Once a year, the test track at the former airport in Pferdsfeld (Hunsrück) becomes a Mecca for all Alfisti from Germany and neighboring countries with starters from Austria, France, Switzerland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and, of course, Italy.
For the 5th edition of the Pista & Piloti in Pferdsfeld (for model years 1910 to 2000), organizer Marco Wimmer made practically no changes to the concept. And why? Well over 200 participants (from as far away as Kiel, almost 700 km away) and even more entries (226) proved him right. There were again the usual six classes. This time with the stylish names "Giro d'Italia", "Trofeo Alfasud Revival", "Gran Premio Alfa Romeo", "Copa Veloce", Tipo 33 Revival" and "Gran Premio Nuvolari". The last class - for pre-war vehicles - was, as always, excellently filled with almost 30 cars.
The track day for modern Alfo Romeos on Saturday was followed at 18:00 by the "Pista & Piloti Nightrun for historic racing cars before 1950", the first highlight of the event. In fact, this was this year's club run of the ASC (Allgemeiner Schnauferl Club). This was very traditional with a classic Le Mans start, but without timekeeping. In terms of quantity, the British brands that have largely disappeared from the market a long time ago, such as Austin, Wolsley, Riley Lagonda, Railton and Hotchkiss, dominated the field. But also two "real", i.e. still British MGs (and therefore no modern e-cars from China) and two Bentleys. Plus two Bugattis and a Rally ABC from France. Then a Maserati, two Alfa Romeos and finally a very rare Steyr Sport.
More than half of all participants relied on cars from Milan with the green dragon snake logo. The highlights of the field were undoubtedly the magnificent 33 Stradale replica, which had made its motorsport debut at the Hillclimb at the end of April, and an original Giulia TZ 1. There were also numerous vehicles from the Italian brands Autobianchi, Innocenti, Fiat, Lancia, Maserati and Ferrari. An Opel Speedster and a British Nomad MK1 should be mentioned as interesting non-Italian splashes of color.
After the blisteringly hot Saturday, there were several showers during the night, which brought the much-desired cooling, so that the actual "Pista" could take place in perfect late summer weather with temperatures in the mid-20s. Everyone was happy to put up with the slightly cooler morning. This continued the amazing weather tradition of the Pista & Piloti events that it rains in odd-numbered years and optimal conditions prevail in even-numbered years. Incidentally, this was already the case at the two previous events in the Klassikstadt in Frankfurt and then on the airfield course in Michelstadt (Odenwald). For the 10th anniversary next year, rain would be the order of the day again...
Of course, there are also one or two active racing drivers here, but the lion's share of the field is made up of Italo car enthusiasts, from university professors to ice cream parlor operators, who often enough only start at this event. All six classes drove their two 30-minute qualifying runs without much stress and had plenty of time in the paddock to talk petrol, or more correctly petrolina. Apart from an interruption due to an oil slick, nothing happened, even if one or the other car or driver didn't want to do it for the second race.
