2019 Nürburgring Classic Widescreen Gallery & Report

Submitted by Marcel Hundscheid on June 3, 2019

By Marcel Hundscheid / Speed-O-Graphica

Spend a few minutes relaxing in the golden age of motorsport with our report from the 3rd edition of the Nürburgring Classic brought to you by our European correspondent Marcel Hundscheid.

The event set nine different race grids to work on both the Nürburgring Grand Prix track as well as the notorious Nordschleife. In 2019 these included the Youngtimer Trophy, Tourenwagen Classics, CanAm & 100 Miles Trophy, A Gentle Drivers Trophy, HTGT and more.

If you’re a fan of the several German brands with their iconic models from the 70s and 80s, the event is truly recommended, with different versions of the iconic Porsche 911 from the ’70s and ’80s as well as BMWs, Audis, NSUs and more.

Also remarkable was the combination of CanAm bangers, Group 5 monsters and sports cars into a single race. This saw a Lola T310 battling it out with the Ford Zakspeed Capri Turbo, a Porsche 935 K3 and a Lola T294.

More CanAm monsters were present, but due to engine problems (such as was the case with a McLaren M8F) race 1 became a short but fierce battle between the two Lolas, the Porsche 935 and the Ford Capri. It was sad to see the Kremer Porsche 935 K3 in the bright orange Jägermeister livery only out for a single lap. The car was driven by the very experienced Wolfgang Kaufmann but due to a blown engine his race lasted only very shortly. In the end it was the bright yellow Lola T294 of the ever quick Swiss driver Felix Haas who took the honours.

The Youngtimer Trophy was divided in two different divisions and open to Group 1 Standard Touring Cars, Group 2 Competition Touring Cars, Group 3 Standard Grand Touring Cars, Group 4 Sportscars, Group 5 Special Production cars, Group N production cars, Group A Touring Cars, Group B Grand Tourisme cars, Porsche 944 Turbo Cup cars, Porsche Carrera Cup 1994 cars and finally BMW 325i touring cars. The different classes resulted in two big fields including 100 participants with a wide variety in different cars.

One of the remarkable cars that participated in the Tourenwagen Classics was the former Joachim Winkelhock Opel Astra DTM pictured below.

The German manufacturer introduced the V8 Coupe version of the Astra in 2000, designed exclusively for use in the DTM, producing 24 cars. The Astra V8 Coupe was powered by a 3.998 cc V8 generating 462 bhp at 6750 rpm and weight just 1080 kg.

Opel competed with the Astra in 46 DTM races between May 2000 and August 2004. Opel scored seven pole positions and eight race triumphs during the 51 months that this coupe saw action.

Cheetah G601/1-Ford is one of just two cars ever built by Chuck Graemiger in 1976 for racing in Group 6. Pictured below is chassis 601/1 that raced at the Nürburgring and participated between 1976 and 1979 in the 24 hours of Le Mans. The car was powered by a 2.0 litre Ford Cosworth BDG, generating 298 bhp.

The German Kremer brothers built the legendary Porsche 935 K3/80 below, chassis number 000 00011 in the well known orange Jägermeister livery. The car appeared between March 1980 and March 1982 in different international events such as the German DRM championship, 1980 24 Hours of Le Mans and the 1981 & 1982 24 hours of Daytona, 12 hours of Sebring and many other events in the United States. Nowadays the car is back were it originally was based, in Cologne in Germany at the Kremer garage.