Kalter Wangen hill climb

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The Kalter Wangen hill climb was a motorsport event in the Waldshut district on the Kalter Wangen mountain in the Hohentengen district on the Upper Rhine near the Swiss border, for which the 161a road from Hohentengen to Grießen was used from 1967 to 1988.

history

When hill climbs became more and more popular in the 1960s , the motorsport club Klettgau , which was re-established in 1955, decided to convert its previously club-internal mountain test into an official championship-style event supported by ADAC Südbaden. The 2160 m long racetrack with a difference in altitude of 160 m in the region became a major event, the popularity of which went far beyond the national borders and attracted internationally known hill climbers from Europe. In particular, the route on a south-facing slope was an advantage for the spectators, as they could watch the race from start to finish.

The route itself was of medium difficulty and well secured, so that during all events from 1967 to 1988 no serious injuries had to be reported in accidents; In addition, a complete return route, which is rarely found in hillclimbing, enabled the event to run smoothly, which in 1980 led to a two-day event that was rated for the ADAC - Mountain Cup Southwest from 1982 and even for the German Mountain Automobile Trophy in 1987.

In 1987 the last race for the time being took place. Increasing difficulties with the approval authorities led to a political uproar in 1988 when the authorities withdrew their approval 48 hours before the start of the race, which sparked great indignation across the region; also because the former Freiburg district president Norbert Nothhelfer was a former Waldshut-Tiengen district administrator as the final approval authority, who knew the importance of the event in the region and beyond very well. As a result, there were protest rallies in Freiburg and a compensation process with the authorities, who were sentenced to reimburse the organizer for at least part of his expenses from tax revenues.

Current situation

The condition of the 1980 newly paved racetrack was u. a. Due to the heavy traffic, it has been getting worse and worse since 2005, including stabilization measures, and this construction project should be completed by the end of 2009. Currently (May 2015) an approx. 200 m long section is still missing, otherwise the route has been completely renovated; even the double guard rails have already been put back in place - this is a prerequisite for formula vehicles to be allowed at an event.

Planning

Since clear tendencies can be observed, especially in southern Germany, towards reactivating former hill climbs to old-timer regularity tests (Schlossberg-Historic Gernsbach, Schauinsland-Klassik, Eggbergrennen Bad Säckingen, Haldenhof-Revival Ludwigshafen), first efforts were made in 2009 to include the Kalter Wangen race track in to revive in this sense, which realistically requires about 6–7 years of lead time. A retro event is planned for the 50th anniversary of the race, but this depends on the commitment of the citizens of the community of Hohentengen-Stetten - the residents of the nearby Swiss village of Oberhallau ( SH ), who have retired from a motorsport club, are an example of this took the organization of the Oberhallau hill climb into their own hands and have successfully continued this event for several years.

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