Klausen race

II. Internat. Klausen race 1923. Walter Kaufmann in a Steiger “Sport” 11/55 hp (2nd place); Co-driver Hans Mensch

The International Klausenrennen is in Switzerland through guided mountain race . It takes place on the Klausen Pass .

history

Between 1922 and 1934, the competition for the “Great Mountain Prize in Switzerland” was held ten times, for the first time on August 27, 1922. The route of what was then Europe's most famous and toughest hill climb ran from the start in the village of Linthal ( Canton Glarus ) to to the destination on the Klausenpasshöhe ( canton Uri ). The 21.5 kilometer long, dangerous course went through 136 bends (including 57 hairpin bends) and over 1237 meters in altitude . Even then, tens of thousands of spectators lined the race track. The vehicles drove at over 200 km / h, according to contemporary reports, "hissing and roaring" across the Uri soil.

In 1929 the course record was 16: 42.4 minutes. The motorcycle route record was set in 1930 by Tom Bullus on NSU in 16: 41.00 minutes. The racing car track record has been held by Rudolf Caracciola in a Mercedes-Benz W 25 since 1934 , with a time of 15: 22.20 minutes, which corresponds to an average speed of 83.9 km / h. It should be noted that these results were achieved on what was then a much narrower and unpaved gravel road.

Klausen Race Memorial

20 francs commemorative coin (issued 2018)

To commemorate the historic races on the Klausen Pass, the Klausen Race Memorial was created. In turn, it inspires motorsport fans from all over the world. On August 25, 1993, the first Klausen race memorial with over 400 historic vehicles took place. The times of the old course records were not beaten.

The second edition of the Klausenrennen Memorials followed in 1998 with 25,000 spectators. The Briton Julian Majzub set a new course record with a Bugatti 35B in 13: 49.08 on the asphalted and partially developed track.

At the third memorial race in 2002, the Urner Boden (a plateau) was taken out of the time evaluation for safety reasons , as the racing cars and motorcycles partly lifted off the bumps at the high speeds.

In 2006 the fourth international Klausen race memorial took place from September 21st to 24th. Historic motorcycles, motorcycles with sidecars, sports and racing cars older than 1939 were permitted.

The announced fifth Klausenrennen Memorial from September 22 to 25, 2011 was canceled in 2010, but took place from September 27 to 29, 2013.

literature

• Bernhard Brägger : The Klausen races. Compressors on the mountain . 2nd Edition. Edition Scriptum, Altdorf 1987, ISBN 3-905508-01-X .
• Bernhard Brägger : The Klausen Myth - Race to the Clouds . Ed .: Peter Aebli. Baeschlin, Glarus 2002, ISBN 3-85546-129-5 .

Web links

• Friends of the Klausen races. klausenrennen.ch, accessed on May 1, 2013 . 

Individual evidence

1. ↑ International Klausen race 1929. Chiron's new Klausen record 16: 42.4. In: www-lenya.nzz.ch. Archived from the original on August 13, 2007 ; Retrieved April 29, 2013 . 
2. ↑ sda: There will be no Klausenrennen memorial in 2011. portal.gmx.net, October 6, 2010, archived from the original on October 14, 2010 ; Retrieved May 1, 2013 . 
3. ^ The myth of the Klausen race. klausenrennen.com, accessed May 1, 2013 .