Almost 40 years after the last event, a 1000-kilometer race took place again on the Nordschleife of the Nürburgring on 18 September 2021. However, the new edition was not aimed at the current FIA GT circus, but was open to classic cars from 1947 to 1994, thus reviving the atmosphere of the historic 1000-kilometer races.
Although the starting field was smaller than hoped with 86 registered teams, not least due to coronavirus travel restrictions, the spectators were treated to an exciting race lasting 6:44.09 hours. That's how long it took the winning team with drivers Kersten Jodexnis, Robin Chrzanowski, Dr. Edgar Althoff and Andreas Gülden in the Porsche 934/5 with starting number 42 to cover the eponymous race distance.
They alternated several times at the front with the Swiss drivers Ivan Reggiani, Stefano Specht and Jvan Jacoma in the number 58 Porsche 964 Cup, but ultimately lost out to the victorious Clickversicherungs team, who even had to do without second gear for most of the race.
The last place on the podium was similarly hotly contested. Jürgen Rudolph, Michael Knebel and Heiko Hammel secured third place in another Porsche 964 Cup (#66) with a lead of less than two seconds ahead of Joachim Kiesch, Olaf Manthey and Jürgen and Peter Schumann in the BMW 635 CSi (#43).
As expected, the sports cars from Zuffenhausen dominated the entry list. However, motorsport purists and hobby historians were more disturbed by the high proportion of racing cars that were younger than the last edition of the original 1000 km race, which took place in 1983. In this respect, there was little sign of the hoped-for "revival". A few Alfa Romeo GTAs, BMW 02s and Opel Kadett Cs were at least flying the flag for the touring cars of the seventies.
The oldest car in the field by ten years was a Porsche 356 A 1600 Super, which represented the really old racing cars, so to speak.
In one respect, however, the event was pleasantly old-fashioned: in the organization away from the race track. Guests (spectators and participants alike) were able to move around freely and were not bureaucratically overwhelmed with passes, transit and entry permits, VIP tickets and grandstand tickets. One visitor was pleased that he finally felt like a "welcome part of the weekend" again and not - as is often the case - like a source of disruption.
Only the sprint race with (mainly) open race cars on Friday on the Grand Prix circuit was a disappointment, as there were just seven cars on the grid and few more spectators in the grandstands.
Organizer Henning Meyersrenken was nevertheless satisfied with the new edition of the Nürburgring classic. Not without good reason, because in a time of pandemic restrictions in a region that has far more pressing concerns than historic motorsport, it is a great achievement to organize a completely new major event, regardless of the quality.
If he also succeeds in attracting Porsche 910s, Ferrari 330 P4s and Ford GT40s to the Nordschleife in the future, the 1000 km revival could become a really good event. The potential is definitely there.
Planning for the 2022 1000 km race is already underway. It is scheduled to take place on September 16 and 17. Hopefully it will not overlap with the Goodwood Revival again, so that perhaps more participants from England can be expected.
Incidentally, a meeting of the Bitter Club International also took place on the fringes of the 1000 km race, which was reported on separately.
