The great history of the DTM is still alive today in the Touring Car Classic - most recently live at one of the first motorsport events of 2020 at the Salzburgring.
The top stars of yesteryear
Right in the middle of it all - live at the wheel of the cars with which they began their great motorsport careers almost 30 years ago - some of the really big names in motorsport. From an Austrian perspective, these included Dieter Quester and Prince Leopold "Poldi" of Bavaria, Altfried Heger, Harald Grohs, Peter Oberndorfer, Roberto Ravaglia and Kris Nissen at the traditional circuit not far from Salzburg.
They all drove the cars in which they had already been among the front runners in the races of the "old" German Touring Car Championship in the late 1980s or early 1990s.
They delivered spectacular duels - on the Salzburgring as well as on other tracks with equally illustrious names. And they continued to do so with almost as much passion.
Fascinating to see how they can still handle the racers of yesteryear today. A journey back in time for everyone involved.
Anticipation and fun right to the end
The anticipation was particularly palpable on Friday. The drivers reported a kind of tingling sensation before they could really "get their hands on the wheel" for the first time this season - after the previous test at the Nürburgring. Heat in the classic racing cars - with outside temperatures on Friday of 30 degrees in the shade, the interior quickly reached 50 to 60 degrees - was secondary, as Kurt Gfölter from Vöcklamarkt, who alternates with Heger at the wheel, explained.
The joy of driving was almost literally written on the pilots' faces - the broad grins of the long-time observers were hardly any different. A facial expression that was also conveyed almost one-to-one to the fans during the live streams and interviews, which took up a lot of space due to the coronavirus pandemic and generated a broad response.
Results Saturday - race 'Golden Era':
1st Otto Rensing (BMW M3 E30)
2nd Steffen Gregersen (BMW M3 E30)
3. Armin Dellkamm (BMW M3 E30)
The 20-minute sprint race mainly showcases the cars of the so-called 'golden era'. Here, the old stars of the DTM years 1984 to 1993 show why they are our heroes. Otto Rensing secured P1 at the last second and gave Team 2.0 from Düsseldorf the first overall victory in their TWC history.
Result Sunday - Race 'TWC ProAm':
1st Franz Straub (De Tomaso Pantera)
2nd Steffen Gregersen (BMW M3 E30)
3rd Kris Nissen (BMW M3 E30)
Vogelsang DTM Revival Team - strong performance without a result
Harald Grohs (76) put in a brilliant performance in the first qualifying session in constant rain, putting the black Kult M3 on the front row of the grid with a sensational 1:41.9 minutes. However, the joy ended shortly before the end in the track barrier when he tried to pass the leaders Steffen Gregersen (38) and Armin Dellkamm (52).
Roberto Ravaglia and Prince Leopold of Bavaria with faxes
The Italian touring car world champion didn't miss out on the fun of visiting his old rivals in the Nesselgraben. Ravaglia - DTM champion in 1989 - took a seat in Poldi's Signal Iduna M3 from the 1989 DTM season for a few demo laps and then drove his ex Schnitzer BMW 635 CSi Group A from 1984 to the delight of Herbert Schnitzer and all observers.
The rest of the racing calendar is best viewed on the Touring Car Classics website. The next event is planned for August 7-9, 2020 on the occasion of the AvD Oldtimer Grand Prix.
