Report & Gallery: The 52nd Belmot Oldtimer Grand Prix

Submitted by Marcel Hundscheid on August 12, 2025

By Marcel Hundscheid / Speed-O-Graphica

The 52nd edition of the Belmot Oldtimer Grand Prix was held at the Nürburgring over the first weekend of August, 2025. 39,000 spectators enjoyed the varied field tackling the iconic circuit in competitive and entertaining events. We were amongst them, and braved the typical Eifel weather conditions that prevailed above the circuit, especially on Saturday, to bring a gallery and wrap-up to you.

For three days Formula 1, Formula 3, touring cars, GTs and CanAm categories presented well-filled starting fields and interesting races. Fans of Formula 1 cars from the seventies and eighties were treated to the presence of the Masters Historic Racing organization. The Historic Racecar Association, with its historic Formula 3, Opel Lotus, and Formula Ford, has become an indispensable part of the event and was once again present. The Historic Championship, 65, 81, and CanAm & Sportscars were also represented.

Another crowd-puller were the former DTM, STW, and WTCC touring cars racing under the banner of the Tourenwagen Golden Era, which had a very large starting field. It was great to see that a separate race for STW cars has been added to the program.

Fans of former Group 5 cars were in for a treat with the presence of the Revival Deutsche Rennsport Meisterschaft. Although the numbers of Group 5 cars was noticeably low this year, enthusiasts were once again able to enjoy the cars, which were true icons of the seventies and eighties.

More than forty historic touring cars from the golden era of the DTM championship made their appearance for the first race on Saturday. The race got off to a dry start under a threateningly cloudy sky, after which the heavens above the Nürburgring opened. Former WTCC driver Altfrid Heger drove his Audi 200 M86 from soaked asphalt to a dry track, crossing the chequered flag unchallenged.

During the second race on Sunday, Heger initially faced stiff competition from the Ford Sierra RS500 of Stefan Mücke, but managed to break away from the rest of the field and once again drove convincingly to the finish line.

As mentioned, the number of participants in the DRM Revival was lower than we’re used to at the Oldtimer Grand Prix. For example, only one Porsche 935 was at the start, while not a single BMW M1 was entered. However, there were three genuine Zakspeed Ford Capri Turbo group 5s.

Unfortunately, Ronny Scheer’s Capri had to retire early from qualifying due to gearbox problems. Scheer would therefore not be at the start on Saturday either. Mücke Motorsport Classic also had to make a 300 km trip to pick up a new gearbox.

In the first race on Saturday, Stefan Mücke drove his Zakspeed Capri to a commanding victory. On Sunday, Ronny Scheer did appear at the start with the second Capri prepared by Mücke Motorsport Classic. Since he hadn’t set a qualifying time, he had to start from the very last grid position.

At the front of the field was 78-year-old Peter Mücke in the Capri, with which his son Stefan took a dominant victory on Saturday. Mücke Senior took a convincing lead, but from the back of the field, Scheer moved impressively quickly into the top ten. Just a few laps later, Scheer had already established himself in the top three, and in the blink of an eye, he also outpaced his team manager Mücke and was the first to cross the checkered flag.

Nearly 25 historic Formula 3, Opel Lotus, and Formula Ford cars lined up on the starting grid for the first race of the ADAC Graf Berge von Trips Pokal. Alexander Weiss from Denmark drove an ex-Giancarlo Fisichella Ralt RT35 to pole position.

The likeable and lightning-fast Dane proved too strong for the rest of the field. On Saturday, he crossed the finish line first after eleven laps with a lead of over 44 seconds. On Sunday, he again had nothing to fear, once again being the fastest with a lead of over 42 seconds.

Porsche enthusiasts in all their forms were spoiled by the Golden Era Classic Cup. Nearly twenty drivers showed up, with sometimes significant differences in lap times. The fastest time in the first race was driven by Matthias Jocher’s Porsche 964.

The second race initially was a close call between Stephan Jocher’s Porsche 996 GT3 RSR and Thomas Ardelt’s Porsche 997 GT3. Ultimately, Jocher prevailed and took victory.

Another highlight that the organizers have maintained is the evening race for two-seater sports cars and GTs, a tradition that dates back to 1971. Alexander Weiss and Palle Birkelund Pedersen drove the small, yet lightning-fast Ginetta G4R to pole position on Friday.

During the evening race on Saturday, the Danish duo was easily ahead of the rest of the competition, often with stronger cars. With a lap lead, the duo dominated the race and crossed the finish line first.

The second race was scheduled for Sunday. Pedersen started the race from pole and had to do everything in his power to keep an unleashed Michael Gans at bay in his Lotus. Gans managed to get ahead of the Dane, but as soon as Weiss got behind the wheel, the tables were turned.

In no time, Weiss held a comfortable lead; until a stroke of bad luck. His right upright gave up the ghost, forcing the no. 2 Ginetta into the pits prematurely, and Weiss was forced to retire. Meanwhile, Oliver Hartmann had won the duel with Gans and drove his Elva Mk. 8 to victory.

The Historic Grand Prix Car Association only fielded front-engined cars at this year’s Oldtimer Grand Prix. John Spiers narrowly won the first race in his Maserati 250F, beating Richard Wilson in the Ferrari 246 Dino. In the second race on Sunday both Spiers and Wilson had to bow to Joaquin Folch, who drove dominantly to victory in his Lotus 16 365.

The 1965 Historic Championship saw a large and varied field of GTs and touring cars up to 1965. During the first race, Georg and Björn Griesemann’s Ford GT40 proved too much for the rest of the field of nearly forty cars and the duo took a convincing victory.

A day later, the Griesemann GT40 claimed victory again. While not as dominant as in the first race, it still finished over seven seconds ahead of Valentin Schumann’s Elva Mk.7S.

A single ninety-minute race was held on Saturday afternoon for the fifty GTs and touring cars until 1981. A downpour provided spectacle, although Björn and Georg Griesemann kept their cool, and their Porsche 911 RSR crossed the finish line first with a lead of five seconds after more than ninety minutes.

The Historic Championship CanAm & Sportscars displayed a very diverse entry, from a Porsche 962 and McLaren M8C to a Porsche 996. Sylvio Kalb drove his Lola T298 unchallenged to victory in the first race on Saturday. Klaus Abbelen did the same on Sunday during the second race with his Dauer Porsche 962, where nothing and no one even came close.

Fans of the former STW championship were treated to two races featuring cars from the former Super Tourenwagen Cup, which was held between 1994 and 1999 due to the departure of Audi and BMW from the DTM championship.

Rene Aeberhardt won the first race in a former Uwe Alzen Opel Vectra STW. The second race was narrowly won by Markus Reich in a former Philipp Peter Audi A4 Quattro STW, crossing the finish line just a hair’s breadth ahead of Rene Aeberhardt.

This year, Masters Historic Racing was present with the iconic Formula 1 cars from the 1970s and 1980s. The spectators were able to enjoy the Ford Cosworth sound so characteristic of top-class cars from that specific period. Mike Cantillon drove his Williams FW07C to a convincing victory in the first race.

In the second race on Sunday, the Irishman would again take the win, but he had to fight for all he was worth until the finish line. Werner d’Ansembourg finished second, just 0.5 seconds behind.

The 52nd edition of the Belmot Oldtimer Grand Prix was once again a feast for the eyes and ears. Enthusiasts can already mark their calendars, because the 53rd edition of this unique event is scheduled for the weekend of August 7, 8, and 9, 2026.

Results Belmot Oldtimer Grand Prix 2025

Race 1