Four days, 40 special stages, 187 teams from 16 nations, 1,000 kilometres of driving and more than 100,000 spectators during the Prologue, Marathon and Porsche Design Grand Prix in Gröbming. However, the most impressive figure of the Ennstal-Classic 2026 is a perfect zero: no incidents, no accidents and only very few retirements.
In fact, almost all competitors in the Ennstal-Classic completed the entire route without any major problems – from the more than 100-year-old pre-war cars to the vehicles from the younger eras up to 1972. The participants in the newly introduced Touring Class also reached the finish in full and in high spirits. All results of the Ennstal-Classic 2026 can be found here, while the final overall results are available here.
Accordingly, there were happy faces all around at the “Night of the Champions” on Saturday evening in the Classic Tent in Gröbming. During the event, the “Helmut Zwickl Memorial Trophy” was presented to none other than Dr Wolfgang Porsche. The grandson of Ferdinand Porsche and Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Porsche AG has been closely associated with the Ennstal-Classic as a friend and partner since its beginnings and shared a close friendship with founder Helmut Zwickl for many years.
Porsche has also been a partner of the Ennstal-Classic for 17 years and, together with the Porsche Design brand, serves as one of the event’s sponsors. Over the years, Porsche has brought numerous automotive treasures from its Stuttgart museum to the starting line, ranging from the legendary “Number One” and the “Dreikantschaber” to the famous “Pink Pig”, the Porsche 911 RSR Le Mans racing car. Many racing drivers from the Porsche universe have also visited the Enns Valley, including Patrick Dempsey, Mark Webber, Thomas Preining, Strietzel Stuck, Timo Bernhard and Richard Lietz, who returned again this year and drove the “Pink Pig” at the Porsche Design Grand Prix.
A major event such as the Ennstal-Classic would simply not be possible without its numerous partners. Our thanks go to companies and institutions such as DEKRA, the partner for the technical rally check, OCC as insurance partner and the Hans-Peter Porsche Traumwerk. Alfa Romeo joined the event for the first time this year as mobility partner for the pace cars, while Vredestein Tyres celebrated its 20th year of involvement. Vredestein also organises the Youngster Trophy, which has already helped several promising young talents take their first steps towards successful careers. Other long-standing partners of the Ennstal-Classic include Mothwurf, Remus, Steyr Automotive, Red Bull, IMLAUER Hotel Schloss Pichlarn and the Province of Styria.
The good news was announced right at the beginning of the opening reception at the IMLAUER Hotel Schloss Pichlarn: the Schladming-Dachstein Tourism Association has extended its partnership with the Ennstal-Classic for another five years. This secures the continuation of an important source of added value for the region, with media monitoring company Observer estimating the advertising value in print and television alone at around three million euros.
Last but not least, recognition must also be given to the staff, without whom the smooth running of an event of this scale would not be possible. More than 80 people support the event along the route, in the organisation and behind the scenes. Some of them have been involved for more than 25 years and spend their summers in the Enns Valley. They also deserve our explicit and heartfelt thanks.
What comes next? The year of anniversaries in 2027! The 35th edition of the Ennstal-Classic will take place from 21 to 24 July 2027, with registration opening in September, including for the Touring Class, which is here to stay.
The 30th edition of the Planai-Classic will be held in the Enns Valley from 14 to 16 January 2027. Following a record number of entries last year, registrations for the upcoming winter event are already progressing very well. Places are highly sought after and will soon become scarce.
