47 replies to this topic

[drionita]

Hi,
as a new entry, I introduce myself: my name's Matt, from Italy (south Italy), and, strange but true, I'm a Mercedes-addicted!
I'd like to ask your help in finding some pictures about some Mercedes who raced in the Eighties.

1) The first car is a 1981 280 CE Gr.2 tuned by Claasen. The only picture I found is the following, showing a race probably at Nurnurgring:


http://www.gafferspo.../autos/3754.php

Where could I find other pictures of it (side, back)?

2) The following three Mercedes raced at Bathurst in 1986 and 1988, I didn't find no picture of them, please help me! Here they are:

1986

#41 Bob Jane T-Marts
Mercedes 190 E 2.3-16 Denny Hulme / Franz Klammer / Hans Heyer /Volker Weidler

#14 Bob Jane T-Marts
Mercedes 190 E 2.3-16 Andrew Miedecke / Jörg van Ommen

1988

#51 Phil Ward
Mercedes 190 E 2.3-16 David Clement / Phil Ward

Thank you all for your attention and your help...and please forgive my bad English!
Matt

[Catalina Park]

Hi Matt. The two cars from 1986 were sold to Phil Ward.

[eukie]

Matt, Hans-Winand Claassen from Moers at the Lower Rhine / Germany raced different types of Mercedes 280 for several years at the Nürburgring Langstreckenpokal (Nordschleife, of course), sometimes co-driven by the perhaps better known Manfred Trint, and with some good results. I only have some very bad and small pics, taken for some other reason with my digi-cam from german magazines.

The CE:

1981


1984


Already in 1980 he drove a MB 280 limo:



Hope, this helps a little bit.

[drionita]

Fantastic! Thank you very much, you're incredible!

Matt

[T-Man]

the cars were brought to Australia by the RSM Marko team, which raced the 190E in the 86 DTM. Also Jörg van Ommen and Franz Klammer were their usual drivers in the DTM.


here's #41



The cars then stayed in Oz and were run by Lyndon Reithmuller and Phil Ward

Sandown 500 in 1987


ATCC@Winton 1988


ATCC@Phillip Island 1990

[drionita]

Wow, it's more than I could imagine - other Aussie Mercs....
Thank you all, GRAZIE!

Matt

[David M. Kane]

Nothing against Merc, but boy the cars from that period were ugly until the designers figured out how to do the new safer bumpers more functionally.

[Jager]

Here's Rod Ward's Mercedes 190E at Bathurst in 1990.



For more Australian Mercedes visit www.autopics.com.au and search on 'Mercedes'.

[drionita]

Jager, that site is astounding! Wonderful, thank you very much!

Matt

[drionita]

I found on www.autopics.com.au this strange Mercedes racing at Sandown in 1984.
I didn't understand what kind of car is it: a group 5? It looks like that 500 SL built by Hans Heyer, but I read that Heyer's Mercedes was a Group C, to tell the truth. Did it race V8 series or another kind of Australian series? Thank you very much.

[Catalina Park]

That would be Bryan Thomsons Mercedes Sports Sedan. It was built to meet Australia's unique Sports Sedan rules. It ran various Chev engines from a 4.2 turbo to a 6 litre quad cam Chev.

I have found a reference to another Mercedes, this one was a 280E racing at Bathurst in 1975. Driver were Tom Noughton and Ross Wemyss.

[drionita]

Yes, I found some picture of that 280E at autopics. But only front view...Did someone has a side and a rear view?

Talking about Mercedes, I heard about an AMG McLaren M8F equipped with a 6,8 liters Mercedes engine. Here's some pics:


(thanks to U. Cattani)







That are the only pics I found. More and greater pics accepted

[r.atlos]

The McLaren M8F you refer to was a project of Hans Heyer and AMG. It was chassis #72-04 and had been tested in Hockenheim in April 1972.

It had been engaged for the opening Interserie round at the Nürburgring on 03/04/1972 but did not show (probably not having turned a wheel at that point in time - see above). It did appear at Imola on 01/05/1972 (DNF) and had also been engaged for Silverstone on 21/05/1972.

