The Rudolf Caracciola Grand Prix Memorial was added to the list of historic events last weekend. The organizers chose the city of Kassel, a new UNESCO World Heritage Site, as the starting point, while the furthest point of the two-and-a-half-day event was Dresden. In between: the most beautiful back roads through remote landscapes, all carefully selected and arranged. From time to time, you felt like you were in Italy, so many people greeted you in the villages, especially at the time checks, from an interested audience.
Starting point Kassel
The meeting point was Wilhelmshöhe in Kassel, a huge park famous for its water features and the Hercules statue. After the usual registration procedure (they just checked whether it was really a car with all four wheels on) and the application of the start number, the entourage was led into the Kassel shrine: The start was in the Königsalle pedestrian zone.
"I couldn't believe that the organizer got the permit. Normally, only fire engines and ambulances are tolerated there," said Kassel Mercedes 190 SL driver Veith Steinmetz happily.
Just under 80 cars, from 1924 to modern Morgans, which competed in a special class, covered the 820 km, including absolute rarities such as Mercedes SSKs and Blower Bentleys from the late 1920s and pre-war gems such as Alfa Romeo, Alvis, Lagonda and Riley.
Sporty and sophisticated
It was no coffee run. The night stage, which started at 5 p.m., lasted four and a half hours - then there was the drive to the hotel, check-in and around midnight, everyone fell into bed a little tired in the stage town of Eisenach.
The first car rolled off the start ramp at 07:00 the next morning. On Friday, in addition to beautiful landscapes (you didn't meet another car for several minutes, villages were several kilometers apart), two race tracks were on the agenda. The Schleizer-Dreieck and the Sachsenring. Both are particularly famous (and infamous) in motorcycling circles.
On the Schleizer-Dreieck there were six special stages with light barriers, and on the Sachsenring three identical lap times had to be achieved.
Cultural assets among cultural assets in Dresden
The route led along roads flanked by trees to the second stage location. The finish line was on Theaterplatz in Dresden, surrounded by the Semper Opera House, the Frauenkirche and the Zwinger.
Almost a sacrilege in view of the beautiful city - but: On Saturday, again at 07.00 a.m., the third and final stage started. Over deserted streets, a sensible Dresdener was still in bed in his well-deserved sleep at this early hour of the morning, the entourage rolled back towards Kassel.
And once again a compliment to the organizer: the majority of the roads were again minor roads that led through the three states of Saxony, Thuringia and Hesse. The meeting point was a large parking lot in Kassel. Although the Rudolf Caracciola Memorial ended there, the entourage was then led by the police to the Orangerie in the city center, where the official finish was marked by a large crowd.
Happy winners from all vehicle age groups thanks to handicap regulations
The winners were Stegemann / Stegemann (D) in an Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint, followed by Prym / Prym (D) in a Jaguar XK 140 DHC, Diekmann / Lang (D) in a Fiat 520 Competizione and Suter / Steinegger (CH) in an Alfa Romeo 2000 Touring Spider, Schönborn / Schönborn (D) in a Morgan +8, Boll / Boll (D) in a Jaguar XK 120 DHC, Christmann / Michalik (D) in a Renault Alpine A110, Golm / Golm (D) in an Opel Rekord C, Kirby / Kirby (GB) in a Triumph TR 3 and finally Finkemeier / Finkemeier (D) in a Rally Cyclecar AZ in 10th place.
An attractive addition to the event calendar
With the Rudolf Caracciola Grand Prix Memorial, another classic car event appears on the racing calendar. Just one more in the wide range of events on offer, so you might ask yourself, what's the point? Well, you'd be wrong to ask that question. Although the first edition had some minor flaws, the organizers can be proud of what they offered the participants.
Starting with Kassel highlights such as Wilhelmshöhe, Königsallee or Dresden with the Theaterplatz, the two race tracks Schleiz and Sachsenring and the perfectly selected roads and regions: Someone has to serve this up on the same level first! Two or three small corrections and a classic car event will be established in Hesse that will become a "must".
Why Caracciola?
What do Kassel and Dresden have to do with Rudolf Caracciola? Remagen (where he grew up) or Lugano (where he is buried in Castagnola) are more closely associated with one of the most successful racing drivers of the pre-war era. But: In Kassel, he competed in the "Herkules mountain race" in the 1920s and died in a hospital in Kassel in 1959.
In Dresden, the young "Caratsch", as his friends called him, got a job as a car salesman in a Mercedes dealership. His monthly salary was DM 100 plus 1.5% commission. He didn't sell much, but rather made use of the cars at the weekend and took part in car races ...
Caracciola's career in brief
Born in Remagen in 1901, first car races from 1922, first GP in 1926, switched to Alfa Romeo in 1932 (Mercedes stopped racing after the global economic crisis), serious accident at the GP in Monaco in 1933, severe pelvic and leg injuries which he had to bear heavily until the end of his career, his first wife "Charly" died in an avalanche accident in Arosa in 1934, started racing for Mercedes again in 1934, European champion in 1937 (equivalent to today's Formula 1 world champion title), world record in Mercedes in 1938 (Rosemeier died during these record-breaking drives), refused to return to Nazi Germany in 1942, whereupon his pension was canceled, started racing again in 1946 (e.g. Indianapolis), started racing again in 1946 (e.g. in the USA).In 1954, he had an accident in a Mercedes Benz 300 SL Gullwing in Bern, ended his career, retired to Ticino, died in Kassel in 1959.
