Ornatus-Mundi reports on Zenith's kick-off event for the Ennstal Classic Rally, featuring legendary drivers Hans-Joachim Stuck and Dieter Quester, and the iconic Porsche 'No.1' Roadster. This post captures the excitement surrounding one of the most scenic and demanding classic car rallies. It highlights Zenith's involvement and the blend of automotive heritage with horological passion.
At a kick-off event held at the
Technical Museum in Vienna,
Zenith and the organisers of the renowned
Ennstal Classic rally warmed up their engines - iconic Formula 1 and Le Mans drivers like
Hans-Joachim "Strietzel" Stuck and
Dieter Quester. The
Porsche Museum Stutgart promised a spectacular starter: the
first Porsche sportscar ever, the famous
âNo.1â Roadster!
The
Ennstal Classic, held in the alps and mountains around the village of
Gröbming in Styria, Austria (mott
'motoring in the last paradise'), is one of the most important and certainly amongst the most scenic, beautiful but also demanding classic car rallys today. Every year it attracts an impressive number of exclusive, and often enough unique, vintage sports cars, including Bentleys, Ferraries and Porsches - the year will count a record participation of
238 teams from 17 nations und 52 different car brands.
Almost guaranteed is the competitive participation not only of prestigious cars, but also of rally legends such as
Hans-Joachim Stuck and
Dieter Quester, both famous Fomula 1 and Le Mans legends, always good for a funny story (and lots of fuel burnt as well).
(from left: Hans-Joachim Stuck, Christian Clerici, moderator of the press conference (and participant in the Ennstal Classic himself), and Dieter Quester) The rally itself extends over three days and is composed of a
Prologue, a 370 km track starting in its home 'town' Gröbming over a stint on the Salzburgring over the Dachstein mountain passes down to Schladming.
The following day, Friday, is the most exhausting one with a 411km long
Marathon, a classic hill-climb with the famous arrival at the city of Steyr (a piece of heaven for classic cr nuts, lots of hands-on rally feeling for enthusiasts) and a track day at the NiederoÌblarn
airfield.
Highlight finally is the Zenith Grand Prix on Saturday in Gröbming, for car nuts and watch lovers alike!
For the Zenith Grand Prix Porsche Museum director Achim Stejskal has something very special to announce: the participation of the first Porsche sportscar ever, the famous âNo.1â Roadster, a prototype with chassis number 356-001:
(from left: Porsche Museum director Achim Stejskal and Christian Clerici) 'No.1', built in 1948, will be piloted by
Wolfgang Porsche himself, which attests to the importance that the Ennstal Classic has for the car
manufacturer.
(Ferdinand Porsche left of 'No. 1') It was up to Alexander Seidl from Zenith Austria & CEE to present the 25-piece edition of a Zenith Chronomaster model specifically created for this year's Ennstal Classic:
(from left: co-organiser Michael GloÌckner
and Alexander Seidl, CEO Zenith Austria & CEE) The watch, which I had
presented earlier already, is a wonderfully conceived ersion of the
Chronomaster, with a lot of lovely detals which the team just got right: 'Panda'-dial, tri-compax chronograph with legendary El Primero engine, tachymeter scale (what else?) and a red pusher ring on the 'return' pusher:
A watch no Purist would be ashamed of...
(from left: yours truly and Zenith's Miss B) So, good luck, much of fun and always enough fuel in the tanks!
(from left: Thomas Reingruber ( mayor of Gröbming), Rudi Roubinek (actor), Dieter Quester, Achim Stejskal, Alexander Seidl, Wolfgang Brandstetter, (former Vice-Chancellor of Austria), Christian Clerici, and at the steering wheel: Hans-Joachim Stuck)
All I can say now is... get your car...
... have your instruments ready...
... grab the wheel...
.. and never look back!
Thanks for reading,
Magnus
