Historic Marathon                                                                                                                                   Last year winners Earl Markus von Oeynhausen and co-pilote Frank Stippler were second on the starting grid behind the grey Ford Fairlane driven by the twin brothers Ulrich und Christian Schödel (alias Fred and Barney). This continuation car of the legendary Fairlane Thunderbolt was built by Holman & Moody a few years ago. The grey monster weighs just 1150 kilos and its seven litre engine develops around 495 bhp. From the start until the end the Fairlane was in front of the Jaguar. With a gap of 1 minute and 50 seconds Frank Stippler kept the pressure on the Fairlane just to increase the latter's fuel consumption so that Fred (or Barney) were forced to make an extra pitstop. But a few laps before the chequered flag fell the Jag's gearbox got locked in fifth gear and the distance between the two cars increased again to 1 minute and 21 seconds. Third came Allen Tice und Chris Conoley in their Marcos 1800 GT followed by the Lotus Elan 26R driven by Michael Schryver / Simon Hadfield.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         Coys Auction                                                                                                                                                            The highlight of the Coys auction had to be the 1958 Ferrari 250GT Tour de France. At its wheel, several renowned drivers successfully participated in numerous races. In 1961 racingdriver Mounier had a traffic accident with this car. In 1987 the wreckage was sold to a Monegasque, who had a very cost-intensive restoration carried out in Italy using exclusively original 250 TdF parts. Sadly this car was withdrawn from the auction for unclear reasons.   The highest bid at this auction was for the Mercedes-Benz 500K Compressor, a right hand drive example delivered in 1935 to its first owner in London. After the war the car found its way to the United States, where it remained from 1962 to 1993 with one owner in California who embarked on a comprehensive restoration. In 1998 the car was sold and returned to its Fatherland. Since then it remained in a notable private collection with its own mechanic. This impressive master of the German Autobahn changed hands for 450,000 Euros.  Being not the most popular XK type, a stunning left hand drive Jaguar XK 140 Drop Head Coupé fetched a strong 96,000 Euros. Recently this car had undergone a comprehensive, no expense spared restoration. Finished in its original shade of dark blue with a matching dark blue leather interior and soft top it could be a concours winner. After the restoration it had been carefully driven for some 500 kilometres.  Fitted with distinctive highly polished aluminium bodywork and alloy engine block and cylinder head mated to a pre-selector gearbox, the 1934 Siddeley Streamline can be described as a work of art in itself. This car has been rebuilt in the style of Derek Moore’s Siddeley Le Mans version, by Lord Lorne Jacobs. Highest bid was 260,000 Euros but the car stayed unsold.   The BMW 3.0 CSL on offer was no. 44 out of a total production of only 57 cars of the second series, nicknamed ‘Batmobile’. With aluminium bonnet, boot and doors, this homologation special offered a weight saving of 300lbs over the standard steel constructed CS. The actual car left the works on 26th April 1975 in its livery of Polaris-silver and during the 1990s it was restored to a very high level.   With a correct mileage of less then 45,000 km this unmolested original lightweight CSL found a new home in the United States (Seattle) for 100,000 Euros. All prices mentioned are the hammered prices without sales commission.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           One Hour Race for Two-seater Racecars and GTs                                                                              More than 40 cars were entered for the 60 minutes race for two-seater race cars and GTs until 1960/61. Three very different Maseratis Birdcages were entered for this race. The splendid Maserati Type 61 Birdcage Streamline version driven by Willi Balz and Frank Stippler was first on the grid. They kept the lead until the last round when their car slowed down and stopped (broken electric main switch). So the red Tipo 61 driven by Alan and Jason Minshaw won the race. David and Simon Ham finished second in a Lister Jaguar followed by a Maserati 150S (Adrian Kraft). The third Birdcage was the unusual Tipo  63, the mid-engined version of the Tipo 61 driven by Austrian Hofer, the gearbox broke down so he also didn’t finish.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Revival German Racing Sport Championship                                                                                             In this race the icons of the 70’s and 80’s, Touring Cars and GTs from Ford Escort RS1600 to the Porsche 935, measured up against the fascinating BMW M1. The race was booked out with 14 Porsches RSRs, three BMW 3.0 CSLs, two Capris RS 3100, a Tomaso Pantera, a Corvette, four BMW M1s, three Escorts RS 1600 and seven Porsches 935. The most prominent driver in this race was the multiple German champion Klaus Ludwig, who drove a Porsche 935 owned by Chris Stahl who bought the Kremer-Porsche just a few weeks ago. Although the car spend a long time in a museum and received a quick check-up, its first outing was a success, Klaus Ludwig won this race. Just  7,4 seconds behind was German Daniel Schrey who swept past the finishing line in the “devilish” Porsche 935 K3. Undoubtely a most sensational situation in this race occurred just after the start at the end of the straight. The very fast Capri RS of Peter Mücke hit the rear wheel of the BMW M1 driven by Hans Wagner. The BMW slipped sideways and the right side came off the ground and for a short moment the car balanced on its left wheels. Both cars were out of the race.                                                                                                                                                                                                                     Oldtimer Grand Prix Race                                                                                                               Fastest in practice was Tony Smith with the well prepared Ferrari 246 Dino, followed by Rod Jolley in the Mona Lister Jaguar . Third on the grid was Alan Miles in a Maserati 250F. From the start Tony Smith pulled away from the rest of the field and took the chequered flag 23 seconds in front of Alan Miles. Rod Jolley finished in third place. The second race was on Sunday but due to the heavy rainfall the start was delayed by 90 minutes. Again the manager of Metallica and Genesis took the lead but in the last round he spun the Ferrari and fell back to fifth place. So coachbuilder and restorer Rod Jolley finished in first place.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   Ring Boulevard                                                                                                                                         The spectators who were fed up with the bad weather conditions on Sunday could visit the Ring Boulevard with its expensive shops, showrooms and impressive experience center. The new leisure and business park (including hotels, a conference centre, bungalow park and amusement centre) built during 2008 and 2009 is quite controversial. The aim of the development was to create jobs and increase tourist revenues for the region. The entire costs of bringing new life to the Ring were 250 million Euros. It was the intention that the whole project would be privately funded. The complex financing scheme failed completely and the state Rhineland was left to pay the whole bill. Sadly the number of visitors is much less than expected. Just after this weekend motoring journalist and author Wilhelm Hahne presented his book on the scandals around the Nürburgring project. The book is sold out already !  Lets face it, all motoring enthusiasts are travelling to the Nürburgring just to see some action on the track, either on the Grand Prix circuit or the Nordschleife. The organisers of this impressive event (AutomobilClub von Deutschland) are fully aware of this and the real classic car enthusiasts will be there again next year August.