Hockenheim Historic – In Memory of Jim Clark from April 15th to 17th, 2011 at Hockenheimring Baden-Württemberg
This year too there will be a number of highlights to see and experience at the “Hockenheim Historic – In Memory of Jim Clark” from April 15 to April 17, 2011 at Hockenheimring. For instance, there will be the very first convention of historic racing car trucks and racing services in the paddock of a German race track.
What enthusiasts of classic cars were rarely able to see before, will be on extensive display for the first time in Hockenheim and will invite visitors to time-travel to the paddock atmosphere of the sixties and seventies. Owners of trucks with the brands Alfa Romeo, Büssing, Fiat, Ford, Mercedes-Benz, Setra, Tempo and Volkswagen have registered with us. The historic racing car trucks and racing services will be displayed in the heart of the paddock. The legendary “Goodwill Revival” in England is the only other place in the world where these type of vehicles are also highly appreciated and privileged.
Racing car trucks in general are getting more and more popular and not only with the audience. Insiders like Willi Balz have long since realized this. The passionate racer from Woflschlugen will show his Fiat 642 RN 2 Bartoletti truck which was commissioned by the Scuderia Ferrari in 1957. The truck was later on used by Ferrari, too. The fascinating exhibit will be shown along one of Scuderia Ferrari’s Alfa Romeo P3 and the legendary Ferrari 250 Testarossa from 1958. The combination of the Fiat 642 and the Testarossa by itself will make the journey to Hockenheim Historic worthwhile. Experts believe it will be the event’s favorite photo subject.
The exhibitioners of the historic trucks are striving for extraordinary combinations in general. For the first time in a long while, viewers will be able to see a Ford Transit in Porsche’s ruby-red equipped with a monoposto. Due to its measurements, the Transit was also used for transporting smaller Formula-cars – for example for the transport of the Formula Vee. Porsche’s race organizer Huschke von Hanstein imported construction kits of so-called formcars based on Volkswagen in the mid-sixties. All these cars, which were used mostly for the promotion of young talent, could be placed in the Transit. In the course of Hockenheim Historic the Transit will be shown in combination with Germany’s oldest Formula Vee which was brought to Germany by von Hanstein in 1964. A second Transit is based on Ford’s former service trucks.
Since 1953 the Ford Motor Company has been producing a van which can be used a panel van, pickup truck and a minibus. One of these, a so-called Taunus Transit FK 1500, will also be on display. In 1965 a completely new model was designed by the British Ford factories which was introduced as the Ford Transit. Because it was more spacious than the Volkswagen Type 2, it took hold quickly in the racing car scene and was used as a truck or panel van and often customized in original ways.
Porsche of course used the Ford Transit in ruby-red during the era of the Porsche 908 from 1969 onwards. In the interseries’ paddocks of the early seventies, the cars were used more and more often, frequently with twin tires. Kremer-racing produced a Shell-version in yellow as well as a Bilstein-version in light blue.
The transport of Formula Vee cars is more connected with the first generation of Volkswagen Type 2s, known as Volkswagen T1. An unrestored crew cab version with an extended platform will be on display in Hockenheim. Mike Tempels will also bring his masterful Porsche combination. The Belgian will show one of Porsche’s Opel Blitz racing services as well as an Apal sports car with Porsche 356 technology. A Mercedes-Benz L710 from 1964, a Volvo Amazon of the same era as well as the DB 1113 model will also be on display.
Solitude GmbH is the initiator of this very first racing car trucks convention and thus contributes to the 125 years of automobile in a special way. Several racing legendsare invited to Hockenheim on April 16, 2011. The race organizers will be in the center of attention and will tell some anecdotal stories.
The University of Pforzheim will again award prizes for best design to the finest cars in a number of categories. A special award will go to one of the historic race car trucks which Professor James Kelly and the twenty students from the master programme “Transportation Design” will pick.
Another highlight waiting for the audience is the association RaceHistoryOnTrack’s presentational run. Apart from racers from known automakers such as Brabham, Ferrari, Lotus and March you will also be able to see Toyota’s Formula 1 racers on Hockenheim’s racing tracks. After Toyota’s withdrawal from the royal league of motorsports, the company Fuchs Neue Technoligien GmbH & Co.KG will present two of these cars and demonstrate the professionalism of the former racing team with original equipment.
Also, this year a “Jim Clark Display” will take place on the roof of the pit. Because of the top-class racing series, the many special events and the appealing club scene “Hockenheim Historic – In Memory of Jim Clark” is an absolute must for every fan of motorsports. Family friendly prices complete the excellent motorsport weekend.
For more information please visit www.hockenheim-historic.de.
