Big racing with small cars - the Renault Elf Cup
03/03/2016
Do you miss the excitement of modern racing? Do you miss the real wheel-to-wheel battles between young hot-blooded drivers? Then take a look at this video by Tim Hahne. It's called "Gang of Five - the Renault Eleven Cup" and it tells the legendary story of the one-make cup, which began in 1974 at the Motodrom in Hockenheim.
And this beginning had it all, because the Renault 5s with slick tires tumbled off the racetrack by the dozen, rolling over in the bends without touching the enemy. The audience cheered and the manufacturer would have preferred to mothball the one-make cup again. But a few adjustments to the vehicle and a few discussions with the drivers later, it became a success story like no other.
The former matadors and observers such as Rainer Braun talk about this in the new film, which can now be watched on the usual streaming platforms.
And the 37 minutes are quite something. The former comrades-in-arms talk about their tricks and experiences.
Master Wolfgang Schütz, for example, mentions that he got his car from the demolition site and was the only one with a folding sunroof, which was of course no advantage aerodynamically. Hans Heyer remembers how the regulations were circumvented and Harald Grohs laughs about how he tested the car's handling on a disused stretch of highway.
But it is of course the racing scenes that make the film particularly gripping. The slipstreaming tactics, the hair-raising braking maneuvers and the accidents.
The movie mainly portrays the early years and the times with the "big-cheeked" Renault 5 Turbo. But of course the Renault Clio, which followed, is not forgotten either.
Walter Röhrl's stint in Hockenheim is also something special, as he arrived too late and was not allowed onto the starting grid, the gate was closed. As the 60,000 spectators roared and shouted, Walter was allowed to follow the field and was then able to improve from 44th to 7th place in the course of the race. The overtaking maneuvers were all shown on ZDF, as he had a camera in his car.
Just take a look, this review is really fun ... and also a little wistful.
If the movie does not appear here, it can also be viewed directly on Youtube or Vimeo.
Not only this movie from Stereoscreen is worth seeing, take a look at their website.
