If you're a classic car fan, one of the years major classic car events is currently taking place - the Mercedes-Benz Classic Days 2005.  The event, which takes place September 4-11 in Salzburg, Austria, is being held by the Mercedes-Benz Classic Car Club International.  For the event, 220 classic Mercedes teams have registered, as well as 23 cars from other manufacturers, including BMW, Bugatti, Porsche, and Bentley.

Mercedes-Benz Classic Days 2005 will consist of two parts: a sporting competition and a tourist group.  For the sporting competition, drivers will compete on the Salzburging and Gaisburg mountains in the second annual "hill-climb duel."  The winner of the duel will receive the coveted Paul Daimler Trophy.  The tourist group will take a more leisurely approach, venturing on a relaxing 155 mile trip along with the sporting cars.

If you're a Mercedes fan, the highlight of the event will take place on September 10, when all 220 Mercedes classics will be displayed for viewing in Salzburg's Residence Square.

For complete details of the event and to see more photos, read the official press release below.


OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE


Mercedes-Benz Classic Days 2005



September 5, 2005

One of the major classic car events is currently being staged in Salzburg: the sixth Mercedes-Benz Classic Days from September 4 to 11, 2005. This is the fourth time that Salzburg hosts the international Mercedes-Benz club event, having attracted more participants this year than ever before. For the one-week event, 220 Mercedes-Benz classic teams registered, plus 23 historical racing and sports cars from the Alfa Romeo, Delahaye, Porsche, Bugatti, La Pintat, Bentley, BMW and Mercedes-Benz brands, which will compete in the Paul Daimler Trophy on Wednesday, September 7.

The lineup comprises 36 automotive gems built before 1940; the oldest car is a rare 10/40/65 hp two-seater Mercedes sports car from 1923 entered by Richard Graf from Germany in the Paul Daimler Trophy. The Classic Days will be attended by participants from 18 nations, among them three teams from Australia, two from North America and six from Russia.



The program

As before, the program consists of two parts and begins with sporting competitions (Monday – Wednesday), i.e. practice and regularity trials on the Salzburgring and on the Gaisberg mountain. Some 100 Mercedes-Benz classic teams have registered for these competitions. For visitors, Wednesday, September 7, 2005, is likely to be one of the most interesting days, with trials on the Gaisberg mountain and on the Salzburgring, as well as with the Paul Daimler Trophy.

Another 120 teams will exclusively participate in the tourist program on Thursday and Friday. They will arrive on Wednesday afternoon and enjoy the 250 kilometer outings to Salzkammergut and Steiermark together with the “sporty group”. The highlight will once again be the Concours d’Élégance on Saturday, September 10, 2005, staged with all the 220 Mercedes-Benz classics on Salzburg’s Residenzplatz (Residence Square) from 11 am until 2 pm.

Over and beyond this, the evenings are dedicated to culinary and cultural delights, culminating in the DaimlerChrysler gala evening at the Salzburg Residence on Saturday.



Paul Daimler Trophy on the Gaisberg mountain

For the first time, owners of brands other than Mercedes-Benz accepted the invitation extended by the organizer, Mercedes-Benz Classic Car Club International, to the Mercedes-Benz Classic Days 2004 – to mark the 75th anniversary of the Gaisberg race.

The positive feedback from Mercedes-Benz Classic Days participants, media and spectators were a clear vote in favor of staging the “hill-climb duel” once again – in the form of the 2005 Paul Daimler Trophy.

Nine different brands compete in the Paul Daimler Trophy: Porsche (again with two works vehicles), Alfa-Romeo, Delahaye, Bugatti, La Pintat, BMW, Triumph, Bentley and Mercedes-Benz. Special rarities are the 10/40/65 hp Mercedes already mentioned, the Alfa Romeo 8C Monza of Peter Reck, the Mercedes SSKL of Peterheinz Kern, the Bugatti 51 of Rudolf Geray, the La Pintat monoposto of Klaus Reichenberger, the works Porsche 356 B Carrera Abarth driven by Klaus Bischof and the Bentley Le Mans of Horst Thome.

The program for the Paul Daimler Trophy begins with the participants’ arrival on Tuesday afternoon and a convivial evening in an alpine hut. On Wednesday (September 7, 2005), the participants compete in three heats – one on the Gaisberg mountain and two on the Salzburgring. The winners’ ceremony is scheduled for Wednesday evening as part of the drivers’ evening in the Classic marquee.



The program in detail

Sunday, September 4
Arrival of Classic Days participants, group 1

Monday, September 5
10 am – 12 noon: Regularity trials on Salzburgring
2 pm – 5 pm: Regularity trials on Salzburgring

Tuesday, September 6
9 am – 12 noon: Regularity trials on Salzburgring
2 pm – 5 pm: Regularity trials on Salzburgring
In the afternoon: Arrival of participants in the Paul Daimler Trophy

Wednesday, September 7
9.30 am: Start of Manfred von Brauchitsch Memorial und Paul Daimler Trophy in Guggenthal
2 pm – 5 pm: Paul Daimler Trophy: trials on Salzburgring
In the afternoon: Arrival of Classic Days participants, group 2

Thursday, September 8
9.00 am – 4 pm: Tourist outings to Salzkammergut and Steier-mark (Start: Salzburgring)

Friday, September 9
9 am – 4 pm: Tourist outings to Salzkammergut and Steier-mark (Start: Salzburgring)

Saturday, September 10
10 am: Departure from Salzburgring
11 am – 2 pm: Concours d’Élégance on Residence Square

Copyright © 2005, Daimler Chrysler AG