ADAC Hockenheim Historic 2026 // Memories of a memorable touring car era
- A wide variety of attractions at the 21st ADAC Hockenheim Historic from 8 to 10 May 2026
- The CLASS ONE Revival pays tribute to the spectacular DTM era from 1993 onwards
- An exciting supporting programme away from the track
The ADAC Hockenheim Historic – The Jim Clark Revival stands for excitement and variety. More than 500 racing cars spanning almost a century are sure to set the hearts of every motorsport fan racing. Whether Formula cars, sports cars or touring cars – there is something for everyone at the ADAC Hockenheim Historic.
Iconic touring cars from every era on the starting grid
Touring car racing series have always enjoyed a very special aura in Germany, and particularly at the Hockenheimring. No wonder that cars with roofs are also particularly well represented at the ADAC Hockenheim Historic. The “Touring Car Golden Era” and the “DRM Revival” offer a wide variety of touring and production cars from the 70s, 80s and 90s and are enjoying growing popularity among fans and participants alike. The entry list for the “Golden Era Touring Cars” features big names such as Roland Asch, Kurt Thiim, Kris Nissen, Peter Mücke and Volker Strycek, as well as no fewer than 99 cars!
And that’s not even counting a special category of touring car racing, which will be held under the ‘Golden Era’ banner from this season onwards: the ‘CLASS ONE Revival – powered by BMW Classic Group and CARBON’. The new category is reserved for original DTM cars from 1993 to 2020 and highlights a unique era in German and international touring car racing.
From the 1993 season onwards, Class 1 replaced the unpopular handicap regulations (today we would call it ‘Balance of Performance’) of the early DTM years. Whilst these had brought about a wonderful variety of cars, they had also led to endless discussions about fair or unfair classifications. The Class 1 principle was simple: 2.5-litre naturally aspirated V6 engines, which had to be based on a production block from the relevant car manufacturer, a free powertrain concept, a six-speed gearbox, defined silhouette and aerodynamics, and otherwise plenty of scope for the engineers – and off they went.
The result was arguably the most spectacular touring cars of all time: Alfa Romeo and Opel entered four-wheel-drive cars into the race, whilst Mercedes countered with the rear-wheel-drive C-Class. It marked the start of a fascinating technological arms race, which, however, subsequently reached proportions that were no longer sustainable, particularly in terms of costs, and led to the end of the ‘old’ Class 1 at the end of 1996. The rebirth of the DTM in 2000 was based on technically simpler, cost-effective yet spectacular V8 cars. From 2019, efficient four-cylinder turbos were introduced – though only for two seasons, after which the Class 1 era came to a definitive end.
Memories, particularly of the first Class 1 era from 1993 to 1996, remain very much alive even among the younger generation of racing fans. “The Class 1 era was a special time for everyone who experienced it – for us drivers as well as for the technicians and the fans,” recalls the last champion of those wild years, Manuel Reuter. In his legendary Cliff-Opel Calibra V6 4×4, the Mainz-born driver secured the 1996 ITC title at the overseas finals in Brazil and Japan.
Reuter emphasises that the Hockenheimring has always been a special racing venue: “The atmosphere was unique – the sold-out Motodrom, the sea of flags, the fanfare. Back then, we raced at Hockenheim twice a year. And whether it was the short circuit or the Grand Prix circuit with its long forest straights, where we were already reaching speeds of over 300 km/h back then – the atmosphere was always electric!”
Although Reuter himself will not be on the starting grid at the “CLASS ONE Revival – powered by BMW Classic Group and CARBON” as part of the ADAC Hockenheim Historic, one of his former service cars will be represented: the ’94 Calibra driven by Opel racing legend Volker Strycek. The entry list, limited to 20 race cars, features highlights from 27 years of Class 1, including a genuine rarity: the Class 1 Audi 80, which the Ingolstadt-based manufacturer had already developed in 1993 but never put into action. Several former DTM stars will also be getting behind the wheel. Nico Müller will drive his 2020 Audi RS5 DTM on Saturday, Stefan Mücke a Mercedes C-Class from the new DTM, and veteran Armin Hahne the Linder BMW E36 from the 1993 season.
Three days of non-stop action on the track
But of course, it’s not just the Class 1 cars from 1993 to 2020 that will draw fans in droves to the Hockenheimring. A total of a dozen racing series will be on the starting grid at the event commemorating Jim Clark, who was killed in a fatal accident at the Hockenheimring in 1968. Single-seater enthusiasts will be in for a treat with the ‘Historic Racecar Association’, the ‘Lurani Trophy’ and ‘DMV Formula Vau’, as well as the ‘BOSS GP’. Sports car fans will enjoy the “Velom Sportscar Supercup by Interwetten SCC”, the “Gebhardt Ginetta Nordic Championship” and the “Golden Ära Classic Cup”, which is dedicated to the Porsche brand. “Raceclub Germany” presents a magnificent collection of historic formula and sports cars. And at the Raceclub Germany Specials, “Team FNT” and others will provide spine-tingling moments at the Motodrom with selected performance vehicles, including Toyota Formula 1 cars from the 2000s.
Even away from the approximately 4.5-kilometre-long traditional circuit just outside Heidelberg, a variety of attractions await race-goers, such as the open paddock, the ADAC Experience Zone – including a large manufacturers’ club area – exhibitions, and retail and catering stands. And all this at the usual affordable prices: Entry on Friday costs €17, day tickets for Saturday and Sunday cost €39 and €34 respectively, and the weekend ticket costs €54. Naturally, these all include a grandstand seat and access to the paddock. School pupils and students pay half price, whilst children under 14 and wheelchair users are admitted free of charge. For the first time, tickets for the Grid Walk before the first ‘Boss GP’ race on Saturday are also available for €20.
