The 53rd BELMOT Oldtimer-Grand-Prix put the BMW M3 centre stage for its 40th birthday — and showed along the way why historic racing cars only truly come alive on the track
There are sounds you don’t describe, only place. The four-valve six-cylinder of a BMW M1 Procar in third gear through the Veedol chicane is one of them. No popcorn-crackle of modern exhaust flaps, no synthetic reverberation — just a dry, hard note that settles in your chest long before the car comes into view. Anyone standing at the Nürburgring on the second weekend of August heard that note twice. And twice it led to the same result.
43,000 spectators came from 7 to 9 August for the 53rd running of the BELMOT Oldtimer-Grand-Prix — considerably more than the year before, helped by three days of the best summer weather. Over 500 racing cars were out on track across roughly two dozen races, demonstration runs and parade laps. For BMW fans it was a special vintage: the M3 celebrated its 40th birthday, BMW Classic presented an entirely new track format, and Schnitzer Motorsport got a stage that went far beyond a simple vehicle presentation.
Nine decades on 4.6 kilometres
The fascination of the OGP arises from its rhythm. No sooner has a pre-war sports car left the track than a Formula 1 car from the Cosworth era rolls out, followed by a Group 5 turbo, then a prototype from the 2000s. The eras don’t line up neatly one after another — they overtake each other. That’s exactly what sets the Nürburgring date apart from a static exhibition: here the cars aren’t preserved by being kept still, but by being made to work.
The 2026 programme at a glance:
| Class / Format | Vehicles | Remark |
|---|---|---|
| Vintage Sports Car Trophy | Pre-war sports cars | Time on Track, including the Mercedes-Benz 680 S from Rudolf Caracciola’s win in the opening race of 1927 |
| HGPCA races | Grand Prix cars from the front-engine and early rear-engine era | Nine Maseratis announced, including several 250F |
| Formula Heritage (new) | Formula 3, 2, 1, 3000 and 5000 from the 70s to 90s | Time-on-Track premiere, including the Embassy Hill GH1/3 from the 1975 German GP |
| Evening race | Two-seater racing cars and GTs up to 1960/61 | 41 vehicles, start at dusk, closing with balloon glow and fireworks |
| DRM Revival | Deutsche Rennsport-Meisterschaft, Group 5 and two-litre | BMW territory: M1 Procar, BMW 2002, BMW 320, plus turbo Capri, Porsche 935, Opel Manta |
| Touring Cars Golden Era | DTM and related series of the 80s and 90s | BMW M3 E30 and E36 M3 GTR against Ford Sierra RS500 and co. |
| Super Touring Revival | Two-litre super touring cars of the 90s | High-revving four-cylinders from BMW, Opel and Audi |
| Class One Revival (new) | DTM cars from the Class 1 era, 1993 to 2020 | Presented by BMW Classic, Time-on-Track format |
| Historic Championship ’65 / ’81 | GT, touring cars, sports cars — counting towards the DAHM | Sprint races with very close margins |
| Interwetten Sports Cars Challenge (new) | Sports cars and prototypes up to the more recent past | Debut at the OGP, one-two finish for Christian Klien |
| Golden Era Classic Cup | Historic Porsche Cup cars | Season highlight of the second Cup season |
| Trophy Race for Ferrari Cars | Ferrari racing cars up to GT2 and GT3 | Wins for the 488 GT3 Evo and 458 GT3 |
| GrabTheFlag! | Historic racing motorcycles up to model year 1985 | Guest of honour: motorcycle legend Helmut Dähne |
The anniversary car: 40 years of BMW M3
In 1986 BMW launched the M3 based on the E30 — a homologation car for Group A, built to win races, and which along the way became arguably the marque’s most successful touring car model line. Four decades later, this very car formed the bracket of the OGP weekend — what the organiser had announced beforehand can be found in our preview.
In the Mercedes-AMG Arena, the organisers, together with BMW Classic and the international BMW brand clubs, staged the TOP brand club meeting, at the centre of which stood the M3 anniversary. The presentation of up to 150 vehicles had been announced — from early E30s from 1986 to current generations, including runs on the Nordschleife. Owners could take part via the invited BMW clubs. Anyone wanting to see the M3’s development line not in a book but in a row of real cars had three days to do so here.
