Eckhard Schimpf has reunited the most important cars of Jägermeister Racing – the same racing team for which big names like Hill and Lauda, Bellof and Stuck, Mass and Ickx went onto the starting grid from 1972 until 2000. A highlight of the collection is now on its way from the USA: the legendary Porsche 911 Carrera RSR, built in 1974.
His eyes search for the memory and a faraway look comes into them, then a warm smile spreads across the 77-year-old’s face: “It was like a reunion with an old friend.” Eckhard Schimpf no longer stands on the curve strip of the Oschersleben racetrack – but one can virtually still see how his thoughts are speeding along the track again: in an orange-coloured 911 RSR dating from 1974.
The scene changes to Braunschweig. A hall with an almost completely black exterior and only a number in orange to hint at what is on show inside it: historic racing cars in the Jägermeister team’s famous paintwork. Legends of a bygone age, but it all smells very new. “We’re not quite ready yet,” says Schimpf, and asks: “No photos, please – we still need some time to make everything presentable.” The comment by the former Race Manager and driver of the team in orange relates exclusively to the hall’s interior décor, because the cars are all cleared to start.
Eckhard Schimpf has almost reached his goal. Together with his son Oliver, who is 26 years younger and is CEO of a technology company, he wants to bring his team’s most attractive racing cars back to Braunschweig and back into the black hall.
Schimpf senior says “We have brought all the important cars together,” and is visibly satisfied. The project has been a success. Father and son – supported by the Mast family of entrepreneurs – have bought back worldwide more than a dozen racers in the Jägermeister livery.
You can read the whole report from the Christophorus Magazine here.
Source: Christophorus Magazin, Ausgabe 375
Author: Edwin Baaske
Photos: Theodor Barth
