ZF presents the Little Miracle of Berchtesgaden - 60 years after his first race, motorsports racer Heinrich Maltz wins the International Edelweiss Mountain Award Rossfeld Berchtesgaden with a ZF Tradition DKW
- Classic MAN SL 200 bus from the automotive supplier's historical collection shuttles spectators during the racing breaks
Friedrichshafen. In 1958, race driver Heinrich Maltz, now 84 years old, participated in the first Rossfeld Race. Now, 60 years later, he won the International Edelweiss Mountain Award Rossfeld Berchtesgaden with a ZF Tradition DKW Junior. The classic MAN SL 200 bus from ZF's historical collection was also in use at the prestigious event to shuttle visitors across the track.
He was a man of the hour at the first Rossfeld Race – exactly 60 years ago, Heinrich Maltz participated for the first time in the International Mountain Award in the alps in Berchtesgaden with a DKW. As the only participant left of 1958's race, he now participated again in the race on the last weekend in September and won the overall ranking with a DKW Junior from ZF Tradition. The 3-cylinder vehicle is part of the technology company's historical collection. The DKW with a two-cycle engine is equipped with a ZF-Synchroma transmission 4DS6-3 and a Saxomat made by Fichtel & Sachs.
Maltz even competed with Count Berghe von Trips
Until the mid-60's, Heinrich Maltz was a very successful race driver until he had to quit his active career in motorsports complying with his father's wish to join the traditional family-owned business for high-performance lubricants. At the Rossfeld Race, he even competed in Formula Junior alongside fellow racer Wolfgang Count Berghe von Trips and, amongst others, with the legendary "mountain king" Hans Stuck. Based on DKW vehicles, he developed the Hartmann-Formula-Junior vehicles together with Alfred Hartmann and ranked first nine times when driving for Scuderia Hartmann alone. Although he hasn't participated in any car race since the 1960's – Heinrich Maltz has never lost his passion for racing: With his BMW HP4 motorcycle with 220 hp, he still races in club championships and can hardly believe he won the overall ranking in Rossfeld: "This is a great thing for me, really. I have never driven such a car in my whole life – not to mention the little horsepower. What a contrast to my motorcycle that normally accelerates from zero to 100 in less than three seconds – but it is great fun!"
As of 1958, the Rossfeld Race has been taking place at Germany's highest panoramic road as international competition for touring cars, grand tourer vehicles and sports and Formula Junior cars. Since 1961, the race has been part of the European Mountain Award, attracting famous race drivers like Niki Lauda, Jochen Mass, Hans Herrmann, Karl Wendlinger or Dieter Quester.
Since 2013, the popular event is organized every two years by Joachim Althammer under patronage of Walter Röhrl and has always great race drivers on its starting list. All net proceeds are donated to an institution for the mentally challenged in the Berchtesgadener Land district. In this context, the classic MAN SL 200 bus from ZF was used to transport thrilled visitors across the track between the races.
- 60 years after his first race, motorsports racer Heinrich Maltz wins the International Edelweiss Mountain Award Rossfeld Berchtesgaden with a ZF Tradition DKW
- Classic MAN SL 200 bus from the automotive supplier's historical collection shuttles spectators during the racing breaks
Friedrichshafen. In 1958, race driver Heinrich Maltz, now 84 years old, participated in the first Rossfeld Race. Now, 60 years later, he won the International Edelweiss Mountain Award Rossfeld Berchtesgaden with a ZF Tradition DKW Junior. The classic MAN SL 200 bus from ZF's historical collection was also in use at the prestigious event to shuttle visitors across the track.
He was a man of the hour at the first Rossfeld Race – exactly 60 years ago, Heinrich Maltz participated for the first time in the International Mountain Award in the alps in Berchtesgaden with a DKW. As the only participant left of 1958's race, he now participated again in the race on the last weekend in September and won the overall ranking with a DKW Junior from ZF Tradition. The 3-cylinder vehicle is part of the technology company's historical collection. The DKW with a two-cycle engine is equipped with a ZF-Synchroma transmission 4DS6-3 and a Saxomat made by Fichtel & Sachs.
Maltz even competed with Count Berghe von Trips
Until the mid-60's, Heinrich Maltz was a very successful race driver until he had to quit his active career in motorsports complying with his father's wish to join the traditional family-owned business for high-performance lubricants. At the Rossfeld Race, he even competed in Formula Junior alongside fellow racer Wolfgang Count Berghe von Trips and, amongst others, with the legendary "mountain king" Hans Stuck. Based on DKW vehicles, he developed the Hartmann-Formula-Junior vehicles together with Alfred Hartmann and ranked first nine times when driving for Scuderia Hartmann alone. Although he hasn't participated in any car race since the 1960's – Heinrich Maltz has never lost his passion for racing: With his BMW HP4 motorcycle with 220 hp, he still races in club championships and can hardly believe he won the overall ranking in Rossfeld: "This is a great thing for me, really. I have never driven such a car in my whole life – not to mention the little horsepower. What a contrast to my motorcycle that normally accelerates from zero to 100 in less than three seconds – but it is great fun!"
As of 1958, the Rossfeld Race has been taking place at Germany's highest panoramic road as international competition for touring cars, grand tourer vehicles and sports and Formula Junior cars. Since 1961, the race has been part of the European Mountain Award, attracting famous race drivers like Niki Lauda, Jochen Mass, Hans Herrmann, Karl Wendlinger or Dieter Quester.
Since 2013, the popular event is organized every two years by Joachim Althammer under patronage of Walter Röhrl and has always great race drivers on its starting list. All net proceeds are donated to an institution for the mentally challenged in the Berchtesgadener Land district. In this context, the classic MAN SL 200 bus from ZF was used to transport thrilled visitors across the track between the races.