Class One Revival: Alzen in his own winning car
The most exciting white-and-blue item on the programme was a premiere. The Class One Revival, presented by BMW Classic, brought DTM cars from the Class 1 era and subsequent generations onto the Grand Prix circuit as a Time-on-Track format — not a race, but demonstration runs at full pace.
The eye-catcher was the BMW M3 GT2 on E92 basis from Schnitzer Motorsport, the car that won the 24 Hours at the Nürburgring in 2010. At the wheel sat Uwe Alzen — and he had won with this very car at the time: together with Jörg Müller, Augusto Farfus and Pedro Lamy he brought car number 25 to the finish after 154 laps, despite radiator and gearbox problems. It was Schnitzer’s fifth overall 24h victory and BMW’s 19th in the Eifel. Such constellations — original car, original driver, original track — are the exception even at the OGP.
The field was rounded out by Bruno Spengler’s 2012 DTM championship-winning car, driven by Dirk Adorf. Spengler took the first DTM title after BMW’s return to the series with that car.
Schnitzer Classic: a workshop as narrative
The most emotional part of the weekend didn’t take place on the track. Schnitzer Classic paid tribute to the life’s work of Herbert Schnitzer, who died this year, and to the legacy of Schnitzer Motorsport. On display were cars that had written motorsport history: the Schnitzer BMW 2002 turbo, a Group A BMW 635 and the M3 GT2.
There were also talk sessions in which podcaster Karsten Arndt spoke with drivers and companions about decades of Schnitzer motorsport — with Altfrid Heger, Kris Nissen, Leopold Prinz von Bayern, Herbert Schnitzer Jr. and Uwe Alzen. The sessions were very well received by visitors and participants alike; recordings will appear on YouTube after the race weekend. Anyone wanting to know how a family business from Freilassing became the most successful team in 24h history will find more substance there than in any data sheet.
Where the BMWs were on track
Unlike a modern works championship, the OGP is contested almost exclusively by private owners and specialised historic racing teams. There are only a few ‘teams’ in today’s sense — with Schnitzer Motorsport as the prominent exception, whose cars featured in the Class One Revival and in the presentation. The following overview summarises the documented BMW entries; the full entry list is maintained by the organiser.
| Class | Vehicle | Driver / entry | Result / role |
|---|---|---|---|
| DRM Revival | BMW M1 Procar | Michael Kammermann | Winner of both races |
| DRM Revival | BMW M1 Procar | Roger Waber | Second in each — two M1 one-two finishes |
| DRM Revival | BMW 2002 and BMW 320 (Group 5 and two-litre respectively) | various private entrants | Part of the Group 5 field |
| Touring Cars Golden Era | BMW M3 E30 | Kris Nissen | Win on Sunday, 0.308 s margin |
| Touring Cars Golden Era | BMW M3 GTR (E36) | Erik Qvick | Second on Sunday |
| Touring Cars Golden Era | BMW 635 CSi Group A | Altfrid Heger | Announced in the entry list |
| Super Touring Revival | BMW two-litre super touring car | various private entrants | Field with BMW, Opel and Audi |
| Class One Revival | BMW M3 GT2 (E92), Schnitzer Motorsport | Uwe Alzen | Overall winner, 24h Nürburgring 2010 |
| Class One Revival | BMW M3 DTM, Bruno Spengler’s 2012 championship car | Dirk Adorf | Time-on-Track presentation |
| Schnitzer Classic presentation | BMW 2002 turbo, Group A BMW 635, BMW M3 GT2 | Static display and talk sessions | Tribute to Herbert Schnitzer |
The duel of the weekend
On Sunday, the Touring Cars Golden Era delivered the race that everyone talked about afterwards. Kris Nissen — himself a 24h winner in the Schnitzer M3 E30 in 1991 — won in the BMW M3 E30 ahead of Erik Qvick in the BMW M3 GTR on E36 basis. The margin: 0.308 seconds. Two M3 generations, separated by eight years of development, separated at the finish by three tenths. The day before, Roland and Sebastian Asch had taken the race in the Ford Sierra RS500 — the old Group A rivalry, as sharp as ever.