It then simply faded from the scene, the more so since Heyer's sponsor Hannen Alt (a local beer brewery) had been sold to a multinational and, as a result, axed sponsor budgets dramatically.

The chassis re-appeared by 1980 when Heyer commisioned a Group C project that looked like a Mercedes 280SL that had lost its proportions ...

[SpecialKS]

Hi Eukie,

oh my god! - I'm desparately looking for old pics from the Eighties of the "Langstreckenmeisterschaft Nürburgring" (VLN). And here I found some info about the Claassen 280CE.
Can you please reupload the picture from 1984 which is gone.
That would be a great thing.
Thank you very much in advance.

Originally posted by eukie
Matt, Hans-Winand Claassen from Moers at the Lower Rhine / Germany raced different types of Mercedes 280 for several years at the Nürburgring Langstreckenpokal (Nordschleife, of course), sometimes co-driven by the perhaps better known Manfred Trint, and with some good results. I only have some very bad and small pics, taken for some other reason with my digi-cam from german magazines.

The CE:

1981


1984


Already in 1980 he drove a MB 280 limo:



Hope, this helps a little bit.

[cheapracer]

Currently there is a Judd powered MB that runs the hillclimbs around Europe, you can type the info into youtube and find it.

Don't forget the rally Benzes either of Mikkola and Rohl (circa '80?)

[cheapracer]

Originally posted by Catalina Park
That would be Bryan Thomsons Mercedes Sports Sedan. It was built to meet Australia's unique Sports Sedan rules. It ran various Chev engines from a 4.2 turbo to a 6 litre quad cam Chev.

I have found a reference to another Mercedes, this one was a 280E racing at Bathurst in 1975. Driver were Tom Noughton and Ross Wemyss.

I remember that Benz at Bathurst, got in everybodys way.

Gee I miss the Sports Sedans but we ca't have a class more popular than the Tourers now can we or, God forbid, being more popular than a CAMS open wheeler series.....

[eukie]

Originally posted by SpecialKS
[B]Hi Eukie, oh my god! - I'm desparately looking for old pics from the Eighties of the "Langstreckenmeisterschaft Nürburgring" (VLN). And here I found some info about the Claassen 280CE.
Can you please reupload the picture from 1984 which is gone.

Sure. Hope it helps, despite the bad quality.

[fbarrett]

Friends:

In 1981-82, Neal DeAtley, of Salem, Oregon, entered a well developed black 450SL in the Trans Am series; it was driven by Loren St. Lawrence, sponsored by Michelob, had about 450 hp, weighed 2,400 lb. Neal is still around, a super-nice guy.

Frank

[Kevan]

I suspect this one is already known, but a Belgian-entered 450SLC ran at the Spa 24 hours in 1982/3

In 1982, entered by 'Roneo Alcatel Serge Power' and driven by Claude Bourgoignie/John Cooper/Andre Lierneux, it finished 9th overall. The 1983 entry, driven by Michel de Deyne/Marc Duez/Herve Regout with 'Somati' backing, qualified 22nd but didn't finish:
http://www.racingspo...3-07-31-012.jpg

I'm not aware of it appearing at other ETCC rounds, but I'd be interested to know more about this one...


Also, while looking through Frank de Jong's site and Racingsportscars.com to check the details of the Serge Power SLC, I tripped over another from 1982, which I'd never heard of before- at Brno, a 280SE was entered by AMK Brezova, for Jan Semlbauer/Jiri Hak but didn't qualify...
http://www.racingspo...2-06-13-016.jpg

[sterling49]

Originally posted by David M. Kane
Nothing against Merc, but boy the cars from that period were ugly until the designers figured out how to do the new safer bumpers more functionally.

I am with you on this David, the cars (most IMHO) were plug ugly......a return to chrome bumpers would improve things though

[SpecialKS]

Originally posted by eukie

Sure. Hope it helps, despite the bad quality.

Thank you very much!
I'll be looking for my own pics from that period.
Maybe I can add something to this thread.

[SpecialKS]

Here are some links where I found some copyrighted pics of the Claassen 280CE, racing at the 24h-Nurburgring:

http://adac.24h-renn.../1982-1992.html

You can find some pics in 1984, 1985 ans one with a modified or another car in 1989 (here some of the oics do not appear, but when you click on it, it works)

One pic here: http://www.gotty.de/
(go to "1970-1983", then to "Nürburgring Nordschleife" and "Langstreckenpokal").

