2000 km through Germany

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2006: Bentley Le Mans Special with 4.5 l displacement on the launch pad

The 2000 km through Germany is the name of Germany's largest classic car - rally . It has taken place every summer since 1989 starting and finishing in Mönchengladbach and goes back to a street race in the 1930s; Hanover has been the start and finish line since 2008 .

history

Origin as a race

The 2000 km through Germany took place for the first time in 1933 and was the most important German long-distance road race at that time. Almost 2000 series vehicles drove non-stop from Baden-Baden on a circular route of around 2000 kilometers via Munich , Saxony , Berlin , the Ruhr area , Cologne and the Palatinate back to the starting point in Baden-Baden. 1200 kilometers of this alone led over partly steep and winding roads in various low mountain ranges. The cuts to be achieved were between 56 and 88 km / h, depending on the vehicle class. Among other things, twelve Opel cars took part in the race. The sports two-seater with 1.8-liter six-cylinder engine and Erwin Sander at the wheel were the first Opel to cross the finish line after 26 hours and 23 minutes and an average speed of 78.8 km / h.

As a road race, the 2000 km through Germany only took place one more time in the following year 1934. This trip was organized by Adolf Hühnlein (1881–1942), corps leader of the NSKK . The start and finish was again in Baden-Baden, which has been tried and tested in racing. 650 automobiles started and an additional 1,088 motorcycles in Leipzig . The route safety was taken over by the SA and the NSKK . Initial plans were already underway for a “2000 km” in 1935 when the National Socialist rulers in Berlin prohibited another requirement: On the one hand, Italian Fiat Balilla won the run by a large margin in 1934 (and no German makes), on the other hand, the National Socialists became automobiles - Off-road sport events are becoming increasingly important.

Resumption as a classic car rally

BMW 507 at "2000 km through Germany" 2005
Horex Imperator 2005 at the control point in Mülheim-Kärlich
2007: Ford V8 Super Deluxe Cabriolet from 1941
Ferrari 365 GTB at the "2000 km through Germany" in Montabaur

The 2000 km through Germany has been taking place annually since 1989, but this time as a one-week reliability drive for vintage cars with an overnight stop and so far with Mönchengladbach as the start and destination. Günter Krön from Merbeck took over the organization and management . In the first year of the new edition, 45 vehicles took part and Baden-Baden was one of the stage locations. The stages are now a maximum of 500 kilometers long and designed for an average of 40 km / h. In 1990, Eastern Germany was included for the first time, and in 1991 the journey took the historic route of the 1930s. The rally is the largest event of its kind for historic vehicles in Germany.

Cars and motorcycles registered for road use and at least 30 years old are eligible to participate. According to the regulations of the Fédération Internationale des Véhicules Anciens (FIVA), they are divided into five age groups, three for cars and two for motorcycles. The number of participants is limited to 195 vehicles. Escort vehicles are not allowed, the use of third-party breakdown assistance leads to a point deduction. In accordance with the requirements of a reliability trip, there are partly hidden transit controls in order to monitor compliance with the prescribed route. Twice per stage there is a time test in which a specified speed should be adhered to as precisely as possible over a distance of 20 meters. There are also other regularity tests.

The park at Schloss Wickrath has served as the start and end point of the trip since 2004, and the prologue, a supporting event with a vintage car exhibition and the award ceremony also took place here.

In 2006, the 2000 km through Germany took place from July 15 to 23 and covered around 2700 kilometers with 193 participants. In 2007, the event ran from July 21 to 29 with 177 registered vehicles. On October 1, 2007, Günter Krön handed over the organization of the rally to the two motor journalists Lars Döhmann and Horst-Dieter Görg.

In 2009 the event took place from July 4th to 12th, the start was for the first time in Hanover on the exhibition grounds, destination the Automeile Höherweg in Düsseldorf. The probably last “2000 km through Germany” were organized in 2011.

Overview of the rallies since 1989

year meeting Prelude Starting place Destination Total distance vehicles
1989 Baden-Baden Baden-Baden Baden-Baden 45
1990 115
1996 072020.-28. July
1999 071717th to 25th July
2000 072015-23 July Mönchengladbach Mönchengladbach Mönchengladbach 2437 km 216
2001 072121.-29. July 2472 km 208
2002 071313.-21. July Mönchengladbach 210
2003 071919.-27. July Mönchengladbach Mönchengladbach Mönchengladbach 2420 km 115
2004 071717th to 25th July Mönchengladbach Mönchengladbach Mönchengladbach 2171 km 176
2005 071616.-24. July Mönchengladbach Mönchengladbach Mönchengladbach 2140 km 142
2006 071515-23 July Mönchengladbach Mönchengladbach Mönchengladbach 2480 km 148
2007 072121.-29. July Mönchengladbach Mönchengladbach Mönchengladbach 2280 km 140
2008 071212-20 July Hanover Dusseldorf Hanover 106
2009 07044th - 12th July Hanover Dusseldorf 52 (as of May 1st)
2010 070410-18 July Hanover Hanover 55
2011 071223–31 July Hanover Hanover Hanover 39

literature

  • Roland Seiter: A Bugatti roars as if it wanted to start for the moon. The extraordinary automobile chronicle of Baden-Baden . Baden-Baden, 2002. ISBN 3-9805477-5-2
  • Lars Döhmann, Horst-Dieter Görg: "2000 km through Germany - 75 years of Germany's most traditional rally". Delius Klasing Verlag 2008. ISBN 978-3-7688-2555-9

Web links

Commons : 2000 km through Germany  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ "Der Kinzigtäler" newspaper from July 20 and 23, 1934.
  2. ^ "Der Kinzigtäler" newspaper from July 20 and 23, 1934.
  3. ↑ Germany's largest classic car rally is celebrating its 75th anniversary. In: Allianz Magazin. Archived from the original on December 12, 2010 ; accessed on January 21, 2018 .
  4. ↑ autobild.de of March 8, 2002
  5. ↑ July 19-27, 2003: 2000 km through Germany. In: Historic VWs. Archived from the original on January 10, 2011 ; accessed on January 21, 2018 .
  6. ↑ classicdriver.com
  7. ↑ autobild.de
  8. ↑ Fanarena.de
  9. ↑ Kfz-Kultur.de
  10. ↑ Motor Classic Online
  11. ↑ Report visit to the Ford factory in Cologne-Niehl in 2008
  12. ↑ Overall ranking 2010 (PDF; 27 kB) on 2000 km.net
  13. ↑ Overall ranking 2011 (PDF; 24 kB) on 2000 km.net