On Saturday, September 9, 2023, the Engadine airfield in Samedan, the highest airport in Europe (1707 m above sea level), was once again home not only to (historic) aircraft, but also to the finest racing and sports cars from around a century ago.
Wide range of vehicles
The opening event of the International St. Moritz Automobile Week showcased almost the entire spectrum of individual mobility in glorious sunshine. In light morning fog, the Porsche Type 64 with its streamlined bodywork from 1938 and only 34 hp took the kilometer under its wheels with a standing start.
The mighty 180 hp Berlin-Rome car, built on the basis of a 540K from Mercedes-Benz, took up the chase. The streamlined bodies of the two Stuttgart models thrilled the numerous spectators.
The two cars had been developed to achieve top speeds on the newly built highway and thus the highest possible cruising speeds, but unfortunately the outbreak of the Second World War put a spanner in the works and the two cars never made it to their intended use.
A full 84 years later, the two fascinating pre-war contemporary witnesses met for the first time in sporting action at this year's Kilomètre Lancé.
Modernity can do it faster
The fastest over the 1000 meters were two vehicles that could not have been more different. On the one hand, there was the current Aston Martin Valkyrie, designed by the brilliant F1 designer Adrian Newey, with around 1150 hp system power.
It was joined by a simple Porsche 911 SC, which, thanks to its powerful electrical engineering, wanted to stand up to the Englishman. With the regularity mode, however, anyone could win in the end.
In the sprint over 1000 meters with a standing start, the difference in time between two races was determined. The winner was the one with the smallest time difference.
In the pre-war class, the Swede Glen Billquist mastered this discipline best with his 75-year-old Gleenster S-12 Monoposto.
Christian Rühle won the post-war class with his De Tomaso Pantera.
In the motorcycle category, Marcus Hoefken and his DKW 250 "Ladepumpe", built in 1938, were less than a second behind the runner-up.
In the post-war class, Adrien Lombard and his Ducati Monster 1200S gave the most consistent performance.
In general, it was this mixture of motorcycles and automobiles that made the difference as they sped along the 1850-metre-long track in a self-determined order.
Bernd Becker from Idar-Oberstein brought his Porsche 910 to the start, which he has been racing every year for 55 years. With the Ferrari 512M from 1972 and a Lola T 70 from 1968, he even met competitors from their current era in the Engadin.
The pace car driver in the Sauber C9
Bernd Mayländer, the pace car driver in Formula 1 for ages, had traveled to St. Moritz especially to put the spurs to the 1989 Le Mans-winning Sauber C9.
The professional was extremely enthusiastic about the 700 hp Group C racing car.
Who is faster - car or motorcycle?
At the Kilomètre Lancé 2023, the eternal question could also be answered: Are cars or motorcycles actually faster? Last year it was a BMW motorcycle.
This year, however, the Aston Martin Valkyrie was unbeatable, with a time of 19.5 seconds from zero to 1000 meters. The hypercar was unimpressed by the thin mountain air and set a new track record.
However, as already mentioned, the big surprise was the electrified Porsche 911 from 1983, which was only beaten by the Englishman by a tiny second.
Tractors at their own pace
However, the crowd favorites at the Kilomètre Lancé had nothing to do with performance and alternative drive concepts. They were the 15 Porsche diesel tractors, some of which came to the Engadin on their own axles from South Tyrol and all over Germany to compete on the airfield with a Le Mans start.
With one minute and five seconds to the kilometer, the fastest Porsche tractor driver in Europe was determined.
Design awards
A jury led by Professor James Kelly awarded the "Driven by Design" design prize, in which all participants were evaluated at full speed and judged by a five-member jury led by Prof. James Kelly.
The decision was unanimous, with the filigree Lotus Eleven David Martin from 1957, which had traveled from the USA especially for the International St. Moritz Automobile Week, coming out on top.
In the motorcycle category, the jury headed by Edgar Heinrich, Head of Design at BMW Motorrad, chose the 1972 Harley-Davidson XR 750 by Matthias Korte.
For the first time, there was also a design prize for historic aircraft. Here the choice fell on the Mustang from 1947 with its huge 24 liter engine.
As the event takes place on an airfield, it is only natural that historic aircraft are also included in the event.
So aerobatic pilot Nils Hagander, with his small Pitts Spezial from 1969 weighing only around 400 kg, was able to keep the spectators enthralled during the lunch break with his super aerobatics show.
At the end there was a breathtaking world record attempt with local hero Indi Schläfli, who accelerated to around 200 km/h on rollerblades (!!!), pulled by an 830 hp Ferrari 812 Superfast, and was thus able to cover the kilometer in under 21 seconds as desired.