And here are my private pics (poor quality of course) made - I think - between 1982 and 1985 at VLN races:







Hope, that anyone finds more.

[Oversteer1]

There was a white 190 E 2.3 -16v racing last weekend at Nelson ledges during an SCCA
regional at the track. I don't know the history of the car but it looked to be in good condition
from a distance. Thanks!

Mark

[fbarrett]

Friends:

For the January/February 1989 issue of The Star, the national magazine of the Mercedes-Benz Club of America, I wrote an article on the Rick Hurst Racing 190E 2.3-16 driven by Bob Strange:



Photo copyright Frank Barrett; excuse the quality, but it's scanned from the magazine and stitched together.)

Rick Hurst owned Benchmark Motors in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and Bob Strange was a Goodyear employee (you may remember him from tire commercials of that era). The car competed in IMSA's International Cup for small sedans in 1988. In 10 races, overall finishes were fourth through seventh, but in class the car scored five firsts, four seconds, and one disqualification (for having 190D gears in the gearbox, legal the previous season). The engine was basically stock except for blueprinting and fuel injection modifications; it made 200 horsepower. The car weighed 2,327 lb (down from 3,030 lb stock) and had a roll cage, stiffer springs, adjustable Koni shocks, 8x16 alloy wheels, 225-50 BFGoodrich Comp T/A tires, and adjustable sway bars. The ABS was disconnected.

For more details, see that issue of The Star.

Frank

[SpecialKS]

what about this AMG car?

Last race Monza 1980 European Touring Car Championship, first race 1978/1979 (?)

http://www.supercars.../cars/3815.html

Try to find contemporary pics.

[SpecialKS]

Here we go:

24h LeMans 1979 - not qualified (ok - not really the 80's)

http://www.race-cars...188483701ss.htm







Here's another link: http://homepage.mac..../1980 Cars.html
and: http://homepage.mac......80 Monza.html

[T54]

Matt,
Unrelated to the older 190 and 280 cars but here is a survivor for your interest. It is one of two PPG/CART FedEx C43 pace cars built by AMG for the series. Both were surrendered back to MBNA at the end of the 1999 season and one was dismantled. Never raced to speak off, but a part of MB racing history.

[SpecialKS]

Found this in another forum without any further specifications:

[SpecialKS]

some more links:

http://ozbenz.net/vi...3 racing#p34037

http://ozbenz.net/vi...1&p=41526

and - not really from the 80's but ...

http://ozbenz.net/vi...php?f=11&t=5462

[962C]

Originally posted by r.atlos
The McLaren M8F you refer to was a project of Hans Heyer and AMG. It was chassis #72-04 and had been tested in Hockenheim in April 1972.

It had been engaged for the opening Interserie round at the Nürburgring on 03/04/1972 but did not show (probably not having turned a wheel at that point in time - see above). It did appear at Imola on 01/05/1972 (DNF) and had also been engaged for Silverstone on 21/05/1972.

It then simply faded from the scene, the more so since Heyer's sponsor Hannen Alt (a local beer brewery) had been sold to a multinational and, as a result, axed sponsor budgets dramatically.

The chassis re-appeared by 1980 when Heyer commisioned a Group C project that looked like a Mercedes 280SL that had lost its proportions ...

Here is a picture of the car in its "Gp. C" form (except that Group C rules were not published at the time), from French mag AUTOhebdo, Jan. 1st, 1981.

©AUTOhebdo (click to enlarge)

[potmotr]

I seem to remember Phil Ward rolling his into the sandtrap at McPhillimey Park some years ago then trying to dig it out. I think it was 89.

[SpecialKS]

Replicas of 500SLC Rally cars:

http://forum.mercede...b6bb71958b3350c

http://www.slcracing...en/default.aspx

Unbelievable.

[SpecialKS]

Looked into my archives over Xmas and found some pics of the Claassen DB280CE from VLN and 24h Nurburgring 1986:

[SpecialKS]

Here are another two pics from one of my all time favorite cars at VLN, shot 1986:

[eukie]

Nice car, great pics!

