The motto of the famous Ennstal-Classic is "Driving in the last paradise". But the 55 teams of the Alfa-Romeo-Classic Wachau were also led over sensational roads on the first weekend in June, in the spirit of "Driving in the last paradise". Perhaps the whole of Austria is a paradise for classic car drivers...
Participants from Germany, Italy, Austria and Switzerland met in Emmersdorf on the Friday after Corpus Christi, with Melk Abbey and its famous library always in view. The only condition for this meeting: A classic Alfa Romeo (or at least an Alfa Romeo model that is on its way to becoming a classic) had to be brought along. Giuseppe and Giuseppina Chiaramonte, who traveled from Sicily in an Alfa Romeo Alfetta GTV6, must have had the longest journey.
The oldest model was a Giulietta Spider from 1956 in the classic color "blu celeste", the two newest models were an 8C in the color "rossa corsa" and a GTAm in "Rosso". In between were the various derivatives of the 2.6 model series, the Giulias and Alfettas. And there's one more thing to say about the 8C: the sports car was driven by the oldest participant, 87-year-old Dott. Ugo Isgro-Thenel!
Already a third of a century
This classic was launched 35 years ago by the then Alfa Romeo Austria Director Dr. Sergio Fizzotti, who took the opportunity to travel from Bolzano, where he now enjoys his retirement, in a Giulietta Spider with his son. Over the decades, a small circle of participants has grown into an ever larger one, "with 55 teams now, we have probably reached the easily manageable ceiling," explained Josef Buchsbaum, Dr. Fizzotti's "successor organizer" for over thirty years.
Country roads, race track ...
Emmersdorf is located right on the border of the Nibelungengau and Wachau regions. On Friday, the route led from the start in the Nibelungengau to Marbach an der Donau and to the lunch stop in the castle garden (!) of Schallaburg Castle, before continuing on second and third class roads with little traffic to the Wachauring in Melk. There, three laps had to be completed as simultaneously as possible. To ensure that the teams were also challenged in other ways, they had to ride kilometers of route sections exactly according to the average on both Friday and Saturday.
Saturday again took the teams along attractive side roads through the Wachau region and into the Waldviertel. The lunch stop at the Zwittl Cistercian Abbey then featured a novelty: Father Paulus, representing the abbot, blessed the vintage vehicles.
... and festivities
Luberegg Castle, the former summer residence of Emperor Franz II, was chosen for the banquet on the final evening. There was a bit of an Austro-Hungarian atmosphere: The aperitif in the Tapetensaal and the banquet in the Kaisersaal were reminiscent of times long past...
Alfa Romeo enthusiasts can already make a note of Corpus Christi 2025. It can be assumed that the 36th Alfa Romeo Wachau Classic will take place then. Once again, around 370 kilometers, spread over two days, should be waiting for the participants - a varied mixture of "driving in the last paradise" with a small portion of sporting challenge, a perfect road book and nice encounters with like-minded people.