The participants of the first Grand Prix in Memorial Rudolf Caracciola
The following list contains the registered vehicles, some changes to entries have been incorporated.
| Start no. | Car | Year | Nation | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Rally Cyclecar AZ | 1924 | D | |
| 3 | Fiat 520 Competizione | 1928 | D | 3rd place |
| 4 | Hispano Suiza | 1921 | D | |
| 5 | Mercedes SS Racing | 1928 | D | |
| 6 | Mercedes SSK | 1928 | D | |
| 7 | Alvis Experimental | 1928 | D | |
| 8 | Mercedes SSK | 1928 | D | |
| 10 | Riley 12/ 6 Gamecock | 1933 | NZ | |
| 12 | Aston Martin MK II | 1934 | D | |
| 13 | Alfa Romeo 6 C | 1934 | NL/D | |
| 14 | Singer Le Mans | 1934 | D | |
| 15 | Bentley | 1951 | D | |
| 17 | Lagonda M45RTourer | 1935 | CH/D | |
| 19 | Riley 12 Sport Special | 1935 | D/CH | |
| 20 | Horch | 1935 | D | |
| 21 | Bugatti T 51 Grand Prix | 1936 | LUX | |
| 22 | Riley Preston 12/4 | 1937 | D | |
| 23 | Lagonda L G 45 SB 3 | 1937 | D | |
| 27 | MGTC | 1938 | D | |
| 28 | BMW 327 | 1948 | D | |
| 29 | Jaguar 2.5 Saloon | 1948 | D | |
| 30 | Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 SS | 1949 | D | |
| 31 | Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint | 1958 | D | 1st place |
| 32 | Jaguar XK 120 OTS | 1950 | D | |
| 33 | MB 220 B Cabriolet | 1952 | D | |
| 34 | Jaguar XK 120 OTS | 1952 | D | |
| 35 | Mercedes 300 SL | 1953 | D | |
| 36 | Jaguar XK 120 DHC | 1953 | D | |
| 37 | Jaguar XK 120 DHC | 1953 | D | |
| 38 | EMW 327/2 convertible | 1954 | D | |
| 39 | Aston Martin DB 2 DHC | 1954 | D | |
| 40 | Ferrari 250 GT Europe | 1955 | D | |
| 41 | Porsche Speedster Pre A | 1955 | D | |
| 42 | Alfa Romeo 1900 Tipo 55 | 1955 | D | |
| 43 | Jaguar XK 140 DHC | 1956 | D | 2nd place |
| 44 | Enzmann Porsche 506 Spyder | 1957 | D/CH | |
| 45 | Triumph TR 4 | 1968 | GB/D | |
| 46 | Mercedes 180a | 1958 | D | |
| 47 | MG A Coupé | 1958 | D | |
| 48 | Alfa Romeo 2000 Touring Spider | 1959 | CH | 4th place |
| 49 | Mercedes Benz 190 SL | 1960 | D | |
| 50 | BMW 328 Autenrieth convertible | 1938 | D | |
| 51 | Austin Healey Sprite MK 1 | 1961 | D | |
| 52 | Triumph TR 3 B | 1962 | D | |
| 53 | Fiat 2300 | 1963 | D | |
| 54 | Maserati GTS-S | 1963 | D | |
| 55 | Jaguar E-Type | 1961 | AUT | |
| 56 | Lancia Flaminia Pininfarina Coupé | 1964 | D | |
| 57 | DB 6 Vantage | 1966 | CH | |
| 58 | Fiat 850 Coupé | 1966 | D | |
| 60 | Ferrari 365 GT | 1967 | D | |
| 61 | Alfa Romeo 1900 CCS | 1957 | D | |
| 62 | Opel Kadett B | 1969 | D | |
| 63 | Mercedes Benz 300 SEL 6.3 | 1969 | LUX | |
| 64 | Mercedes Benz 280 SL | 1969 | D | |
| 65 | Mercedes Benz 280 SL | 1969 | I/D | |
| 66 | Porsche 911 | 1969 | D | |
| 67 | Jaguar E-Type | 1971 | D | |
| 68 | Renault-Alpine A 110 | 1973 | D | |
| 69 | Alfa Romeo 1750 GTV | 1973 | D | |
| 70 | Mercedes Benz 280 C | 1970 | D | |
| 71 | Aston Martin | 1974 | CH | |
| 72 | Lada | 1974 | D | |
| 74 | Morgan 4/4 Competition | 2005 | D | |
| 75 | Morgan PLUS 8 le Mans | 2002 | D | 5th place |
| 76 | Morgan 4/4 Sport | 2010 | D | |
| 77 | Morgan + 4 Supersport | 2011 | D | |
| 78 | Morgan + 8 | 2012 | D | |
| 79 | Ferrari 308 GT 4 | 1974 | D | |
| 80 | Ford Mustang | 1965 | D | |
| 81 | Volvo 1800 S | 1968 | D |
