The International St. Moritz Automobile Week of 1929 and 1930 will be relaunched in 2021
St. Moritz The new edition of the historic Bernina mountain race, the Bernina Gran Turismo, has been in existence since 2015 and has long since gained a top place in the worldwide Historic Racing calendar. For many, this race on the Bernina Pass is considered the absolute highlight of the scene. Even in the Corona year 2020, when most events had to be cancelled, the Bernina Gran Turismo could be successfully held thanks to a good protection concept.
Now the organizers around the collector and enthusiast (and founder of the legendary hill climb), Kurt Engelhorn, are even going one better! Two new events are to revitalize the International St. Moritz Automobile Week. Florian Seidl, head of the event specialists, is confident: “We have proven with Bernina Gan Turismo that we can do it. That we also implement our plans. Of course the concentrated experience of our team is not completely undecisive. That’s why we’re also convinced that 2021 is the right time to launch two new events at the same time.”
The historic Automobile Week consisted of the Kilometer Race on the so-called Shellstrasse, a Concours d’Elegance at the Kurhaus (today’s Kempinski Grand Hotel des Bains in St. Moritz Bad), a Gymkhana, a rally and, as the highlight, the Bernina Race. At the time, Hans Stuck on Austro Daimler (1929) and Louis Chiron on Bugatti (1930) won the competitions.
“It was only logical to now resume the Kilometer Race and the Concours d’Elegance. Of course, such events have to be adapted to the times without losing the reference to the historical model. We will certainly succeed in this with the “Kilomètre Lancé – Alpine 1000” and the “Motorsport Rendezvous”!”, says Seidl.
Today, of course, the acceleration race is no longer held on public roads. “That would no longer be in keeping with the times,” it is reported from the organizing team, “so we are receiving very strong support for our project from Engadin Airport, which is in the immediate vicinity of the original venue!” In general, the organizers leave nothing to be desired in terms of cooperation with officials and praise the Swiss authorities all around. “The cooperation with the municipalities, the canton, the tourism offices, the police and all the authorities has been working excellently for years!” enthuses Claus Müller, who has had experience with events in the classic car sector since 1986. Nevertheless, expert reinforcement has been brought in. “Tobias Aichele and Jörg Litzenburger, known in the scene mainly for the “Solitude Race” and “Glemseck 101″, will actively support us in the implementation of the sprint races and other event details. Together we will create a real festival for mobility, in which the acceleration race will be the center of attention. If the pandemic allows us, we want to welcome a fair number of spectators already in 2021 in the beautiful Engadin, an incomparable landscape in the high mountains which, especially in early autumn, offers a magical beauty of brilliant steel-blue skies, golden larch forests and the well-known hospitality around the town of St. Moritz.” “Top of the World” is what they say locally.
The second event also follows a larger plan: “The Motorsport Revival will be a concours that is not a concours. Instead of the conventional, somewhat dusty display of over-restored (luxury) vehicles, we will focus on racing and sports cars. In addition, interesting topics and important collections will be shown, which are otherwise not accessible to the public”. Florian Seidl elaborates. “In this regard, Luca Moiso, who has a lot of experience with concours events in our team, will get support from Dirk de Jager, one of the most distinguished photographers and historians of collector cars.
“The Motorsport Rendezvous will be a very exclusive event, celebrating upscale lifestyle, but uninhibited and modern. This suits St. Moritz and not least the Kempinski Grand Hotel des Bains, where the event will take place. There will therefore only be a strictly limited number of tickets available to maintain exclusivity. The vehicles on display will also be selected according to strict criteria.” Nevertheless, the organizers assure that the general public will not be left out, as an additional day has also been scheduled when at least the majority of the cars will be accessible to visitors and fans. “We plan to be able to show most of the cars also on Friday, when the Bernina Gran Turismo participant cars will already come to the Kempinski Hotel for the technical scrutineering.” it says.
Another topic close to the organizers’ hearts is the issue of the “Next Generation”. To address this issue, there will not only be a decidedly young jury, but also a themed discussion panel where the new generation in the scene will have a voice. “This is the main reason why we want to leave the beaten track. We need to make Classic Cars and the related events interesting and exciting for a young audience. Therefore, we will bring more movement and action, but much less stiff static into play. The events have to be more fun again.”
Facts and figures of the new “International St. Moritz Automobile Week” 2021:
Kilomètre Lancé – Alpine 1000 from 10 – 12.09.2021, Engadin Airport.
MOTORSPORT RENDEZVOUS from 15. – 17.09.2021 at the Kempinski Grand Hotel des Bains
Automotive Film Festival St. Moritz from 10. – 15.09.2021
Bernina Gran Turismo from 16. – 19.09.2021 at the Kempinski Grand Hotel des Bains and at the Bernina Pass
Organizer: Int. St. Moritzer Automobilwochen AG, Via Marguns 14, CH-7500 St. Moritz
Press contact: Claus Müller, +49 171 526 10 50, claus.mueller@bernina-granturismo.com
