„Bavarian Goodwood on the Mountain“

International Edelweiss Mountain Race Rossfeld Berchtesgaden, 25th to 27th September 2015

The patron of the 2015 International Edelweiss Mountain Race at Roßfeld, former Federal Minister of Transport Dr. Peter Ramsauer, had done an excellent job in his role, and so all six runs on Saturday and Sunday in late September 2015 were able to be held dry, albeit under slightly overcast skies. Light drizzle only began after the end of the last run. Dr. Peter Ramsauer made sure to stop by himself on the first day to enjoy the atmosphere in the autumnal Berchtesgaden paddock. But when asked in which vehicle Dr. Ramsauer would like to ride this year, after he had been chauffeured in the passenger seat of a Porsche Bergspyder by none other than Walter Röhrl in the 2014 edition, he replied rather reservedly: „We'll see.“

Prominence in the cockpit, focus topics Formula V and Abarth

The approximately 8,000 spectators, who, following the wish of initiator Althammer, increasingly dressed in the style of the 60s and 70s, were offered an incomparable experience and accessible motorsport celebrities – above all, of course, with the ambassador of the Roßfeld Revival, two-time Rally World Champion Walter Röhrl, who was immediately surrounded by autograph hunters as soon as he stepped out of his former racing car, the recently restored-to-original 911 Porsche „San Remo.“ Alongside 82-year-old Eberhard Mahle, representing the Porsche factory in a first-series original Porsche 911, and Horst Linn in a '59 Stanguellini Formula Junior, two veterans of the Roßfeld race were competing. Additionally, former NSU racer and tuner Siegfried Spiess was present. Finally, Thomas Frank from Audi Tradition, with former German Rally Champion Harald Demuth, who joyfully returned as a repeat offender at the wheel of the hellishly screaming two-stroke Hartmann DKW built in Berchtesgaden, had another extremely prominent driver in the cockpit.

This time, Joachim Althammer focused on two main highlights for the „Bavarian Goodwood on the Mountain.“ For the 50th anniversary of the Formula V junior series, which first launched in Europe in 1965 and began its triumphant run at Roßfeld in June 1965, serving as a springboard for many later stars such as Jochen Rindt, Dr. Helmut Marko, Niki Lauda, Keke Rosberg, and many others, he managed to bring 15 original vehicles to the starting line. The crowd favorite among the Formula V cars was the Austro Formula V, driven by its former racer, the likeable Liechtenstein native and 1972 Formula Super V European Champion, Manfred Schurti, who had finished second at this very location in 1970 in the exact same vehicle. In addition, he managed to entice 20 racing cars from the designs of the brilliant developer Carlo Abarth to Roßfeld. There, one could admire the diversity of his creations, which his wife Anneliese Abarth also came to see. Abarth collector Leo Aumüller, who conquered Roßfeld back in the seventies, brought four of the rare speedsters to the track with his team alone.

Track announcer legends Braun and Schlüter

Another highlight for the spectators at the start was the witty commentary from the congenially complementary track announcers Siegfried Schlüter and legendary commentator Rainer Braun, who had previously announced the Roßfeld hill climbs and had himself sat behind the wheel in Formula V nearly 60 times. The first official Formula V race took place on June 13, 1965, at Roßfeld. Incidentally, Johannes Ortner, who also won the overall Roßfeld race in 1971 in an Abarth 3000, finished second in that 1965 race with a time of 4:29.53. He was present as a spectator this year and was naturally invited to the legends meet in the paddock. There, Rainer Braun also entertained the audience inimitablely between heats in a relaxed talk session with the stars of yesteryear, enriched with many anecdotes.

But even among the spectators, Rainer Braun was able to spot some of his former companions and exchange a few words. For instance, he also discovered Peter Reinisch from Salzburg there, formerly the highly successful team manager of the Swiss BRUN Racing Team, which had even risen to Formula 1 with EURO-BRUN at the end of the 90s. Reinisch, who learned his trade at the nearby Schnitzer Team in Freilassing, doesn't miss the Roßfeld Race. Even though he's no longer part of the racing circus, he can be found in the paddock every year.

Top-notch engine sounds and drifts, charity aspect successful

This year again, the 1970 Schnitzer-BMW 2800 CS, skillfully piloted by Franz Ostermeier, was among the loudest vehicles at Roßfeld. He was the only one allowed a rolling start on Sunday, as the clutch of the circuit car, which had already participated in the OGP at the Nürburgring, could not withstand the brutal start procedure on the mountain. However, Ostermeier wanted to offer something to the audience and, even so, sent the spectators into raptures of excitement every time, just like Walter Röhrl, when both drivers circled the hairpin bends precisely at the apex with skillfully shown drifts. It wasn't just the spectators who got their money's worth and were enthusiastic about the variety of vehicles; the participants and team bosses, such as Dieter Landenberger, Head of the Porsche Archive, also praised the excellently organized and meticulously timed event. They unanimously assured that they would be back again next year.

The winners of the third edition in each class were not determined by the time taken, but by a jury who judged the history of the vehicles at Rossfeld as well as the visual impression of the participating drivers. Audience expressions of sympathy were also included in this evaluation. The overall winner was Liechtenstein racing legend Manfred Schurti in his 1968 Austro Vau Formula V. Second place went to Eberhard Mahle in a 1967 Porsche 911, and third was Harald Dietz in a 1938 Lancia Aprilia Zagato Spider.

But the main concern of the event, financial support for Lebenshilfe Berchtesgaden, was also not neglected thanks to the numerous donations from participants and spectators. And so, just three weeks later, Joachim Althammer could be seen on regional television at the groundbreaking ceremony for Lebenshilfe Berchtesgaden's new residential and care center – his passion project, which can now also be realized with the help of donations from various Edelweiß Oldtimer events.

And he is already brimming with ideas for the focus points of the 2016 edition from September 23 to 25.