The hill climb on the former airfield in Pferdsfeld was held for the third time on the last Saturday in April. In contrast to the Pista & Piloti counterpart (end of August) on the circuit, where only historic cars up to 2003 are allowed to race, all years of construction are permitted in the "Hillclimb" and motorcycles and sidecars are also allowed for the first time in 2024. The class for juniors up to the age of 20, which was successfully initiated last year, has also been continued.
Old or new?
The absolute star of the event was a brand new Alfa Romeo Tipo 33 Stradale from the current year. Not one of the new editions presented last year and limited to just 33 vehicles, but a replica of the original 1967 model that was only completed in March. Experts are debating whether there were twelve or even just eleven examples of the original. Ultimately, however, this is irrelevant, as the iconic sports car designed by Franco Scaglione was and is - as an original or perfect replica - a visual and acoustic delight.
Shortly before Corona, the initiator and owner of the spectacular replica, Michael Stoschek, had heard that a Stradale chassis had been started in Italy and was virtually waiting to be completed. After that, the Coburg-based entrepreneur from the automotive supply industry was unstoppable. He used his numerous contacts to get all the parts he needed. Existing old parts were used, but most of the components were created from scratch in elaborate manual work.
The engine, on the other hand, was based on a contemporary eight-cylinder engine from an Alfa Romeo Montreal (also presented at the 1967 World's Fair in Montreal - hence the rather unusual name for an Alfa), which was converted into a racing engine.
The 260 hp aluminum car weighs just 917 kg unladen, despite air conditioning and a modern fire extinguishing system. Without having to answer the controversial question of the (non-)usefulness of perfect replicas and their use on race tracks, the Stradale replica certainly made a brilliant impression on its competition debut on the track.
The oldest vehicle at the event, a 1925 Indian Daytona Racer 750 from 1925, had an extra 99 years on the clock. The oldest car was a Wolseley Hornet Special from 1934.
No powdered sugar!
The organizer Marco Wimmer and therefore all the starters were extremely lucky with the weather. At the beginning of the week, the heights of the Hunsrück and thus also the Triwo test site in Pferdsfeld were still covered in snow, but it melted away in time for April 27, 2024, even without the addition of salt. On the day of the event, temperatures hovered around 10 degrees and it even remained dry throughout, although the sun only appeared sporadically.
Unfortunately, some of the almost 120 named starters still didn't show up and the field shrank to just over 100 vehicles. As is usual in classic regularity tests, there was first a track inspection, followed by a set run to set the desired reference time. This had to be repeated as far as possible in the two scoring runs. Bernd Meyer achieved this perfectly in the Alfasud TI (1977).
He drove the first run with no difference! In the second, there was only a difference of 0.05 seconds. Second place (0.13 seconds) went to Christian van Kirk with a 2000 Toyota Yaris Cup. Luk Sunder in a Mercedes 230 CE (1983) came third and thus also won the "Junior Piloti" category. The top 5 was completed by junior Finja Fischer and multiple German amateur hill climb champion and local hero Daniel Daut in his 1983 VW Polo.
Extra event with historic motorcycles?
Arno Laber secured the special motorcycle classification on an Indian Scout 741 from 1943.
While there have been at least ten motorsport events with mostly historic cars since the Triwo Test Center opened in 2020, this was the first time ever that historic motorcycles had competed on the hill and valley track in the Hunsrück.
Everyone involved was impressed by the four-kilometer route, which was driven in its entirety for the return trip. Accordingly, there was a desire for a proper motorcycle histo on the extremely varied circuit. What is not, can still be. Keyword "Pista & Piloti Motocicletta".
