For the fourth time, historic racing and sports cars as well as motorcycles and sidecars created a motorsport atmosphere in Lenzerheide at the weekend.
More than 100 racing and sports cars and around 20 racing motorcycles and sidecars were registered. The vehicles, built between 1917 and 1992, created a motorsport atmosphere in the Lenzerheide vacation region during the guided parade through Lenzerheide and the subsequent presentation at the sports field.
The weather forecast had not looked very promising, but the reality turned out to be much sunnier, apart from the rain towards the end of the event.
As in previous years, the program consisted of a village corsa after the car inspection on Friday and races with 15 to 20 cars each on Saturday and Sunday.
Circuit with a certain something
The circuit between Lenzerheide and the valley station of the cable car is 2.45 km long, but the speedy driving is mainly along the lake, while the section through the village is to be understood as a speed-calmed zone. Accordingly, the vehicles are restarted every lap (without stopping). This is how it is intended and also sufficiently safe.
Since the last event, additional wooden barriers have been added in some places and a pedestrian bridge in the finish area makes it easier to cross the race track. However, the photographers were only happy about this to a limited extent.
In addition, the forest passage had been resurfaced, which led to unintentional swerves for one or two riders in the damp conditions on Saturday morning. In any case, the priest who gave the blessing beforehand said: "Don't go faster than the guardian angels can fly".
Well-known racing cars and drivers
In 2015, Fredy Lienhard caused a lot of excitement in his fast Ferrari 333 SP and the Cooper Formula 1, which was once driven by Jochen Rindt and Silvio Moser, but is now driven by Urban Fässler. Jo Vonlanthen also took the opportunity to drive his Formula 2 GRD 273 with his own hands once again.
There were some other well-known cars in the field. As always, the crowd naturally enjoyed Ruedi Schawalder's monstrous 1917 La France Type 12 and Riccardo Beccarelli's 1918 Ford T Racer with its thin wheels.
The racing fields featured a colorful mix of top-class sports cars from Ferrari, Porsche, Alfa Romeo, MG and Chevrolet, to name just a few, and more popular cars such as the Opel Kadett, Mazda MX-5 and Autobianchi A112. There were also some thoroughbred racing cars, which also provided a splash of color acoustically.
On the move
Once again, there was no dawdling along the lake, the revving engines let out their beautiful song and the drivers concentrated to the utmost. Once again, the racing cabs were particularly fast, so the passengers were in for a treat.
The village group, which was able to shine with very special vehicles, took a more leisurely approach without helmets and seatbelts.
Early finish due to rain
As in previous years, the Lenzerheide Motor Classics not only attracted spectators interested in motorsport. Numerous bikers and hikers also lingered in the paddock or along the route and marveled at the various classic cars from the old days. After heavy rainfall set in on Sunday afternoon - the drivers had unexpectedly stayed dry in the monoposti beforehand - the OC and race management decided, in consultation with the drivers, to forgo the last race run for those participants who had not yet raced and to close the event at 3.30 pm. "The safety of our participants is the top priority for the OC and race management," said race director Widmer, explaining the decision.
Apart from minor bodywork damage - a sports prototype kissing the barrier and a rear-end collision in the start area - and individual technical failures, both race days went off without any major incidents. In any case, the participants were satisfied and the weather far exceeded expectations.
For those who are now curious, the motorsport family will meet again next year from June 10 to 12, 2016 for the 5th Lenzerheide Motor Classics.
