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Döttinger Höhe - About the hotelier Retterath and his famous petrol station at the Nürburgring

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Created on October 13, 2016

Text:

Rainer Braun

Photos:

Hallo Fahrerlager / Archiv Rainer Braun

18

Hallo Fahrerlager / Archiv Rainer Braun

18

Father Retterath with guard dog

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Fitti's thanks to Retterath for the gas 72

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Symbolic image....Retterath as a helper in times of need

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Retterath estate 1962

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Chef with his famous racing apron, he shuttles between the cooking pot and the counter

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Guestbook Manfred Winkelhock

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Guestbook Pirro

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Guestbook Vatanen

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Guestbook Keke with father Retterath 82

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With several hundred motorsport book titles, bookworms will find a wide range on offer

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Almost every famous racing car can be found in the showcases

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Aston Martin 1 to 8

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Jaguar D winning car LM 55 in 1 to 12

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The most expensive accessories include a Formula 1 steering wheel

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Fitti refuels his Lotus with canisters from Retti 1972

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View of Hotel Döttinger Höhe in the new millennium (around 2008/9)

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Hustle and bustle at the gas station these days

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Bild mit Symbolcharakter....Retterath als Helfer in der Not

Retterath-Anwesen 1962

Küchenchef mit seiner berühmten racing-Schürze pendelt er zwischen Kochtopf und theke

Gästebuch Manfred Winkelhock

Gästebuch Ickx

Gästebuch Pirro

Summary

Hans-Joachim Retterath is a familiar name to anyone who knows the Nürburgring. The manager of the petrol station on the Döttinger Höhe started working there at the age of 15 and has been running the petrol station with inn, restaurant and fan store since he was 21. In all these years next to the Nürburgring, Retti has experienced a lot and has a few anecdotes up his sleeve. Rainer Braun gives an impressive account of his friend from the Döttinger Höhe.

This article contains the following chapters

Ecclestone always paid twice as much
An Aston Martin for €3900
When Fittipaldi ran out of gas on the doorstep
The fear of the "Nürburgring 2009" project
The big names don't want me

Estimated reading time: 15min

Preview (beginning of the article)

Our report comes from the 3rd volume from 2009 of the popular book series "Hallo Fahrerlager" by Rainer Braun. When Hans-Joachim Retterath is not stressed for once, is in a good mood and the right people are standing at the counter, he likes to tell a story from my early days as a journalist: "Braun used to be almost a loss of business for us because he always blocked our telephone line for an agonizingly long time. My father was kind-hearted enough to allow him to pass on his race report to the sports agency 'sid' once. Since then, the guy has been on the mat almost every race Sunday evening and has been on the phone for up to three quarters of an hour. But the worst thing was that we didn't even earn anything from it. The smart guy only paid one unit for the call and then called us back on our number. Back then, you could still make real money with telephone units. And he didn't refuel or eat anything either, by the way."

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Images of this article

Bild mit Symbolcharakter....Retterath als Helfer in der Not

Retterath-Anwesen 1962

Küchenchef mit seiner berühmten racing-Schürze pendelt er zwischen Kochtopf und theke

Gästebuch Manfred Winkelhock

Gästebuch Ickx

Gästebuch Pirro

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