It is called the "24h Classic Nürburgring", but only lasts three hours. In 2018, it once again took place on May 11 as part of the supporting program for the 24-hour classic on the Nordschleife. A race with classic cars worth seeing on the world's greatest racetrack.
210,000 spectators gathered at the Ring throughout the weekend to watch motorsport at its finest.
In glorious sunshine
The drivers of the Classic Group were still very lucky on Friday, as the weather was generally spring-like with bright sunshine for the three hours. 150 cars took part in the 24-hour race for modern vehicles, which was partially rained off, compared to 192 for the classic event!
From the BMW M1 Procar to the Ford GT40 and from the Porsche 935 K1 to the Ford RS2000, almost everything suitable for the circuit was there.
Porsche ahead among the youngsters
The fastest pairing in the Youngtimer Trophy as part of the three-hour race was Maximilian Struwe and Sascha Schwalme in the Porsche 911 RSR.
With a total time of 3:08.50.568 hours, they completed 19 laps of the 25.378 km track (Nordschleife including Grand Prix circuit). This results in an average speed of 153.2 km/h, which is also a great performance for this Porsche and does not indicate any slow driving.
The other podium places also went to Zuffenhausen. Daniel Schrey crossed the finish line 26.8 seconds later in the 935 K1, followed by the Carrera RSR with Michael Küke at the wheel.
Ford Escort ahead of Porsche among the older cars
Heinz Schmersal and Mike Stursberg did best in the FHR classification in the Ford Escort RS 1600.
They distanced the Porsche 911 ST of Angelo and Manolo di Case, who drove together with Claudia Hürtgen, by almost three minutes.
Behind them was Michael Wittke in a Porsche 914/6 GT, closely followed by a Chevrolet Corvette C3 Stingray with Wolfgang Krahn and Peter Scharmach at the wheel.
Not without cold deformations
The race was not entirely accident-free on this difficult track. For example, the Ford GT40 stalled at Pflanzgarten and an Opel Kadett E GSI overturned in the Hatzenbach meander.
There were already various cold deformations in practice, so that some cars missed the race, or were at the start with dents and taped up. "It brings tears to your eyes," said the track announcer about the deformed cars.
Danger lurks on every meter of the Green Hell, but it is still a pleasure to drive and watch here. No race track in the world is as varied as the Nürburgring.
The Zwischengas pictures show the race at the Caracciola roundabout, a unique bend in racing. A steep-sided traffic circle as part of the track, concreted in 1932. It was named after the famous racing driver Rudolf Caracciola (1901-1959). Some pit pictures complete the report and show that things were also efficient there.
