Historic motorsport fascinates with technology, sound and history. The ACS podium on November 13, 2025 at the "autobau erlebniswelt" in Romanshorn offers a special insight - with Mario Illien, Bernd Schneider, Marco Werner and Alex Maag.
Passion for historic motorsport
The appeal of historic motorsport is demonstrated by the many well-attended events throughout Europe: Circuit races such as the Goodwood Revival, the Oldtimer Grand Prix at the Nürburgring or the ADAC Hockenheim Historic; hill climbs such as the Arosa ClassicCar or the Steckborn-Eichhölzli Memorial Hill Climb; slaloms such as the Frauenfeld Auto-Renntage and classic car rallies, which focus on driving experience and a sense of direction - often without any timekeeping. The Mille Miglia, which was relaunched in 1977, also belongs to the latter category.
Anyone who races a historic vehicle must always weigh up ambition against the preservation of the automobile's cultural heritage. In addition to actual races, where the aim is to be the fastest, another criterion has become established in historic motorsport: the regularity test. The aim here is to adhere as closely as possible to a predetermined or self-determined driving time - which involves significantly less risk for classic vehicles.
So what is the attraction of competing in races with yesterday's technology instead of modern, fast, safe and easy-to-use racing cars? What skills and abilities are required to be fast with classic car engines and chassis, or to reach the finish line at all? Is it possible to increase performance with modern materials, or is an original condition desired or required? And how do you train the officials who can judge the latter? What needs to be done in terms of organization, technical approval and course safety for historic races?
This year's ACS podium will provide an in-depth insight into historic motorsport events from the driver's, technical and organizer's point of view. Four luminaries have been invited as speakers:
Bernd Schneider
Bernd Schneider, 61, successful racing driver, five-time winner of the German Touring Car Championship (1995, 2000, 2001, 2003 and 2006), winner of the FIA GT Championship (1997) and various endurance races. He was ADAC Motor Sportsman of the Year in 1998 and 2006. After his retirement in 2008, he was involved in the development of the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 as a test driver and won the 24 Hours of Dubai, the Nürburgring and Spa-Francorchamps in 2013. He is now an ambassador, instructor and test driver for AMG-Mercedes.
Marco Werner
Marco Werner, 59, successful endurance specialist, won the 24 Hours of Daytona (1995), Le Mans (2005, 2006 and 2007) and the 12 Hours of Sebring (2003, 2005 and 2007), among others. Today, he is one of the top drivers in historic motorsport, winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2016 and the Historic Grand Prix for Formula 1 in Monaco in 2022. Among other things, he works as a driving safety instructor at Audi Driving Experience and as a coach for talented young drivers.
Mario Illien
Mario Illien, 76, engineer and engine developer, co-founder of Ilmor, two-time winner of the Louis Schwitzer Award for Engineering Innovation Excellence (1986 and 1994). The racing engines from his drawing board won 21 Indy Drivers' Championships, two Formula 1 Drivers' World Championships (McLaren-Mercedes, 1998 and 1999) and the Indianapolis 500 23 times; the list of individual victories includes 109 Formula 1 races (44 with Mercedes and 65 with Honda), 376 IndyCar races, 131 NASCAR races and 84 FIA World Rally Championship races.
Alex Maag
Alex Maag, 56, self-employed, race director for the Frauenfeld Car Days, the Hemberg Hill Climb, the Walzenhausen Hill Climb, the Steckborn Memorial Hill Climb, the Oberhallau Hill Climb and the Arosa ClassicCar since 2013. He also managed the Formula E races in Zurich and Bern, Porsche Sports Cup Suisse races in Hockenheim and Le Castellet and the Swiss Sim Racing Series 2020-2023. As a member of the "Officials" committee of Auto Sport Switzerland, he is responsible for training race directors and stewards in the car, kart and sim categories.
Further information can be found on the ACS Thurgau website.
