It was the Romans who gave the Black Forest its name: "Silva nigra", "black forest". An impassable terrain, covered by dense forests and inhabited by wild animals, but only sparsely populated.
In the meantime, the Black Forest region has also been civilized. Starting from Freiburg, finely chiseled roads and paths, with villages, hamlets and hamlets attached to them, run through the entire region. An Eldorado for Mathias Wolber, who devised the routes for the "Schauinsland-Klassik" classic car rally.
No fewer than 18 car brands from Alfa Romeo to VW were represented at the Schauinsland over the weekend of August 4 and 5, 2023, offering spectators a cross-section of automobile construction from the late 1920s to 1990.
Just over 100 teams, mainly from Germany and Switzerland, supplemented by teams from France and Luxembourg, were registered in the starting field. The race started on Friday after midday. The route first led to the north, then went southwest down to almost Lörrach and then back to Freiburg. The focus was not on speed and speed, but on athletic performance and high and precise riding skills.
Contrary to the route of previous years, the first day included many village crossings. Annoying for the participants: a 30 km/h speed limit was combined with streets with parked cars and lots of traffic lights to create a stop-and-go, which was great for the spectators who could wave at the classic cars. This time, the "piece de resistance", namely the Schauinsland, was driven in the opposite direction, namely from top to bottom.
The finish of the first stage was traditionally at 7.30 p.m. at Münsterplatz, which was packed with countless spectators despite the bad weather: there was a real "Italian feeling" - such crowds are normally seen at classic car events there. Barriers ensured that the participants' cars did not have to find their way through the crowds...
The second day covered 260 kilometers in the eastern and northern parts of the vast Black Forest. Immediately after the start from the exhibition halls, we headed for the Schauinsland route. And the words of warning from the ride organizers echoed in our ears: "Please do not cross the safety lines - this will be punished by the police, if present.
Fortunately, the law enforcement officers were conspicuous by their absence, as many participants chose the ideal line... The finish line was back at the exhibition halls later in the afternoon, with one last special stage with three time sections - then the Schauinsland-Klassik 2023 was already history again. The grand finale was the award ceremony, which took place in Hall 4 as part of a small banquet.
After around 500 kilometers of regularity driving with challenging special stages, Knuth and Markus Henneke triumphed in a Porsche 964 Targa (1990) as overall winners ahead of Uli and Tom Jäck in a VW Golf I GTI (1983) and the Swiss Susanna and Stefano Ginesi in a Porsche 356 B Roadster (1961).
The results and further information can also be found on the event website.
Freiburg and the church tradition
It's like this: The church tradition and the holy mass in Freiburg Minster is actually somewhat older than the Schauinsland Classic and is sacred to the clergy there in the truest sense of the word. No disturbances are tolerated, especially not from motor sport events such as the classic car rally. The finish on Friday evening can therefore be set for 7.30 p.m. at the earliest for the first car, because by then the evening mass is finished and the engines are no longer any competition for the spoken word in the church. It would be interesting to find out who has more "spectators": The Holy Mass or the Schauinsland Classic on Münsterplatz...!
Just crazy or already insane?
100 km/h in a classic car requires the driver's full attention. 100 km/h and a racing cyclist? It takes a great deal of courage as well as a bit of madness. The descent from the Schauinsland, which is wide and has little traffic, was used by a cyclist to overtake a Porsche Turbo (!) and pull away. "I made sure to keep a safe distance in case the madman crashed," said the Porsche driver - who must have been overtaken by a cyclist for the first time - admiringly after the kilometer-long descent!
The genetically modified VW Beetle
Even from a distance, it was clear that the star number 9 was not an "ordinary" VW Beetle. The crawling beast presented itself with a lowered body, broader legs and an almost beefy look. Mario Ketter, former racing driver and local hero from Freiburg, was on the road in his active days with a fast vehicle.
In the Formula 2 European Championship with a Ralt-BMW, in the one-make world championship with a Porsche 908-Turbo or a Toj-BMW, in the German DTM racing championship with a Group 5 BMW320 or in the hotly contested European Renault one-make cup with an R5-Turbo. He has also competed in races in a Procar BMW M1. And of course, as a Freiburg native, he holds the track record of 4 minutes and 59 seconds on his local mountain. The Schauinsland Classic was a little more sedate with the VW Beetle, "but you have to have 100 hp and a modified chassis, otherwise it's no fun," laughed Ketterer.
Coffee and cake
In Switzerland, the Hostettler Group is an integral part of the motorcycle scene as a Yamaha importer. In Germany, Hostettler GmbH from Müllheim in Marktgräflerland supplies bikers with clothing, accessories and spare parts. The Schauinsland-Klassik participants made a coffee stop on the factory premises on Friday afternoon: in addition to a hot drink, the female staff also served a varied selection of cakes - all home-baked, of course!
