Just one week after the ADAC 24h Classic Nürburgring as part of the 24-hour race, the "Nürburgring Classic" was held on the traditional track in the Eifel from May 26 to 28, 2023. Many of the racing cars that could be admired in the run-up to the endurance classic were therefore seen again. But the majority of the field of participants was "fresh". In addition to the Youngtimer Trophy, pre-war racing cars, sports cars built up to 1965, CanAm and Group C cars, historic Formula 1 racers, touring cars from the "Golden Era" of the 1980s and 1990s and small cars also took part in the popular "Battle of the Dwarves".
The pre-war cars formed a gigantic field of over 100 vehicles, housed in the old paddock in true style and staged with a grid walk, grid girls and a Le Mans start. The historic Formula 1 was of course the crowd-puller, and the spectators did not miss out on seeing the starting grid, although unfortunately only eight cars were on the grid. In general, it was noticeable that not all races could boast really full starting fields. It seems to have become more difficult to get full and therefore attractive starting fields on the track. In some grids, you could find vehicles that didn't really fit in. But they were probably happy about every participant. As a result, some vehicles could be found in several races.
The touring cars of the Golden Era were well attended with over 40 vehicles. A little anecdote: the race on Sunday was in doubt. As more than half of the starters had committed a Code 60 offense (double waved yellow flags, speed limit 60 km/h) in Saturday's race, the race management did not want to let the wild bunch start on Sunday. This friendly rowdiness was particularly reminiscent of the heyday of the DTM in the eighties and nineties. Nevertheless, it probably took a lot of persuasion to avert disaster.
Fatal accident at the dwarves
The Youngtimer Trophy was again well attended (around 90 starters in total) and, as usual, was run in two groups. For many, it was their second appearance at the "Ring" in just a few days after the ADAC 24h Classic a week ago. The dwarves once again offered a full field of Mini, NSU and Abarth cars and provided plenty of action on the track in Saturday's race. Up to this point, it had been a beautiful event with sunshine and summery temperatures.
However, an incident occurred during the dwarves' second race on Sunday, after which the race was stopped immediately and the event was abandoned shortly afterwards. According to unconfirmed information, a Dutch Mini driver suffered a heart attack at the AMG Arena, crashed into the wall without braking and died. All photographers at the scene of the accident then had to hand in their memory cards because the public prosecutor's office started an investigation.
Good - but could be better.
In view of this tragic incident, one can almost speak of luck that the grandstands are not really full. There is no information yet on the number of spectators. The stands were quite empty, but the paddock was very lively. The grid walks on offer in the starting grid also showed this and were very well received. However, a few special vehicle attractions, i.e. real racing celebrities, were missing for the inclined racing fan - but this is less due to the organizer than to the German car manufacturers. It is surprising that the German automotive industry is able to bring its silverware to Goodwood and the like, but is regularly conspicuous by its absence at historic motorsport events in Germany.
