Please don't let the "Klausenrennen-Memorial" die!
With the well-known events in "Goodwood", the "Mille Miglia" and the "Le Mans Classic", Switzerland had an absolutely equal event to offer with the "Klausen Race Memorial". The approximately 21.5 km long Klausen Pass road leads from Linthal (Canton Glarus) over the feared and fast Urner-Boden, through 136 bends, 57 of which are hairpin bends, up to the 1948 m high pass summit.
The official track record (see reports from that time ) set by Rudolf Caracciola in 1934 of 15:22.2 minutes with the Mercedes W25 Grand-Prix Monoposto corresponds to an average speed of 83.9 km/h (probably understood to be driven on gravel), was only broken in 1998, but under much better conditions.
On August 25 , 1993 , the first Memorial was held to commemorate the historically unique races. After years of hard work, Bernhard Brägger had finally succeeded in overcoming all the political hurdles and organizing a race for pre-war racing cars after around 60 years. This memorial met with immediate approval and the event was one of the greats right from the start.
Caracciola's best time was not broken until the second memorial race in 1998 . In front of around 25,000 spectators, Briton Julian Majzub drove his Bugatti 35B to the top of the pass in 13:49.08. No longer on gravel, of course, but on a somewhat developed and asphalted road.
The third Memorial took place in 2002 . But now with a neutralized "Urnerboden", i.e. the race was split in two. The "Urnerboden", which was also ultra-fast for pre-war racing cars, was no longer part of the race for safety reasons, as some of the cars took off and became uncontrollable due to all the bumps. In 2006 , unfortunately, the fourth and penultimate event took place.
Up to this point, everything was fine and dandy, but then, unfortunately, things were no longer pulled in the same direction and the upcoming 2011 event was canceled at short notice at the end of 2010, which of course brought a lot of criticism and was also clearly noticeable at the 2013 rescheduled event. With today's density of events, it is not easy to be taken for a ride, as there is a lot of preparation involved for an event like the Klausenrennen. With such a last-minute cancellation, it is also almost impossible to find space at another event on the same date. The certainty that the 5th Memorial would be held again naturally left some participants waiting in the wings.
If an event is not held regularly, regardless of the frequency, it will naturally find less and less approval from sponsors, participants and even the last loyal fans.
Please don't let this unique event die. Take your time to look at this sensational backdrop ( picture story) . Remember the sound of the compressors on the hill and the taste of burnt castor oil. 300 pre-war racing cars and first-class motorcycles gathered in such a small village as Linthal make hearts beat faster. As the slogan on Linthal's new website says: "When many small people, in many small villages, do many small things, they change the world."
Let's tackle it! We can easily keep up with all the English, Italians and French and offer an internationally recognized event. This race is definitely worth saving and being held at the same level as the really big ones. There should be no lack of resources in Switzerland, and certainly no lack of enthusiasm ...
We have summarized some of the highlights of the 2002 and 2006 events in a picture story . It just tastes like more, much more!
