Boasting the largest starting grid of the weekend with 201 qualifiers, the ADAC 24h-Classic race was always going to be a busy event. Also, the wide spectrum of cars and the performance differential between the front and back of the grid, was huge. Despite this, the field was about as colourful and as varied as you could possibly wish for, with several Porsche 911 RSR cars up at the front of the grid, and an NSU towards the back. It all added up to a thrilling trip down memory lane!
Thursday’s qualifying round was really wet, and with so many of the older cars being tail-happy, there were spins and incidents a-plenty. For this session, I positioned myself at Turn 1 opposite the striking Mercedes Arena. The 3-hour race on Friday was quite the opposite, with warm and dry weather with clear blue skies. For this session, I made my way out to Brünchen, a delightful complex of fast downhill twists and turns that provided a fine display of each car’s capabilities.
It was soon evident which cars were in the hunt for overall honours, and this group consisted mainly of Porsches: 911 RSR, Carrera 964 Cup, RSR IMSA Gr.5, and 911 Turbos. But the quicker cars also included the fantastic Alfa GTA, BMW 635 CSi (driven by Olaf Manthey), various BMW M3, 2002, Escort RS2000, Mustang, Ford GT40 and a couple of Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.3-16. It was a thrilling spectacle in every respect.
This was real historic racing on an iconic race track, and we have compiled a gallery of some of the ADAC 24h-Classic action from Thursday and Friday for your enjoyment…
#515 Porsche 911 RSR driven by Ingo Puetz and Christoph Breuer
Written by: Glen Smale
Images by: Virtual Motorpix/Glen Smale
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