Driving a classic car in winter? And then over mountain passes? Of course! After all, the cars were also driven in winter when they were still new. A good argument for driving them through snow, ice and cold. However, 2016 brought the Winter RAID, held from January 13 to 16, 2016, few wintry weather conditions and, with a few exceptions, the roads were not as snowy as some participants would have liked ...
Day 1: Let's get started
Around 50 classic cars of all shapes and sizes get ready for the 2016 Winter Raid in St. Moritz. The oldest car is a Rockne Six 75 from 1932, followed by an Alvis Speed 20 Special and Lagonda M35 Le Mans Rapide from 1934.
However, the majority of the cars are from the 60s and 70s. The youngest participants are two Porsche 944s, which have barely reached classic car age. We drive along in the Lancia Fulvia 1.3 HF from 1969 - a genuine works rally car.
In addition to the most important functions, things like snow chains and spare bulbs are also inspected during the technical inspection. But then there is the long-awaited blue sticker, and it's off to the center of St. Moritz, where the cars wait in a very crowded area for the start of the first stage.
The drivers of the open-top pre-war cars in particular are bombarded with questions, as passers-by and tourists naturally want to know what it's like to sit outside all day in the winter ...
Modern motorists can no longer imagine the hardships of those days. Anyone who completes the winter raid in an ancient oldie gets a glimpse of what driving must have been like a hundred years ago.
Our Lancia drives excellently through the winter landscape of Graubünden and then takes a detour towards Bormio. Darkness falls quickly, the instructions in the road book are clear, but the twilight often leaves room for interpretation as to which turn-off is meant. Discussions in the cockpit are inevitable.
Day 2: The Dolomites provide a dream backdrop
The second day brings the first rides in daylight, but snow remains in short supply. Although there is often ice on the mountain roads at higher altitudes in the Dolomites, this doesn't stop courageous raid drivers from exploring the limits in their tried and tested vehicles. The peaks of the Dolomites are the absolute highlight of this two-stage section of the Raid.
The co-pilots, who are busy calculating arrival times, often have less fun because, as always, the stages are peppered with special stages and specifications for averages to be adhered to. In addition, some checkpoints, which have to be stamped, are not easy to find. But that's what makes the Raid so appealing: not just riding around in the - albeit very beautiful - countryside, but also keeping your brain busy.
The destination of Cortina d'Ampezzo only comes into view as night falls. The following morning there are even more passes to conquer. Will there finally be snow? We don't want to take the snow chains home unused...
Day 3: Passes, passes, passes
From Cortina d'Ampezzo, six real Dolomite passes are to be conquered on the third day. But even in between, there is hardly a meter that doesn't go up or down and around bends. And the over-2000-meter passes finally offer a view of the longed-for snow walls. Although the roads are partly cleared of snow and partly covered in snow, at least everything is white at the upper altitudes, and the real winter raid mood finally sets in.
The little Lancia has held up perfectly so far, even though the small 1.3-liter engine delivers revs but no torque. The competition often has the advantage - at least uphill. But downhill, the Lancia is back in its element and shows what a front-wheel-drive rally car can do. The hose and regularity tests are particularly demanding on the third day, because the cutting speeds in the mountainous landscape are particularly difficult to achieve.
Day 4: The finish line comes into sight
The fourth day brings the last two stages from Cortina d'Ampezzo to Avalengo and finally to the finish in Tschierv in Graubünden.
Beautiful snow-covered and unfortunately also very icy roads demand the full concentration of drivers and navigators. The organizer has to reduce the required average speed due to the difficult road conditions for an intermediate stage through the icy winter forest. Otherwise, it is mostly spring weather with dry and therefore pleasantly cold conditions. There is only one incident: a Triumph TR4 leaves the road - only fender bender.
The winner of the 2016 Winter Raid was a twin brother of our Lancia Fulvia 1.3 HF. Manuel Roth from Switzerland and his German co-driver Guido Koch won with a sensational 130 penalty points. We had 3447 and finished in 38th place out of 50 vehicles that started. Second place went to the Austin Mini Cooper S of Fritz and Basil Erath. Third place again went to a German team: Peter Esser and Christian Dollinger in a 1966 Mercedes 220 SB.
Ranking list
The following list shows the participating vehicles and their ranking (Pos), starting number (St-No.) and penalty points (S-Points). All data without guarantee.
