From August 9 to 11, the Nürburgring will be the stage for a historic spectacle of the fastest kind: hundreds of historic touring cars and GTs, formula cars and sports cars from practically all eras of motorsport will come together on the traditional Eifel racetrack for the Belmot Oldtimer Grand Prix. They celebrate a three-day full-throttle revival that delights young and old visitors alike.
Right next to the paddock, hundreds of fascinating vintage and classic cars as well as super sports cars will meet at the one-make club meeting in the Mercedes-AMG Arena. Other clubs will meet with their legendary models in the reserved areas around the Grand Prix circuit, where there will of course also be a special parking area for all visitors arriving in their own classic cars. Information about the major historic festival in the Eifel can be found at www.oldtimergrandprix.com. At the Belmot Oldtimer Grand Prix, nostalgia meets action when the participants from ten different racing series and invitational races take to the track: The event spans from the 1920s to the more recent motorsport past - and thus from the first races on the then newly opened Nürburgring to the cars of the DTM and other touring cars of the turn of the millennium.
The two sports car races set a special accent, as they are as spectacular as they are legendary: in the two-seater racing cars and GTs up to 1965, spectators can experience the top-class cars from a golden era of endurance racing in action. In recent years, the iconic models from Mercedes and Porsche have repeatedly come up against their contemporary rivals from Aston Martin, Jaguar, Lotus, Ferrari and Maserati at the classic car Grand Prix.
The traditionally packed race offers a magnificent kaleidoscope of some of the most beautiful racing cars of all time.
A few years later, this vehicle class had mutated into a breathtaking full-throttle circus - the Historic Championship Can Am & Sportscars race is dedicated to this era. The racing series offers a home to the most powerful vehicles of the weekend, such as those that once competed in Group 5, the CanAm or InterSeries. At the front of the field, spectators can expect a reunion with racing cars whose performance should not shy away from comparison with contemporary Formula 1. The race is therefore an insider tip for lovers of engine sound and performance.
Big emphasis on "racing with a roof over your head"
Touring cars and GTs traditionally play an important role in German motorsport and are therefore strongly represented at the Belmot Oldtimer Grand Prix. The DRM Revival, for example, is particularly popular with visitors. In this invitational race with cars from the former German Racing Championship, Ford Capri cars battle against Porsche and BMW cars as they did in the 70s and early 80s. The legendary DTM, which still attracts crowds of spectators today, became the high-caliber successor.
Their former vehicles form the core of the starting field of the "Golden Era Touring Cars". For some of the most extraordinary vehicles in this race, there will be a special run under the heading "Iconic Two Liters".
Points for the German Championship will also be up for grabs: the races of the Historic Championship '65 and '81 count as championship races of the German Historic Automobile Championship - the only official historic championship of the German motorsport umbrella organization DMSB.
Of course, the sports cars of the FCD Racing Series should not be forgotten in this list. The championship organized by the Ferrari Club Deutschland is a fast-paced showcase for the sporty Italian brand.
Formula Vau is new to the program
There are new highlights this year with the formula cars as part of the Belmot Oldtimer Grand Prix. With the Historic Formula Vau, there will be a look back at the greatest young motorsport series of all time, whose single-seaters powered by Beetle engines became the nursery of numerous racing drivers from the mid-1960s.
The same applies to Formula 3, which, with its two-liter monoposti, became the "racing classroom" of the later stars from around the mid-1970s - there will also be a reunion with it. And of course, Formula 1 is not to be missed! This accent is provided by the British HGPCA, whose racing cars date back to the early days of the premier class from 1950. After a decade, the designers of the premier class switched from front to rear engines. This milestone will be commemorated at the Belmot Oldtimer Grand Prix with separate races for the HGPCA vehicles on Saturday, before the starting field lines up for the joint race on Sunday.
Time travel with historic racers and road vehicles
The pre-war vehicles, some of which are older than the race track itself, which was inaugurated in 1927, are of course also an integral part of the program on the race track. However, the participants in the Vintage Sports Car Trophy do not compete in a classification, but present their magnificent historic vehicles during free laps on the track - not only on the Grand Prix circuit, but also on the Nordschleife and during an Eifel drive. With this special program, they also form the bridge to the classic cars that can be experienced in the paddock, Mercedes-AMG Arena and as part of the club meetings in the areas around them. This is because many enthusiasts of classic cars of various makes use the Belmot Oldtimer Grand Prix for a meeting among like-minded people, which also gives visitors the opportunity to marvel at the lovingly maintained vehicles.
The doors for the clubs are therefore wide open at the event, and the classic car grand prix puts together an attractive package of services for participants. Individual visitors with a historic vehicle are also very welcome. A dedicated classic car parking lot will be set up as an exclusive parking area.
Further information and, of course, the detailed program for all three days can be found on the Belmot Oldtimer Grand Prix website.
