press release - overview of the racing series

During “Bosch Hockenheim Historic – Das Jim Clark Revival” from 13 April to 15 April 2012, the racing classes’ monoposti “FIA IHFO Championship”, “European Formula 2”, “Boss GP”, and “FIA Lurani Trophy” will fight for positions on the track. A “Race History on Track” presentation tops off the unparalleled array of Formula cars.

The “Fia IHFO Championship” is probably the world's fastest racing series with historic cars. The Formula 1 racers of past decades represent the racing speed of the top tier's “Golden Times” when the driver's prowess and gripping passing maneuvers captivated the audience. Running exactly as they were in period and featuring 3ltr grand prix cars from 1966 and 1985, the field covers a 20-year period of F1 racing. The array spans from Jackie Stewart's Tyrell 001 to Petrese's Brabham BT49.

The “European Formula 2“ is the international racing series for Formula 2 and Formula Atlantic cars built from 1967 and running right through to the end of the 1978 season without ground effect gearing. All in all four classes will be rated. Every year a maximum of ten races at five events are announced. Hockenheimring is very important for the roughly registered 50 drivers because the event is held in memory of the two time Formula 1 world champion Jim Clark, who was deadly injured in the first run for the Martini Gold Cup (Formula 2 European championship) in the fifth round on 7 April 1968.

The “FIA Lurani Trophy” goes back to the year 1958. It was then that Count Johnny Lurani organized a junior class for Italian Grand Prix drivers in Monza. It all paid off – even international. Top drivers such as Jim Clark, John Surtees, Mike Spence, Peter Arundell and Teves Taylor began to gain experience in the small monoposti. Thanks to series coordinator Duncan Rabagliati's tireless dedication the Formula junior class called “FIA Lurani Trophy” is still popular today. It was him who brought this series to the international top events of racing. “Bosch Hockenheim Historic – Das Jim Clark Revival” is part of the highlights of the season for international drivers.

With “Boss GP” one of the fastest and most spectacular racing series in Europe will celebrate its series kick-off at the Bosch Hockenheim Historic. The name “BOSS” stands for Big Open Single Seater, which means that this series is for the big and high HP cars, from the legendary 1980s, 1990s and 2000s; strictly speaking the car's chassis must have been built before 31 December 2003. The audience will experience a fascinating array of humming six- and eight-cylinder racers of the Renault world series without limited cubic capacity which compete against both the screaming ten and twelve-cylinder Formula 1 monoposti and the spitting cars of the turbo era.

Formula cars from six decades will be a part of “Race History on Track” (RhoT). Visitors can look forward to big names such as Brabham, Ferrari, Lotus and March. After Toyota's withdrawing from the Formula 1 some of these Japanese racers will be seen in this dignified setting again. RhoT is an international and very representative pool of historic Formula cars enthusiasts. The array of about 20 Formula 1 and 15 Formula 2 racers steeped in history begins with the F1 Ferrari 500 built in 1952 which was once driven by Alberto Ascari.

For the “Bosch Hockenheim Historic – Das Jim Clark Revival”, three European series of the fastest sport prototypes form a spectacular starting field competing for the trophy by title sponsor Bosch.

The “SuperSportsCup” is for two-seater sport cars and sports prototypes built from 1968 to 1971 (Period “G”) and from 1972 to 1976 (Period “H”). The flat and open sport cars are an absolute highlight in historic motorsport. The brand world championship for sport cars was as popular as the Formula 1 world championship. The Canadian-American Challenge Cup “Can Am” was held overseas. At the same time, the trophy for sport cars up to two liters was held in Europe where Lola, Chevron, Alpine and March were competing for the title against each other. Following this model, the SuperSportsCup was announced these days. The start will be a flying one due to security reasons.

The “Martini Trophy Series” is for 2 litre two seater sports racing cars built before 31 December 1978. Both open and closed cars will be eligible divided into three classes. For Hockenheim any over 2 litre cars will be eligible running to the Supersports regulations but for the remainder of the series races only 2 litre cars will be able to run rather like the original European sports car championship of the 1970s, when drivers like Joachim Bonnier, Brian Redman, Arturo Merzario, Jean-Pierre Jabouille, Derek Bell and Dieter Quester raced these cars regularly.

The world's strongest racing cars are part of the “Canadian-American Challenge Cup” with racers with up to 1,000 HP. These prototypes of the then brand world championship were partly faster than the Formula 1 in these days. The revived cup organized by Peter Schleifer is for two-seater racers built between 1966 and 1974. The attribute “crowd favourite” will be a sure thing for competitors.

Racing touring cars in all cylinder capacity classes – the cylinder dwarves ahead of everyone – top off the prime motorsport weekend at the Hockenheimring Baden-Württemberg.

The season opener for the three series “Abarth-Coppa-Mille”, “British-Car-Trophy” and “NSU-TT-Trophy” has been at Hockenheimring for years – under the name “Kampf der Zwerge” (Fight of the Dwarves). Mini Cooper, NSU TT, DKW Junior, Steyr-Puch 650TR, Abarth OT, SS or TC, Autobianchi A-112 or Fiat 127, the compact cars of the 1960s and 1970s almost all have a veritable racing sport history. It's therefore no wonder that the fight of the dwarves is one of the favorite guests at historic motorsport events. About 50 cars are expected at this year's Bosch Hockenheim Historic.

The Dutch series “NK HTGT” is for cars built between 1947 to 1965. The Dutch historic championship for touring cars and GT cars - “Nederlands Kampioenschap voor Historische Toerwagens en GT‘s“ (short: NK HTGT) – is steadily gaining popularity since its year of founding in 1997. All participating cars are geared up confirming to specifications of the FIA Code Sportif International, appendix K. Even though it's a Dutch championship, drivers from all over Europe make a guest appearance at NK HTGT.

The “Spezial Tourenwagen Trophy H&R Cup”, which also includes contemporary racers, has been an inherent part of the German motorport scene since 1986. Because of the support of main sponsor H&R, the subtitle H&R Cup was added in 2006. Additional renowned sponsors and professional partners make raffling material prizes for registered drivers at the end of the season possible. A number of classes for touring and GT-cars offer a great variety of racing cars. The strongest cars like the Porsche Turbo or the Chrysler Viper will compete in the big STT-classes over 6000ccm. Due to the points being awarded by class, it is possible that drivers in small classes overturn those in bigger classes. Now and then, you might find a former professional among the real amateurs, who will inspire the audience with thrilling and fascinating racing.