The table can be sorted by clicking on the column headings.
| Pos | St-No. | Vehicle | Year | Team | Nat. | S points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 38 | Lancia Fulvia Coupé 1.3 | 1971 | Roth/Koch | CH/DE | 130 |
| 2 | 29 | Austin Mini Cooper S | 1968 | Erath/Erath | CH | 157 |
| 3 | 22 | Mercedes-Benz 220 SB | 1966 | Esser/Dollinger | EN | 161 |
| 4 | 31 | Porsche 911 T | 1969 | Beck/Schaffner | CH | 177 |
| 5 | 49 | BMW 633 CSI | 1978 | Meyer/Luchsinger | CH | 189 |
| 6 | 19 | Austin Cooper MK 1 | 1965 | Lambert/Grunwald | EN | 201 |
| 7 | 32 | Volvo 123 GT | 1969 | Schwegler/Schwegler | CH | 211 |
| 8 | 10 | Austin-Healey 3000 MKII | 1960 | Buhoter/Lustenberger | CH | 251 |
| 9 | 7 | Mercedes-Benz 190 Ponton Rallye | 1958 | Kestenholz/Joerin | CH | 282 |
| 10 | 28 | Volvo 123 GT Amazon | 1968 | Ponet/de Paep | BE | 382 |
| 11 | 12 | Mercedes-Benz 280 SL "Pagoda | 1962 | Schmid/Petignat | CH | 408 |
| 12 | 14 | Mercedes-Benz 220 S | 1964 | Kestenholz/Schneider | CH/DE | 439 |
| 13 | 8 | Volvo PV 544 | 1958 | Demuth/Demuth | CH | 516 |
| 14 | 37 | Fiat 124 Abarth | 1971 | Lingg/Wittwer | CH | 541 |
| 15 | 6 | Mercedes-Benz 220 S | 1958 | Imhot/Bielser | CH | 591 |
| 16 | 11 | Volvo P544 | 1962 | Fankhauser/Bargezi | CH | 697 |
| 17 | 18 | Ford Mustang | 1965 | Witzany/Witzany | EN | 703 |
| 18 | 27 | BMW 1600 GT | 1968 | Rosenow/von Planta | CH | 710 |
| 19 | 46 | Volvo P1800 ES | 1973 | Widler/Jung | CH | 764 |
| 20 | 21 | Volvo 544 G Sport | 1965 | Niggeler/Forcella | CH | 779 |
| 21 | 51 | Mercedes-Benz 280E | 1979 | Schiess/Schiess | CH | 961 |
| 22 | 15 | Lancia Flavia 1.8 Coupé | 1964 | Jöhri/Lobsiger | CH | 1'003 |
| 23 | 47 | BMW 633 CSI | 1976 | Verhoet/Van | NL | 1'016 |
| 24 | 35 | VW Porsche 914 | 1970 | Frey/Frey | CH/GB | 1'211 |
| 25 | 2 | Lagonda M35 LeMans Rapide | 1934 | Frey/Dätwyler | CH | 1'851 |
| 26 | 52 | Porsche 944 | 1983 | Albizzati/Hutter | CH | 1'903 |
| 27 | Mercedes-Benz 220S Coupé | 1957 | Werder/Copeland | CH | 2247 | |
| 28 | 1 | Rockne Six 75 | 1932 | Dubs/Dubs | CH | 2259 |
| 29 | 45 | Renault Alpine A110 | 1973 | Kermer/Kermer | EN | 2365 |
| 30 | 34 | Lancia Fulvia Fanalone Rallye 1.6 HF | 1969 | Kappeier/Sutter | CH | 2463 |
| 31 | 23 | Volvo 121 Amazon | 1967 | Roth/Lusser | CH | 2642 |
| 32 | 44 | BMW 2002 | 1973 | Schleicher/Seidl | EN | 2736 |
| 33 | 16 | Lancia Fulvia Fanalone | 1969 | Dunmore/Merriman | GB | 3006 |
| 34 | 43 | Mercedes-Benz 350 SLC | 1972 | Schenker/Schenker | CH | 3028 |
| 35 | 9 | Jaguar MK I | 1959 | Spadini/Vananty | CH | 3032 |
| 36 | 4 | VW Beetle | 1954 | Rudin/Mislin | CH | 3384 |
| 37 | 36 | Citroen 2 CV | 1970 | Huber/Huber | CH | 3431 |
| 38 | 33 | Lancia Fulvia Coupé Rallye 1.3 HF | 1969 | Niewiarra/Fritschi | DE/CH | 3447 |
| 39 | 41 | Porsche 944 | 1982 | Enz/Moor | CH | 3550 |
| 40 | 30 | Saab 96 | 1968 | Bartlomé/Bartlomé | CH | 4068 |
| 41 | 3 | Alvis Speed 20 Special | 1934 | Landolt/Landolt | CH | 4121 |
| 42 | 53 | Morgan Plus 4 | 2010 | Metille/Friedman | CH | 4583 |
| 43 | 48 | MG MGB GT | 1976 | Greco/Stillhart | CH | 4831 |
| 44 | 42 | Volvo 142 | 1971 | Schürch/Kohler | CH | 5334 |
| 45 | 17 | Porsche 911 S | 1971 | Boylan/Boylan | GB | 7535 |
| 46 | 26 | Volvo 123 GT | 1968 | Nick/Blöder | CH | 11656 |
| 47 | 25 | Opel Commodore GS | 1968 | Huwyler/Keiser | CH | 16011 |
| -- | 39 | Oldsmobile Delta 88 Royale Convertible | 1971 | Streng/Bergmann | EN | 2275 |
| -- | 24 | Triumph TR 4 A | 1967 | Rauss/Freuler | CH | 3400 |
| -- | 50 | Porsche 928 | 1978 | Nussbaum/Bahnerth | CH | 8452 |
