When famous cars from film history, such as the magnificent Ford Mustangs from the Dukes of Hazzard, a Mr Bean Mini and a DeLorean of Back to the Future fame, take to the Austrian Grand Prix circuit together with the legendary 1997 F1 Ferrari. The Red Bull Ring Classics is an extravaganza of historic motorsport. If you couldn’t make it to Spielberg today, we’ve got good news for you: all of the automotive stars will also be there on Sunday for the grand finale. The box office will be open for day tickets from 08:00 onwards.
Those racing legends Leopold Prince of Bavaria and Dieter Quester have a very busy schedule on the 2024 Red Bull Ring Classics weekend. When they are not sitting in the cockpits of the BMW crown jewels at the Red Bull Ring, they will be reminiscing at the Legends Talk. The ‘Trio Infernale’ of Quester, Poldi and Hans-Joachim (Strietzel) Stuck have perpetrated some outrageous pranks in the past, such as the infamous night at the Hotel Kempinski.
“The race at the Avus was coming up and we were spending the night there,” recalls Leopold Prince of Bavaria. “Strietzel put a firecracker in an ashtray, placed it in the hotel corridor and lit it. He then disappeared into the room without realising that the smoke would set off the fire alarm.” The sprinkler system not only flooded the corridor but also other parts of the hotel. As a result, the three of them had to pack their bags at 1am in the morning and were banned from the hotel for five years.
Glamour of f1 and hollywood
In addition to famous movie cars, you can also see the Black&Gold Collection from Chrome Cars at the vehicle exhibition. This includes the first generation of turbo cars, namely the Lotus 94 T, Lotus 95 T and Lotus 98 T, which were often likened to ‘cannonballs’. Back then, the drivers had only one qualifying lap at their disposal.
Special tyres were used for this, which were so soft that you could press into them with your finger. The engine was run at full output – 1,000 horsepower. In the race, it was cut back to between 800 and 900 horsepower. If you’re the sort of fan who finds such anecdotes fascinating, you should definitely book a paddock tour.
Drivers and fans equally enthusiastic
The first showdown of the historic racing contests took place on the race track in perfect motorsport weather. On Sunday, spectators will have another opportunity to get a close look at the results of the tireless efforts by the oil-smeared mechanics. Away from the race track and on the Pit Lane Walk, you can marvel at the impressive cars of the 500 Owners Association Circuit Racing Championship, the Touring Cars Golden Era, CanAm & Sportscars / SCC, the YTTC, the BossGP, the NK82-90 and the Alfa Revival Cup.
Leopold Prince of Bavaria: “This event is simply fantastic. You can see that from the response of the people – young and old – who come here in their droves to see the beautiful old cars. What makes the Red Bull Ring Classics so special? The pure emotion. People come up to me and tell me that they saw me racing when they were children. It’s such overwhelming emotions that the Red Bull Ring Classics arouses in everyone.”