[bigears]

1986 - Bathurst - Denny Hulme in a AMG Mercedes.
Motoring News 23rd December 1987.

[Todd]

Originally posted by David M. Kane
Nothing against Merc, but boy the cars from that period were ugly until the designers figured out how to do the new safer bumpers more functionally.

Looking at what the Germans are flogging today, it is hard to believe that anyone could consider their '80s products notably ugly. Then again, the phrase "until the designers figured out how to do the new safer bumpers more functionally" is impenetrable. Designs of the era were functional, and their honesty appeals to fans of the era. Certainly more so than the painted tissue paper bumpers that blend so seamlessly into my new car. This whole euro aversion to functional bumpers makes as much sense as picking stereo speakers based on how they look.

[RobertE]

http://www.mercedes190.co.uk/ is an excellent website with links all over the place regarding DTM racing...

[Jesper O. Hansen]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Kevan
[B]I suspect this one is already known, but a Belgian-entered 450SLC ran at the Spa 24 hours in 1982/3

In 1982, entered by 'Roneo Alcatel Serge Power' and driven by Claude Bourgoignie/John Cooper/Andre Lierneux, it finished 9th overall. The 1983 entry, driven by Michel de Deyne/Marc Duez/Herve Regout with 'Somati' backing, qualified 22nd but didn't finish:
http://www.racingspo...3-07-31-012.jpg

I'm not aware of it appearing at other ETCC rounds, but I'd be interested to know more about this one...

QUOTE]

The car also appeared for the EG Trophy at Zolder in September 1983, finishing 12th outright 10th in division 3. According to Autosport this was a project led by Claude Bourgoignie but was only just finished in time for Spa '82.

Earlier I was having a look at the group A races at the Portugese Vila de Conde
http://circuitovilad...apo.pt/1982.htm
and found another 450SLC! The driver, Sande e Castro, obviosly had a taste for the excentric because the following year he raced a Jaguar XJ-S. Anyone have a picture of the Portugese Benz?

Germans Jörg Leininger and Robert Manner appeared for some late 1984 DTM races in the similar bodied 380SLC. This might have been just one car as the two drivers never raced in the same events.

Jesper

[SpecialKS]

For sale:

http://www.race-cars...188483701ss.htm

http://www.race-cars...188483701d1.gif


And another lucky find on surfing the net:

http://www.forum-aut...sujet378621.htm

[SpecialKS]

Originally posted by 962C

Here is a picture of the car in its "Gp. C" form (except that Group C rules were not published at the time), from French mag AUTOhebdo, Jan. 1st, 1981.

©AUTOhebdo (click to enlarge)

Hans Heyer 500SLC GroupC

Downloaded this about one month ago from another forum - don't remember the place.
So I decided to upload it again at filefront:

http://files.filefro...roupC Heyerrar/;13390965;/fileinfo.html

If I find the direct link, I'll post it here.

[SpecialKS]

Here we go:

http://www.tremek.co...hey-nortad.html

[SpecialKS]

Some other finds:

http://www.actionfux...500SLCgross.JPG

Austrian rallye driver Sepp Haider 1983 in a 500SLC at "ARBÖ Funkberater 1200 Minuten Rallye", finished 2nd.

(http://www.actionfux...zRallye2008.htm)



Paris-Dakar 1984, driven by Jochen Mass:

http://imcdb.org/veh...-C107-1984.html

[Ron B.]

I have some pics of a Friend of Friends Efforts in South Africa and Somewhere I have pictures of the AMG SEC 'pinstripe car' built in the 1980's and never raced.

[SpecialKS]

Not from the 80's but a great car from 1978:

http://www.fotocommu...isplay/16273557

[Ron B.]

Another good source is amg-classics.de and http://nast-sonderfahrzeuge.de/

[bigears]

Thought this might interest some people:



Motoring News 4th December 1980.

[Jack Harrington]

For sale:

http://www.race-cars...188483701ss.htm

http://www.race-cars...188483701d1.gif


And another lucky find on surfing the net:

http://www.forum-aut...sujet378621.htm

Thanx for postin' the Sears Wish Book Entries! Being poor sux, at a time like this!