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At the first Ennstal Classic in 1993 there were just 35 cars but by 2002 this event has become a grand occasion with a reputation far outside of Europe. You could even say it has become a culture. It starts in Gröbming, which is in the Steiermark part of Austria . It’s a beautiful environment for classic cars, 150 in this year's event, to be driving through. The cars are divided in four groups, depending on the year of birth: 1924 - 1934, 1935 - 1949, 1951 - 1960 and 1962 - 1972, which is the largest group with about 50 cars. This year there were 11 Ferraris entered, from a yellow Dino 246 GT to a red Daytona which was driven by Derek Bell and his wife Misty. Most participants came from Austria itself but there were also participants from England, Argentina and the States. I saw during the event many celebrities, some of whom even drove part or the whole of the event. Those well known guys, who all contributed to automotive history, gave the event something special. After scrutineering… You’ll understand that scrutineering takes time and, although they say the event starts on Thursday, it does, in fact, start on Tuesday with the first technical checks. Imagine checking some 150 cars! In the meantime everybody is having a good time because the whole event is well organized, not just the rally itself, but also everything around it. Think of all the hotels where the participants from abroad are staying, all the bars and restaurants, etc. And there are plenty of them, with terraces outside, hoping the weather will co-operate. There were beer-pumps and barbecues in the main street of the village and every 20 yards you could order something. In the evening there was live music, dance groups and I saw many “Lederhosen”. All this as a preparation for the first stage, a hillclimb on the Stöderzinken, a mountain with a height of 2,058 meters and an average gradient of almost 10 percent. At noon the first car lined-up in Gröbming on the start platform and was waved off at 13:00. Around 11:00 hours the pass was closed to all traffic, so photographers and others who wanted to follow the hillclimb had to be on the Stöderzinken before eleven. The target time that was set for this hillclimb was 11 or 15 mins 45 secs exactly, earning points depending on whether you arrive before or after this time. The time depended on the group, slower for group 1 & 2 or quicker for the other groups. Along the road to the top there were many good places to take pictures and I never understand why some people park their 7 year-old red and gold Suzuki Alto on the outside of a bend. Nevertheless I found some nice places and soon after arriving I heard the first cars coming. Alfa Romeos, Jaguars, Bentleys and other makes were up front. After those beauties the Italian Prancing Horses came, glinting in the sun, letting me enjoy the 12 cylinders roaring. And I saw the Porsches, Lagondas and makes I had never heard of. There was even a Mini Cooper, a real one… drifting like a real rally car. At twilight… After sweating on the Stöderzinken it was good to have a beer and a bite in a restaurant in Gröbming. Having seen some competitors steering over 2ooo kilos through a hairpin without power steering they earned a good dinner. But not for long… because six o’clock was the start of the night stage which would end in the Planai Olympic Stadium in Schladming. At six the first cars left for the stage with a moderate gathering of spectators. After half an hour it was dark, too dark to make photographs. I stayed in Gröbming until the last car had left before I went to my pension outside of town. I had a marvelous day and according to the chat in the village everybody had a good time.
Friday was the day of the Tauernrunde. It would be a long day for the participants and the others who followed the cars through Steiermark and the Tauern mountains. Like everywhere else in the world where mountains are located one knows to expect all kind of weather and that was certainly the case. Within 10 minutes the bright sunshine could change to fog, snow or heavy rainfall. That’s one of the charms of the mountains I think. There was an average of 50 km/hour and that was checked by several secret timing beams along the road. Here also the organization was very concerned about the safety of competitors and spectators. In other rallies it's not unusual to do 180 km/hour but in the Ennstal Classic that wasn’t necessary at all !! Just read the road-book very carefully and enjoy the excellent surroundings. The rally started at seven and after the last cars left I took a shortcut to catch up. I planned to pick up the rally at the Nockalm pass from where one could follow the cars all the way down and that was a marvelous sight. I then went to a time check in St Michael where the main street was completely fenced off and very crowded. There was plenty of time to check the cars, the drivers, the co-pilots and the spectators, or ask for autographs - everyone wanted Alexander Wurz's and the timing control simply had to wait! After some photos I continued my way and went to the Sölkpass with a height of approx. 2000 meters and, with some peaks above 2400 meters, it was breathtaking. I waited for some cars and noticed that the light wasn’t enough to take photos without a flash. Even with flash I wasn’t very pleased with the results so I went on to the finish. I watched all the cars finish and after that I though I had earned a beer and a big “wurst” and both tasted awesome!! All things must come to an end… On Saturday the finals started. It was Grand Prix time in Gröbming with the Racing Car Exhibition in a huge tent on the outskirts of town showing the most legendary racers in the world. In recent years the spectators have enthused over cars such as Niki Lauda's Formula 1 Ferrari, Jochen Rindt's Lotus 72 and the Mercedes 300SLR in which Stirling Moss won the Mille Miglia in 1955. This year there was the legendary Ferrari F1, the first monoposto of Ferrari which showed up in Turin at the Grand Prix of Italy in 1948: a V60 12 cylinder 1,5 liter motor with a Roots compressor. Ascari drove it in 1949 and won the Grands Prix of Switzerland and Silverstone. After an upgrade to 280 hp with a two-step compressor Ascari won Monza in it. In the end the car went to the Donington Museum of Tom Wheatcroft. At this event the car was with Egon Zweimüller, who drove it impressively at the demonstration in Gröbming. The many spectators saw cars driven by Sir Stirling Moss, John Surtees, Derek Bell and other famous ex-racers. In the meantime the competitors lined up on the other side of the village to drive the finals. Right after the start the track turned hard right, straight on between fences on both sides of the road which kept the spectators at a safe distance. After that some bends and then a hard left, with some cars drifting like on sand. Everybody loved it. Just after an electronic timing beam the cars entered a roundabout and went into the center of Gröbming in the direction of the church and I even saw some drivers made the sign of the cross passing the church. Don’t know if it helped…but for me the excellent organized T-Mobile Ennstal Classic had practically come to an end… The “scroll of fame…” The Ennstal Classic was won by Dr. Gerald Brandstetter and Mag. Christian Hochfelsner in a Jaguar E Serie III , 2nd were Michael & Sebastian Haberl in a Porsche 356 C and 3rd were DI Rudolf Schraml & DI Heinz Schraml in a Ferrari 275 GTS s/n 7945. See the list of Ferrari participants below:
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