After a year of an involuntary break, event life in the Schladming/Dachstein region is entering the post-COVID era with a veritable feast of delights from the world of classic cars: the Ennstal-Classic 2021 will take place from 21. The Ennstal-Classic 2021 takes place from July 21 to 24 and offers an abundance of pleasures and emotions that are and will be increasingly rare these days - namely driving in the last paradise.
A long tradition
For almost 30 years, the Ennstal-Classic has been regarded far beyond the classic car fan scene as a dazzling summer event in an effort to celebrate the automobile as a cultural asset and to do so without a guilty conscience: Namely as Austria's first and only climate-neutral classic car rally.
The 2021 Ennstal-Classic field of participants is also impressive: 227 teams from 20 nations will start in 42 different car brands and, in addition to the Gröbming rally center, this year the spotlight will also be on the places that the entourage of competitors will travel through around the same hundredth.
Driving in the last paradise
The world-famous and picturesque pilgrimage town of Mariazell is on the route of the Ennstal-Classic 2021, as are the traditional car town of Steyr, the imperial town of Bad Ischl and the World Championship town of Schladming, long established as the epicenter of the rally action.
The Friday run-in on the main square of Liezen (from 16h45) will be a treat for Formula 1 fans when ORF presenter Ernst Hausleitner turns the Ennstal-Classic into a double-header match of the local motorsport mic men: Servus TV Formula 1 specialist Andreas Gröbl has been the presenter of the Ennstal-Classic in Gröbming for years.
Great cars
The main protagonists of the Ennstal-Classic are, of course, the various historic vehicles, divided as always into four eras from 1918 (!) to 1972.
Porsche will once again be the main partner of the event, bringing top-class drivers to the starting line alongside gems from the company's own museum, such as: Mark Webber, Timo Bernhard and Porsche Motorsport Director Fritz Enzinger.
Rudi Lins will drive the Porsche 907 KH in the legendary Porsche Design Grand Prix through the old town of Gröbming. Actor Richy Müller, known as Stuttgart's Tatort detective Thorsten Lannert, will also be driving a Porsche as a celebrity away from the motoring world.
Lots of celebrities
Protagonists such as racing drivers Rauno Aaltonen and Jo Ramirez, Porsche Austria boss Helmut Eggert with the spokesman for the managing directors of Porsche Austria, Hans-Peter Schützinger at the navigator's seat, the freight forwarders Fritz Müller and Johannes Hödlmayer, the multiple Ennstal and Planai winners Alexander and Florian Deopito, Mediamarkt boss Florian Gietl and, this time on a GAZ GL1 from 1938 at the start: Sigi Wolf.
To ensure that the Planai-Classic from January 6 - 8, 2022 can also take place without restrictions, all spectators of the event are requested to strictly adhere to the well-known 3G rules. Their certification will be checked, as is usual for all events throughout Austria in 2021.
All information can be found on the event website.
