50 years ago, the then Federal Minister for Transport, Dr. Hans-Christoph Seebohm officially opened the new stadium-like Motodrom at the Hockenheimring after an expensive renovation phase. For several decades, this set Hockenheim on course to be the peak venue for professional motorsport in Germany. From this time on, the premiere motorsport categories have belonged together at the Hockenheimring: Formula 1, Formula 2, Interserie and the German DRM/DTM racing championship. To date, Formula 1 and the DTM have been held at the Motodrom.
The season also starts in an anniversary year of the motodrome with the Bosch Hockenheim Historic from 15 -17 April 2016 with participants from across Europe, who will be battling for places in 13 series. With the broad range of vehicles, the event hosts have ensured that the premiere racing categories will be appropriately represented. This means that the Bosch Hockenheim Historic offers a variety of Formula vehicles like no other historical event in Europe. During the special races by the Raceclub Germany Historic, spectators will be captivated by Formula 1 and Formula 2 Monoposti spanning five decades.
The main focus this year is on the sports prototypes, as the CanAm series will also be turning 50. In 1966, competitions began for the almost awe-inspiring engine giants with two races in Canada (Can) and four races in the United States of America (Am) for the then Group 7 sports cars. These were racing cars which were mostly only produced in very limited numbers, or even as one-off productions. Europe’s counterpart to the CanAm was the Interserie which, from 1970, held a fixed spot in the racing calendar of the Hockenheimring. As part of the anniversary celebrations, there will be a CanAm racing category as well as demonstration races with numerous additional Interserie vehicles. Porsche 908 and 917 sports prototypes will feature prominently here.
At the H&R Cup, the special touring car trophy, and the Youngtimer Touring Car Challenge, DRM and DTM vehicles from different eras will be sizing up against one another.
In addition to the special theme of “50 years of CanAm” with “Interserie meets CanAm” demonstration race, for the first time ever racers will be competing for the Herbert Linge Trophy as part of the Bosch Hockenheim Historic. In commemoration of the extraordinarily versatile achievements of the Porsche veteran, the Porsche Centre in Mannheim, Penske Sportwagenzentrum GmbH, will be awarding this cup. Linge, who will be there in person, will be honoured with numerous exhibits from the Porsche Museum. One of his outstanding achievements was, for example, establishing the track safety team of the sport’s governing body (ONS).
Visitors to this commemorative event for the Scottish Formula 1 world champion, Jim Clark, will be just as excited by the thrilling motor sport as the open drivers’ paddock, in which they will be able to experience the teams’ preparations up close and without barriers. The comprehensive entertainment programme makes the Bosch Hockenheim Historic particularly family-friendly. In addition to autograph sessions and the design award for racing cars, there will also be a special Jim Clark exhibition.
Family-friendly admission prices make this the perfect motorsport weekend. Admission to Friday’s event costs EUR 10.00, whilst tickets for Saturday and Sunday are available from EUR 25.00. Weekend tickets are available for just EUR 35.00. Visitors in wheelchairs and children under the age of 14 pay no admission for the whole weekend.
For more information on the Bosch Hockenheim Historic, please visit: www.hockenheim-historic.de
