Weerberg Classic race

A race with a history

It is 5th April 1964. It’s misty and raining, yet Gunther Philipp is sitting in his Ferrari 2050 GT at the start of the 1st International Weerberg Race, gripped with race fever. Future Formula I driver, Jochen Rindt will today defeat Manfred Swarovski with a winning time of 2:13.0. Today will be the start of a success story: the Weerberg race. In the years to come international motor sports drivers on motorbikes, motorbikes with side cars, and sports cars will start the Weerberg race. Around 80,000 people in total are there when Karl Wendlinger and Dieter Quester’s engines overheat and when Franz Klammer starts up his Mercedes 190. Whether the sun is out, its windy or raining – thousands of spectators – among them Formula I driver Gerhard Berger – line the corners on the Weerberg, to be there at the biggest motor sports event in Austria. In 2008 the Weerberg started up again after a break in racing - the Weerberg Classic race brings around 12,000 people to the Weerberg

From 1964 to 1970, and from 1985 to 1989 the Weerberg race was Tirol’s biggest motor sports event. More than 20,000 fans made the pilgrimage in

1989 to the final event; a change to the nature conservation law brought this classic motor sport to an end. On 12th October 2008 a parade of cars provided a reminder of what was at one time a part of Tirol motor sports history.

Motor fans still recall with enthusiasm when the first Weerberg race was held at the start of the 1960s. Jo Siffert from Switzerland, Austria’s former Formula I figurehead Jochen Rindt and the Gerhard Marko, who is still involved in motor sport, were on the start-line. ‚Even at the second round of racing proper Karl Wendlinger, Dieter Quester and Franz Klammer were among the VIP starters“. At the anniversary car parade in 2009 no fewer than 240 vehicles registered, and more than 10,000 spectators lined the winding mountain road.

The Classic Weerberg race is not about who is the quickest but rather who manages to drive the 2 laps in the same, or at least close to the same time. So it’s not just a case of speed but also of skill, to achieve a set time. This time trial, which is assessed in a so-called uniform-mode, gives all those taking part, irrespective of horsepower, an equal chance of winning the competition.

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