It was in the mid-twenties of the 20th century that a hill climb through the village of Opfertshofen in the canton of Schaffhausen was organized for the first time. Actually, it could have been a two-country prize, as the German border is only a few kilometers away from Opfertshofen.
The tradition was resumed after the Second World War, and in 1948 there was once again a Opfertshofen hill climb organized by the ACS Schaffhausen section. The Automobil Revue wrote at the time:
"An unusually high percentage of members of the ACS Schaffhausen section, namely around 40 out of around 200, had expressed the desire to satisfy their sporting urge to exercise at a hill climb. To fulfill this desire, an interesting route in the extreme northern tip was chosen, which had been the scene of a hill climb test almost two decades ago. However, the 3.7 km long Bibertal-Opfertshofen-Büttenhardt course required a larger organizational apparatus in terms of barriers. In order to be able to mobilize a larger number of spectators to cover the expenses, the closed event should of course be as attractive as possible. To this end, an invitation was sent out to a large number of well-known drivers from the neighboring Zurich section, who ensured that the race in the guest class was quite lively ... ".
At the time, the road was said to be in good condition, around 4.5 to 5 meters wide, with an average gradient of just under six percent and a difference in altitude of 204 meters. There were 24 bends to negotiate on the 3.7-kilometre route.
The 1948 hill climb had to be abandoned after an accident involving Rudolf Seyffer, although he had previously achieved a record time of 3 minutes 30 seconds (average speed 63.45 km/h) in his MG.
The next race took place in 1950, and the event was again a "pleasing sporting success". However, the crowds were not as large as in 1948. The overall victory went to H. Helbling in a Ford, who set a record time of 3:27.6 (64.16 km/h). The AR mentioned the following about the course: "The road, which was still mostly unpaved and had 24 bends, some of which were tricky, made great demands on both the machine and the driver."
No wonder famous racing drivers such as Dätwyler and Hammernick liked to come to Opfertshofen, especially as the area offers a truly picturesque view.
Anniversary missed
René Meier and his team must have felt much like the ACS members in 1948. They had already planned a memorial event for 2020 to pay tribute to the 70 years that had passed since the last hill climb on October 11, 1950. But it was not to be, Covid-19 intervened and the event had to be postponed.
Of course, nobody wanted to wait another 70 years and so the Memorial Hill Climb Opfertshofen was held on October 10, 2021.
Of course, a race in the old tradition was no longer feasible, so they were content with show drives of more or less racing cars. The race took place on a much shorter route, which led from the original start to the beginning of the village of Opfertshofen. The route was around 900 meters long, with around nine bends to negotiate. However, these were quite a challenge, as one of the participating drivers said in an interview. In any case, the 900 meters were more challenging than the Steckborn hill climb, for example.
Paddock spread throughout the village
The paddock was set up behind the finish line in the village of Opfertshofen. One of the participants' vehicles was parked on practically every corner, and work was always being carried out on them. Access to the paddock was free of charge, as was access to the spectator areas along the route. Many ad hoc restaurants and pubs provided refreshments, although they had to contend with quite a few crowds.
Many of the visitors, who flocked to Opfertshofen in ever greater numbers as the sunshine increased, came from the region. People knew each other and the overall atmosphere was cheerful and relaxed.
Professionally organized
The fact that the schedule could be adhered to without any problems and the riders got to ride a lot was also due to the good preparation that René Meier and his team had done since March 2021. Of course, some improvisation was necessary from time to time, but many larger events could take a leaf out of the book when it comes to the professionalism shown in Opfertshofen.
Above all, everyone felt welcome and there was hardly anything to dampen the mood. There was never a dull moment either.
Bicycles, motorcycles and cars
There was no lack of variety anyway, because just like almost 100 years ago, cyclists, motorcyclists and motorists shared the route on October 10, 2021. Different groups were allowed onto the route in separate heats.
The R-Team "Monte Carlo" with racing cars, some of which were not road-legal, also used the hill climb route for the return, while the other vehicle classes were led back to the start on a bypass road.
The motorcycles also turned around at the finish and rode back down to the start of the route, while the cyclists actually only used the 900-metre mountain route as part of a longer nostalgia tour.
The fact that these cyclists were also riding with historical equipment and matching clothing made the atmosphere perfect.
Automobiles from all eras
While the oldest car, a Ford Model T from 1909, drove in the Corso class, the American La France with its 14.5-liter four-cylinder engine from 1917, much admired by the public for its brute sound, could be seen and heard in the racing class.
The light sports cars of the 1920s were particularly well represented, as they were presumably already at the start when the hill climb was first held in Opfertshofen. Several Amilcar, Salmson, MG and a Bugatti took on the steadily ascending, winding route.
The highlight of the field, however, was probably the Porsche 911 S from 1970, which won the Monte Carlo Rally in the year of its birth, with Björn Waldegaard at the wheel.
In Schaffhausen, however, the now fully restored car did not find a snow-covered winter landscape, but rather surroundings and weather conditions that were more reminiscent of Tuscany. Florian Feustel (Raceline) drove the red 911 up the hill several times in the morning, but had to order the car back to the pits at midday.
There was certainly no lack of variety in the field of over 100 cars. In addition to the pre-war vehicles already mentioned, there were also magnificent sports cars from the post-war period and beyond. On the route, an MGA alternated with a Fiat Balilla, a Renault 5 Alpine or an Opel Commodore GS.
The Lancia Delta Integrale was particularly well represented, but small-series sports cars from the sixties were also represented with Matra Djet or Marcos.
Entertaining and varied
There was no shortage of entertaining splashes of color, such as a Mercedes-Benz 190 E with a racing bike on the roof rack driving past and the "world's fastest bathtub" screeching up the track accompanied by several go-karts.
The motorcycles, many of which dated back to the 1920s, also attracted a lot of attention.
At lunchtime, the likeable Swiss racing driver Cindie Allemann also spoke on the track microphone.
The organizers counted around 4000 visitors and were very satisfied with their first revival. The motto "Meet, enjoy, inspire" was successfully implemented.
It remains to be explained why the Opfertshof hill climb is actually referred to as the "Kleiner Klausen". There are, of course, historical reasons for this too, as the route was obviously reminiscent of its big brother Klausenrennen (in the canton of Glarus) back in the 1930s. The term became commonplace and was of course used again for advertising purposes at the Memorial.
If you would like to know what the Memorial Hill Climb Opfertshofen 2021 looked like, you can find inspiration in the various picture galleries of the cars in the "Monte Carlo" racing class, the S category with the "Goodwood", "Bergmeister", "Nordschleifenfräser", "Jägermeister" and "Lokalmatadoren" teams and the classic car corso . It ' s certainly worth clicking through .
We would also like to give the film that René Meier and his team put together a good place here:
