Ruhestein hill climb

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The Ruhestein hill climb was a motorsport race and the first event of its kind in Germany after the Second World War .

history

The Obertal-Ruhestein mountain race took place on July 21, 1946 on an eight-kilometer mountain route between Baiersbronn- Obertal and the top of the Ruhestein pass (915 m above sea level). There were several serious accidents during training and the race with a total of three deaths. The event was not held in the following years despite the great interest of spectators (30,000 to 50,000 spectators) and the great commitment of the organizer and the municipality of Baiersbronn.

The hill climb was organized by the Süddeutsche Motor-Rennfahrer-Vereinigung (SMRV), chaired by Kurt Nitschky, who was born in Karlsruhe. The French military government granted the racing license as part of the re-education , the re-education of the Germans at good Democrats and contributed significantly to the fact that this motorsport event could become a reality. The event received great support from the Hammer brothers from Reutlingen. Rolf Hammer, the youngest of the three brothers, was one of the winners in the motorcycle class up to 125 cm³ in this race.

Overall winner of the race was Josef Faistenhammer from Ismaning, who set the fastest time of the day with 4 minutes 52 seconds on his Rudge. The Stuttgart-based Hermann Lang started the so-called Mille Miglia BMW based on the streamlined BMW 328 and achieved the fastest time of all sports and racing cars with 4 minutes 57 seconds. Nitschky from Baiersbronn won the motorcycles up to 350 cm³ on an NSU with an average speed of 94 km / h. In the 1000 cm³ class, the Munich works driver Seppenhauser won the class in a BMW . The race director was Georg "Schorsch" Meier.

The racetrack was a demanding mountain course with numerous switchbacks, inclines and sloping sections, which made the highest demands on the driving skills of the participants and ultimately led to the serious accidents mentioned.

Since 2013, in memory of the Ruhestein hill climb of 1946, the "Baiersbronn Classic" is a demanding "classic car rally for connoisseurs". There are around 20 special stages to be completed within three days. In 2015 over 130 teams started.

literature

  • Roger Orlik, Martin Walter, Frank Eberle: Ruhestein hill climb 1946: the new beginning of German motorsport. SP-Verlag, Albstadt 2011, ISBN 978-3-9812106-0-6 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Frank Eberle, Hubert Huber, Roger Orlik, Martin Walter: Ruhestein Bergrennen 1946. The new beginning of German motorsport. 2011, p. 21f.
  2. ↑ The first race after the war. (PDF; 256 kB) In: Reutlinger Generalanzeiger. December 3, 2011. See also www.gea.de
  3. ^ Frank Eberle, Hubert Huber, Roger Orlik, Martin Walter: Ruhestein Bergrennen 1946. The new beginning of German motorsport. 2011, p. 36.