For some visitors to the Nürburgring between May 25 and 28, 2017, the three-hour "Youngtimer" race was just a support race, but for some it was the best part of the annual Nürburgring 24-hour race, in which the current vehicles naturally play the leading role.
Record starting field at the ADAC 24h Classic
With a field of 165 vehicles, the Youngtimer Trophy is the largest field in the int. ADAC 24h race at the Nürburgring. The spell of the Green Hell is unbroken.
Anyone who owns a race-ready youngtimer - and the term can be used loosely here, as the oldest cars in the field were once around 50 years old - simply wants to be part of one of the season's highlights.
With obligatory pit stop
The race lasted over three hours. Then the flag was waved. Whoever had covered the longest distance by then had won. A mandatory pit stop was required, which had to last at least 102 seconds. This time included entry and exit, but also a standing time of 80 seconds.
Impressive winner
After 18 laps, the BMW M1 of Achim Heinrich and Michael Schrei crossed the finish line in 3:00:50.952 as the start-finish winner.
It relegated the two Porsche 911 RSRs of Maximilian Struwe/Sascha Schwalme and Michael Küke to second and third place with a two-minute gap.
The average speed of the winning team was recorded at 151.553 km/h.
The fastest race lap was recorded at 9:08.808 minutes, compared to 8:19.375 minutes for the current "Wochenspiegel-Ferrari 488 GT3". The Porsche Cayman GT4 and the BMW M4 GT4 from the main race were about as fast as the M1 on their best laps.
Unusual weather conditions
Unusually for the Eifel, the race took place in the heat and in the very best weather conditions. There has not been a completely dry weekend at the 24h since 2001. The cloudless sky transformed the green hell into a gigantic light and shadow paradise for the photographers.
Winner Achim Heinrich spoke on behalf of all the drivers: "It was pretty hot in the car. The race was intense. We hardly know such great weather conditions from the Nordschleife. Normally the weather here is always bad."
Colorful parade
Of course, the Porsche 911, the BMW 2002 and E21 as well as the M3, the Opel Kadett C, the VW Golf and the Ford Escort were the most strongly represented, but the entire automotive diversity of the sixties to seventies was mixed in between.
There was a Lotus Elan as well as an Audi 50, a Renault R5 GT Turbo, a Toyota Corolla, a Peugeot 205 GTI, an Alfa Romeo 75, a Mercedes-Benz 190 E 2.5-16 Evo, an NSU TT, ...
... a flying MG B in the truest sense of the word, an Alfa Romeo Alfasud Sprint, a Mercedes tail fin or an Opel Manta.
However, the failure rate was not inconsiderable, with 121 of the 165 registered vehicles being scored. Of course, the younger cars and especially Porsche models were at the front of the field, but an NSU TT, for example, finished the race in 24th place.
Unfortunately, one of the oldest cars in the field, an Austin-Healey 3000, did not make it to the finish line. And Daniel Schrey in his Porsche 935 K1 also had to take light and shade literally. He was doing well, but then had to park his turbo near the pits relatively close to the end.
