Donaueschingen, the town of the source of the Danube, the Fürstenberg brewery and renowned music and equestrian events, has a new attraction this summer: on June 3 and 4, 2016, 105 classic cars will set off from here on a two-day tour through the central and southern Black Forest as part of the 5th Paul Pietsch Classic.
Racing driver and founder of a publishing house
The namesake of the regularity and reliability rally is the former racing driver Paul Pietsch. Born in Freiburg, he lived with his family in Titisee-Neustadt for decades and drove successfully as a private and works driver in all the major races of the famous Silver Arrow era in the 1930s. With the Paul Pietsch Classic, Motor Presse Stuttgart is not only commemorating the great motor racing driver from the Black Forest, but also its founder and long-time publisher. Exactly 70 years ago, Pietsch and his partners at the time, Ernst Troeltsch and Josef Hummel, laid the foundations for Motor Presse Stuttgart with the magazine DAS AUTO, the forerunner of today's auto motor und sport.
The route follows in the footsteps of the racing driver, who died in 2012 at the age of 101. A very special highlight on the first day of the rally even leads to the roots of Paul Pietsch's motorsport career. In the 1920s, his mother made the mistake of taking the twelve-year-old Paul to the Schauinsland hill climb. The fast cars and the motorsport flair gave him the racing bug that would stay with him for the rest of his life. He bought his first racing car from Ettore Bugatti in Molsheim from the inheritance of his father, who died prematurely, and in 1932 - against the express wishes of his mother - began his career as a racing driver, which also took him to Auto Union in Saxony as a team colleague of Bernd Rosemeyer.
The track
Day one of the 5th Paul Pietsch Classic leads the 105 teams from 9:01 am on a 243-kilometer stage into the depths of the Black Forest around the Feldberg. The first section of the route leads past Rothaus, famous for its Tannenzäpfle beer, to St. Blasien and Todtmoos. From 11:45 a.m., the rally pack will stop for lunch at the Gasthof Belchenblick in Münstertal - a good opportunity for spectators interested in cars to take a closer look at the classic vehicles and talk shop with the drivers.
In the afternoon, the old and youngtimers set course for Staufen and Sölden. The route then continues towards Horben to Schauinsland, the most winding section of the tour, where the first vehicle tackles the twelve-kilometre mountain route with a difference in altitude of 780 meters and more than 170 bends at around 1:30 pm. Paul Pietsch won the Formula 1 Grand Prix title on this track in 1950, which he defended a year later shortly before the end of his career with a double victory in Formula 1 and Formula 2. The first participants will arrive back at the Postplatz in Donaueschingen from 15:00.
The second stage of the rally will take the participants 216 kilometers through the beautiful landscapes of the central Black Forest - and will begin with a real highlight for the participants: after the start, they will have the rare privilege of driving through the otherwise closed Lammtor and parading through the park past the Fürstenberg Castle.
The rest of the route takes the teams to St. Georgen. This is Baden-Württemberg's most important watershed, where the Danube, Rhine and Neckar meet on the Brogen. The route continues north up to Bad Peterstal, where the field of participants will arrive at the Relais & Châteaux Hotel Dollenberg for a lunch break from 12:00 noon. Afterwards, the classic and vintage cars will return to the south-eastern part of the Black Forest on winding roads, where the spectators will await them from 3:30 p.m. for the finish at Postplatz.
Autostadt exhibition on the Hanselbrunnenplatz
During the two days of the rally, an exhibition in a pavilion of the Autostadt in Wolfsburg, premium partner of the 5th Paul Pietsch Classic, will be on display at the Hanselbrunnenplatz. Paul Pietsch Classic, five selected special models of the VW Urahn, including a Hebmüller Beetle from 1949 and the Stoll Beetle from 1952, both 2+2-seaters with eye-catching special bodywork, will be on display on Hanselbrunnenplatz. The "Millionaire" Beetle from 1955 and the "World Champion Beetle" from 1972 are also on display - both production milestones for Volkswagen. A cutaway model of a 1947 Beetle completes the show. The Autostadt has a Mini New Beetle for the children: Children between the ages of five and eleven can use these interactive simulators to train their road safety in a fun way.
Like all classic rallies organized by Motor Presse Stuttgart, the Paul Pietsch Classic is a regularity and reliability test. "It's not about speed, but about precise driving," explains Harald Koepke, Head of Classic Rally Organization at Motor Presse Stuttgart. "The smaller the deviations from the target times in the special stages, the better the teams' results." Participation in the rally requires the vehicles to be registered for road traffic. The road traffic regulations apply. "The average speeds are therefore calculated in such a way that the target times can be met without any problems," continues Koepke.
Further information and a detailed timetable and route plan for the 5th Paul Pietsch Classic can be found at www.pietsch-classic.de.
