 pm. Some of the participants were interviewed,
but all cars were mentioned once standing on the start platform. After
the start the cars turned sharp right in front of the VIP tribune, between
fences on both sides of the road that kept the spectators at a safe
distance. There were some curves and I must say, many were drifting
like they were on a real race track. They were loudly applauded and
they loved it.
Next the cars turned sharp left and passed a timing point, entered a
roundabout and drove along the demonstration route, passed the VIP tent
and turned again into the center of Gröbming in the direction of
the church. The last turn was a sharp curve to the right immediately
followed by the last timing cell.
The Ennstal Classic was won by Helmut Schramke/Dr. Peter Umfahrer in
a Jaguar XK 150 (No.112). Second were Pius Weckerle and Evelyn Mischka
in a Porsche 911 (No.162) and third were Mag. Sebastian Klackl &
Mag. Alexander Endl in a Porsche 356B (No. 129).
The excellent organized T-Mobile Ennstal Classic had practically come
to an end. We would stay until the next day and like the years before
I wondered how it was possible that the village was abandoned in such
a short time. We could hardly buy a drink after taking pictures the
whole afternoon, because everybody was already cleaning, dismantling
and packing. We returned home the next day and while my colleague was
driving I could think of a Daytona coming down from the Stoderzinked,
preceded by some SWBs and I can assure you, thinking of that makes time
fly !
