The presentation of the Swiss Classic Awards at the end of the classic car season is already a cherished tradition. On November 26, 2022, the scene met at the Swiss Museum of Transport in Lucerne to find out who was among the winners in the post-corona year 2022.
As always, the program was routinely hosted by Dino Graf. After a short opening speech by Bernd Link, Urs P. Ramseier first briefly explained the modalities, then the individual nominees were briefly introduced and finally the winner was announced.
The evening was broken up by short blocks of discussion. Uli Saferling explained his interpretation of the term "cultural asset", Mat Rebaud, a motorcross and freestyle artist, chatted about his experiences, about a stunt video in the Museum of Transport and about the fact that he has a Porsche 911 but no motorcycle driver's license.
Rookie Award for Motorworld Kemptthal
The nominees for the "Rookie Award" were Motorworld Manufaktur Region Zürich, European Vintage Cars (Nils Willner) and influencer Megan Liza Kohler.
While the jury and the general public were able to nominate candidates in the summer of 2022, the jury then narrowed the list down to three nominees, who were then voted on by the public online.
Motorworld Manufaktur Region Zürich, which is represented by Christoph Baer and has been established in Kemptthal for over a year, received the most votes. Isabelle Riederer gave the laudatory speech.
Door Opener Award goes to Brooklin Garage
The candidates for the "Door Opener Award" were Brooklyn Garage with its "Big Cruising Lake Zurich", a round trip around Lake Zurich created during the coronavirus pandemic without any strict rules, the Lions in Classic, a regularity rally for a good cause, and the Châteaux-d'Oex International VW Meeting for air-cooled Volkswagens.
The Brooklyn Garage was celebrated as the winner, with Martin Sigrist giving the laudatory speech. It was easy for the audience to understand why this informal and friendly event was able to win the Door Opener Award.
Innovation Award for the Lömmenschwil Car Museum
The RacingFuel Academy, a sim racing project based around the Klausen race, Alpenknattern, which gives snowmobiles a home, and the Lömmenschwil Car Museum were nominated for the "Innovation Award".
Renate and Peter Hürlimann received the award and the laudatory speech from Maja Guetg. The museum has only recently been opened and brings together countless exhibits from the Hürlimanns' passion for collecting, who are also responsible for the St. Gallen Classic Car Fair.
Lifetime Award for Paul Berger
The Lifetime Award is purely a jury affair. It honors personalities who have dedicated a considerable part of their lives to automobiles and classic cars. Paul Berger fits the bill perfectly, as he and Peter Montverdi helped build up the only major sports car manufacturer of the sixties and seventies and made it successful.
Urs P. Ramseier gave the laudatory speech and explained how it is thanks to Paul Berger that the automobiles from Binnigen can be admired today at the Lucerne Museum of Transport.
After the awards ceremony, the prizewinners and many invited guests were able to enjoy dinner in the Autohalle. It goes without saying that there was a great deal of petrolhead talk. And some new relationships were established or cultivated as a side effect, so to speak.
