Classic days Green Park

by Patrick Verheeken on 08/10/2022

New Location

This year the Classic Days took place for the first time at a new venue. “Green Park” in Dusseldorf was the place to be from 5 to 7 August.

Atmospheric event

Without a doubt, a lot of effort was made by the organisers to turn this ‘car park’ into an atmospheric classic car event where it was pleasant to be. There were exhibitions, an ‘old’ corrugated iron garage, Grandma Jansen’s stall, a Shell hut and much more.

14 experience zones

In total, there were no less than 14 zones spread across the domain. Despite the move, the organisers could still speak of a success. Of course, the weather gods lent a hand.But to attract a total of more than 42,000 visitors requires more than just good weather. For instance, there was a lot of movement, the recipe of the past in a new jacket clearly caught on.

The many special historic vehicles managed to keep interest high. In all, some 160 old racing cars and museum pieces raced around the track in several heats.

The audience was treated to an impression of the old days of motorsport that clearly fascinated young and old alike. One of the formulas adopted from the previous venue were the racing legends who eagerly handed out autographs to those interested.

Racing legends

By the way, there was also time to have a chat with these living legends. The following celebrities were present: Derek Bell (five-time winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans), German Formula 1 great Jochen Mass and Kurt Ahrens. Matthias Kahle, Harald Demuth and last-but-not-least Eckhard Schimpf.

About 4,100 classic cars visited. These were all parked together in a separate car park. This suddenly turned it into an immense classic car open-air museum. You couldn’t name a make or you could find cars from it.

I would still like to mention some of the more special vehicles. For example, there was the ‘Le Mans run’, where numerous ex-Le Mans historic cars passed over the temporary circuit. Even the for us old familiar FIAT Isotta landrecord car from 1904 was present and also made a few trips around the circuit. If you want to take a ride along be sure to watch the previously made video of this mighty car!

Helica Propeller car

There was also a Helica propeller car that clearly managed to steal the show. If you don’t really know what and how such a car functions, I invite you to watch the Grand Tour video below. In no time, everything will be clear then 🙂

The British Benjafields Racing Club with their Bentleys were also amply represented.

Mercedes-Benz Avus Silberpfeil

And from the Mercedes-Benz museum in Stuttgart came the 1932 Mercedes Benz Avus Silberpfeil streamline winning car at the start.

On 22 May 1932, Manfred von Brauchitsch wins the Avus Race in Berlin with this Mercedes-Benz SSKL. In the process, he sets a class world record with an average speed of 194.4 km/h over a distance of 200 kilometres.

Bumpercars

Of course, the Classic days revolve mainly around the cars. But the atmosphere on and around the track is also part of the overall experience. This year, for instance, we also saw an old bumper car stall from the 60s and 70s. Everything was authentic and you could actually go driving it around. This attraction was partly made possible by the Historical Association of German Showmen.

Classic motorbikes

Over 30 vintage racing motorbikes came to Classic Days 2022. Numerous truly ‘special’ motorbikes were on display. Think Harley’s, old BMW’s, Indians, Gileras, Norton’s, NSU, Moto Guzzi, racing bikes from Swedish museums, bikes from the Isle of Man TT, etc. A number of sidecar teams also made their tours of the circuit, always impressive how those guys tear through the corners.

DeLorean meeting

Both striking and impressive was the huge collection of DeLorean’s. The stainless-steel coupes were of questionable quality but were burned into everyone’s retinas by the films of ‘Back to the Future’.

The cars were built in Ireland from January 1981 and production stopped as early as December 1982. There were just under 40 DeLoreans present, almost all of which looked quasi identical on the outside. One example had a gold-coloured coating.

And some true inside embellished with Doc Brown’s device to travel through time. The gathering was to commemorate 40 years since the last DeLorean was produced this year.

With its stainless steel bodywork, the car was very progressive. Unfortunately, it was to no avail as it was never a real success. A Netflix production has since been released about it with the full history of the DeLorean.

Memorabilia

Of course, there were again plenty of stands with car memorabilia to discover. But ladies were also more than catered for with hats and clothing vendors. Ladies-only rides were also organised.

A Lotus Esprit from the James Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me was also present. The owner heavily documented the whole thing. He was clearly very proud of his car.

Part of the estate was taken up by caravans. And not just any caravans, they were real gems that catapulted you right back to the 1960s. The cars in front of the caravans also fitted the bill perfectly. The Belgian participants were in matching outfits and their enthusiasm helped to create a very pleasant atmosphere.

However hard the organisers tried, it will not be easy at this venue to match the old venue with castle and much more atmosphere. According to the organisers, the temporary circuit was easily visible from many sides and had a large number of right and left turns, making it very attractive.

Derek Bell

One of the ever-present guests is Derek Bell. He started his career in 1964 with a Lotus Seven in club racing in Britain. A year later, he switched to the British Formula 3 championship.

In 1968, he competed in the European Formula 2 championship. Driving a Brabham BT23, he showed such strong performances that Ferrari’s team management took notice of him.

Bell was offered a factory contract, which led him to Formula 1. With the Ferrari Dino 166F2, he finished fourth in 1968 and fifth in 1969 in the European championship. In late 1968, he made his debut in the Formula One World Championship. At the Italian Grand Prix in Monza, the Scuderia’s home race, Bell competed in the Ferrari 312F1.