The Schauinsland Classic was not spared from the coronavirus either: the 2020 edition was canceled; only a "light version" took place a year ago. The 15th Schauinsland Classic started with renewed vigor in 2022, "with a mixed entry result", as overall manager Rüdiger Sorgenfrei regretfully noted. Not quite a hundred classic cars took to the roads through the extensive Black Forest over two days.
The competition for the Schauinsland Classic was fierce this weekend: Firstly, there was the upcoming revival of the 1972 Olympic Rally and then, of course, the "100 Years of the Klausen Race" memorial. Many pre-war cars are more likely to have made their way to the Klausen Pass in Switzerland than to start at Schauinsland. Nevertheless, no fewer than 16 car brands from Alfa Romeo to Volkswagen were represented at the Schauinsland and offered spectators a cross-section of automobile construction from the late 1920s to 1990.
Just under 100 teams - mainly from Germany and Switzerland, supplemented by teams from France and Luxembourg - took on the first of two stages on Friday afternoon. The first section of the route led from Freiburg over the piece de résistance, namely the Schauinsland. The route continued, mostly on minor roads and country lanes through the picturesque landscape of the Black Forest to Wiedener Eck, via Nöggenschwil back to Freiburg. The finish line was the Münsterplatz, packed with countless spectators: there was a real "Italian feeling", where such crowds of spectators are familiar at classic car events. Barriers ensured that the participants' cars did not have to find their way through the crowds.
Freiburg and Catholicism
It's a tradition: Holy Mass in Freiburg Minster is sacred to the local clergy in the truest sense of the word. No disturbances are tolerated, especially not from motorsport events such as the Schauinsland Classic. The finish on Friday evening can therefore be scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at the earliest for the first car, because the evening mass is finished by then and the engines are no longer any competition for the spoken word in the church. The huge crowd of spectators at the finish raises the question of "Schauinsland Classic versus church service". It can hardly be assumed that all the spectators attended mass beforehand.
The second day led over 260 kilometers into the eastern and northern parts of the seemingly endless Black Forest. The Schauinsland route was (unfortunately) omitted this time. The route led via Waldkirch, the Schuttertal and the Renchtalhütte via Oppenau to Freiamt and back to Freiburg. The finish was at the exhibition halls, where a final special stage with three time sections awaited - then the Schauinsland Classic 2022 was already history again. The grand finale was the award ceremony, which took place in Hall 4 as part of a small banquet.
Careful route selection
Why does the Schauinsland Classic have so much charm? Quite simply, the routes were chosen with incredible care. Main roads were avoided whenever possible and were only used for the transition to the next section of secondary road. Actual forest paths and estate roads were also included in the routes. This allowed the participants to get to know the Black Forest from a completely different perspective. It could happen that forest workers were disturbed while logging or that they encountered a tree trunk transport with a tractor. Or you might disturb a fox that was just about to cross the forest path (and of course they didn't insist on the right of way). The route was devised jointly by father and son duo Karl and Mathias Wolber. And now that the senior wants to cut back a little in future, he knows he has a capable successor in his junior.
Schauinsland Classic: still an insider tip
There's a thing about "insider tips": the more they are in circulation, the less they are "insider tips". So: it would actually make much more sense not to write anything about the Schauinsland Classic so that this event can continue to be traded as an "insider tip" for as long as possible! But that would not do justice to the organizer. It is a small classic car event, perfectly organized, at home in the exhibition halls of Freiburg (nicely protected from the relentlessly burning sun until shortly before the start), perfect route guidance with a flawless road book and a nice evening event as a finale.
To their own great surprise, Andreas Zuhnemer and Maximilian Hahn, who were able to relegate Knuth and Markus Henneke in the Porsche 911 Carrera 2 to second place by a narrow margin in the Renault 5 Alpine Turbo, celebrated there. The winning trio was completed by Marian Bronny and Claudia Kowalski-Bronny in the Porsche 944.
