The summer high mass of the kind-fair locomotion of noblest automobiles knew to celebrate its 30th edition duly. Or, to quote a much-quoted slogan: It was a summer like back then.
And indeed, a wonderful one. 259 vintage cars with their drivers—mostly driven by their owners or entered as loan vehicles—as well as 24 pure racing cars without road approval in the Racecar Trophy.
In bright sunshine with occasional cooling rain—and away from the well-filled spectator areas in the town passages: what more could you wish for?
Ennstal-Classic 2022: The Winners
Friedrich Radinger and Thomas Wagner won the Ennstal-Classic for the fifth time with their Mini 1275 GT (1971).
The decision was only made in the final competition: Florian and Dieter Böhmdorfer finished second in a Mercedes-Benz 350 SLC (1972), while Helmut Schramke and Peter Umfahrer took third place in a Jaguar XK 150 (1960).
Far from being a male-only motorsport: in the Racecar Trophy main formula category, Evita Stadler won in a Formula Ford 1600 Hawke DL2 (1969), and not by a narrow margin. She finished the event with a commanding lead of 2,772 points over runner-up, veteran Johannes Huber in his KMW-Porsche SP20 (1971). In third place came comedian and motorsport enthusiast Rudi Roubinek with his Fiat-Abarth Formula 2000 (1980).
The rally and GT class was won by Enrico Falchetto and Heike Falk in a Renault 5 Turbo 2 (1984). In the Supercars class, two Porsche 911 GT3 RS dominated, with the team Burak Yilmaz and Christian Ristig taking the win.
Young talent, teams, and overall classification.
The Youngster Trophy was won by Leonard Kapsch and Nicholas Antoni in a Mercedes-Benz 280 SL (1969). They finished ahead of Margarita and Magdalena Voglar in an Alfa Romeo Giulia TI (1964). Christopher Wischenbart and Florian Pachleitner took third place in a Porsche 911 TF (1972).
Not only as sponsor of this Trophy, but generally responsible for partnership grip: Tire manufacturer Vredestein. Cluster Director Central Europe Harald Kilzer always personally tackles both Ennstal-Classic and Planai-Classic on his own axles, the 30th edition of the summer edition he finished with co-pilot Gudrun Aybek on MG C Roadster (1968) on the sensational 19th overall place.
Big hello on the final day, joy and celebration mood everywhere, the “Night of the Champions” lasted until the early morning.
Ennstal-Classic 2022: Partners and Sponsors
The Ennstal-Classic is indebted to its long-standing partners and sponsors. For example, the Imlauer Hotel Schloss Pichlarn, always a noble venue for the opening evening, where two anniversaries met this year: the 30th Ennstal-Classic and the 50th anniversary of the historic country castle as a hotel. Spotted in the audience were: Hans Knauss together with his wife Barbara. “Wings for Live” boss Anita Gerhardter. Of course also on site: the rally participants Rudi Roubinek, Jo Ramirez, Arturo Merzario and Wolfgang Porsche.
Further thanks go to the Dachstein-Schladming region. The textile supplier Mothwurf. Vredestein, as already mentioned.
And finally: to the Porsche family, which presents its “family silver” every year on the final day in Gröbming. They are joined by its distinguished relative Porsche Design. It provides the appropriate setting as namesake of the “Porsche Design Grand Prix”. Also mentioned is Porsche Holding, which hosts the annual Porsche Night. From Mark Webber to Patrick Dempsey, from Richy Müller to Walter Röhrl. From Wolfgang Porsche to Helmut Eggert and Hans-Peter Schützinger, from Hans-Joachim Stuck to Richard Lietz. All of them have appeared in recent years with Porsches in the Ennstal. The last two mentioned drove their Le Mans-winning cars through Gröbming during the 30th edition. These were a 1985 Porsche 962 and a modern Porsche 911 RSR 19.
Ennstal-Classic: Philosophy and Rules
A fitting closing statement comes from Helmut Zwickl, co-founder of the Ennstal-Classic, who served as race director of this year’s Racecar Trophy.
He puts into words a core idea—the heart of the Ennstal-Classic—that has applied since 1993 and perhaps more urgently than ever in 2022:
“We are advocates of pure, sporting driving without gear changes or computer assistance. We are neither a leisurely Sunday drive, nor a mathematics test, nor a skill competition. There is generally a 50 km/h average speed requirement, which must be maintained to the hundredth of a second in special stages between secretly placed light barriers.”
And: “The Ennstal-Classic explores the limits of what is possible with cars of the past on today’s roads. The variety of brands should be defined by special cars that set standards in technology and sport in their time and are now cult objects.”
There is nothing to add. Except perhaps: we’ll see each other again, at the latest from January 12 to 14 for the Planai-Classic 2023.
