From 1958 to 1977 (with interruptions), the Rossfeldrennen was the largest and most fascinating event in Berchtesgaden, attracting up to 30,000 visitors to the Rossfeld on race day at peak times.
From 1961, the Rossfeldrennen even became the European Mountain Championship race, which saw two serious accidents involving the Porsche 910 Bergspyder on June 8, 1968. First, Rolf Stommelen flew off the track at kilometer 3.1 and was seriously injured, then two-time European Hillclimb Champion Ludovico Scarfiotti was hit even harder just 700 m before the German's accident site and did not survive the accident. Whether the lightweight construction of the Bergspider led to these accidents was never clarified.
Restart as a charity equestrian event
In 2011, Achim Althammer started planning a new edition - as a charity event in aid of Lebenshilfe BGL and to date, with the help of hundreds of volunteers, it has been held seven times, usually every two years.
Corona turned everything upside down and not only did the costs explode, but spectator behavior also changed massively. All of this reinforced Althammer's decision to organize the Edelweiss Mountain Prize for the last time in 2024.
He is now saying goodbye as the organizer and main person responsible with one crying and one laughing eye. Achim Althammer explains that, in addition to the Edelweiss Classic, which alternates with the Rossfeld, and the new Legend Grand Prix on the Salzburgring, he will no longer be able to organize the event for financial and health reasons. However, the new event at the Salzburgring, the Legend Grand Prix, is not the reason for the withdrawal.
The good news, however, is that three young men have agreed to continue the Rossfeldrennen. Achim Althammer will support them.
After all, the seven Rossfeld races have brought in over one million euros for the "Lebenshilfe Berchtesgadener Land" organization. Even though it is referred to as a "race", it is clear that the mountain prize, like most other historic hill climb races, is designed to be evenly matched.
Exciting cars
The great thing about the Rossfeld is that the starting field of around 150 vehicles is always a colorful mix and there are no clusters of Porsche 356s and Mercedes 300 SLs like elsewhere. No, there are many vehicles at the start that you can hardly see anywhere else. Just over 150 participants are selected from 250 registrations.
In 2024, for example, NSU collector Hans Hofmeister brought two of his cars to the start: the Brixen NSU Bergspider, which, unbelievably but true, is road-legal, and a Thurner RS.
There were also some little-known Formula Junior racing cars from Hartmann-DKW, Wartburg-Melkus, Drews-DKW and, of course, the Poggi.
Highlights and celebrities
Rarities and legendary racing cars are also on the starting grid every year, such as the Auto Union Type C in September 2024. When this car competes, you simply have to go, no matter what the weather is like or where it is located. It is and remains the car of cars, the Type C with its 16 cylinders, 6-liter displacement and 375 hp.
From September 27 to 29, it was of course the big star at the Rossfeld together with Hans Joachim Stuck. Despite the twin tires on the rear axle, an invention by Strietzel's father for more traction, a sensitive foot on the gas was required on the rain-soaked track.
Jochen Mass in the Porsche 356 A Carrera GS/GT Speedster, Stig Blomqvist in the Audi Quattro A2, Prince Leopold of Bavaria in the BMW 3.0 CSL, Harald Demuth and Rudi Lins also took part on the six-kilometer mountain course with 548 meters of elevation gain.
The man from Voralberg, who won the 1967 European Hill Climb Championship, drove back up the mountain in the very Porsche Carrera 6 that had served as his race car back then.
Incidents and changing conditions
The weather presented completely different conditions, both in terms of driving and photography. While it rained heavily on Saturday, Sunday turned out to be cold but dry. The mountains were liberally sprinkled with sugar overnight, but the sun kept breaking through the thick clouds, which made for fantastic photo opportunities.
The Datsun 240Z of Swiss driver Claude Petitjean retired in the second round on Sunday with a major engine failure. As a result of the oil film visible on the asphalt over long distances, the motorcycles lost a run. Otherwise, however, everything remained accident-free, despite the cold and capricious weather. A good omen for future events, which all fans are of course hoping for.
.jpg)