The M1 as crowd magnet
In the DRM Revival, Michael Kammermann dominated both races in the BMW M1 Procar, with Roger Waber in the second M1 completing the one-two finish each time. The M1 is more than a beautiful silhouette here: a 3.5-litre inline six-cylinder, no electronic aids whatsoever, a car that demands something physical of its driver. From the outside it looks effortless. From the inside it’s hard work — and it’s exactly this discrepancy that makes historic motorsport worth watching.
What BMW classic enthusiasts can take from it
Hubertus Graf Dönhoff, on whose initiative the Oldtimer-Grand-Prix was founded in the 1970s and who once again organised the evening race in 2026, highlighted a point that reaches far beyond the Nürburgring: the generational handover is increasingly succeeding because owners are entrusting their valuable cars to younger drivers. Only in this way, he said, can historic motorsport remain alive.
For the classic car scene, that’s the real message of the weekend. An E30 M3 standing in a dry garage is an asset. An E30 M3 fighting over three tenths on a Sunday afternoon is motorsport history in the present tense. Christian Klien, who won both races of the new Interwetten Sports Cars Challenge, summed up the OGP’s appeal in a simple formula: here everything is ‘close enough to touch’ — everyone connects certain cars with their own memories, and everyone is there for the same reason: passion for motorsport.
Conclusion
For an audience with a white-and-blue focus, the 53rd OGP was one of the most rewarding vintages of recent years. The M3 anniversary was not a bolted-on marketing theme, but ran credibly through the entire weekend: as a club meeting in the AMG Arena, as racing action in the Touring Cars Golden Era, as a demonstration format in the Class One Revival, and as an act of remembrance at Schnitzer Classic. That it was Uwe Alzen of all people who drove the 2010 winning car again was a moment this editorial team couldn’t have scripted better.
One critical note remains: the Class One Revival was a demonstration format, not a race. Anyone wanting to see the Class 1 machines go head-to-head will have to wait a while longer. And the new formats — Formula Heritage, Interwetten Sports Cars Challenge — noticeably shift the OGP towards more recent vehicles. That opens up new audiences, but costs track time that used to belong to the pre-war and sixties classes. For BMW classics from the Neue Klasse onwards, this shift is more of an advantage.
Bottom line: 43,000 visitors, full entry lists, a satisfied organiser, and a title partner who has extended through 2029. The OGP stands on solid ground — and in 2026 showed that it can not only display BMW history, but tell it.
Outlook: the 54th OGP in the anniversary year
The 54th BELMOT Oldtimer-Grand-Prix has been announced for 13 to 15 August 2027. The date carries special significance: in 2027 the Nürburgring celebrates its 100th birthday. The organiser has announced plans to mark the anniversary appropriately as the track’s biggest classic event — including hints at possible programme changes. For anyone planning their year, that means: accredit early, book early.
Sources
State of research: 14 August 2026. All information according to the publications listed below; results without guarantee.
[1] BELMOT Oldtimer-Grand-Prix, closing statement ‘Strong premieres and great classics’ of 9 August 2026 — https://oldtimergrandprix.com/2026/08/09/starke-premieren-und-grosse-klassiker-positive-bilanz-fuer-den-belmot-oldtimer-grand-prix/
[2] Oldtimer-Grand-Prix, visitor and programme information for the 53rd OGP (M3 anniversary, TOP brand club meeting, 2027 date) — https://oldtimergrandprix.com/besucher/
[3] Pitlane News, race report ‘BELMOT Oldtimer-Grand-Prix 2026’ of 11 August 2026 (results DRM Revival, Touring Cars Golden Era, evening race) — https://www.pitlane-news.com/belmot-oldtimer-grand-prix-2026/
[4] Motorsport XL, ‘OGP 2026: racing, rarities and Ring feeling’ (Class One Revival, entry lists) — https://www.motorsport-xl.de/news/2026/Automobilsport/OGP-2026-Rennsport-Raritaeten-und-Ring-Feeling-59974.html
[5] Motorsport XL, ‘Oldtimer-Grand-Prix with many highlights at the Nürburgring’ (Schnitzer Classic, BMW Classic) — https://www.motorsport-xl.de/news/2026/Automobilsport/Oldtimer-Grand-Prix-mit-vielen-Hoehenpunkten-auf-dem-Nuerburgring-59656.html
[6] Nürburgring, news section on the BELMOT Oldtimer-Grand-Prix 2026 — https://nuerburgring.de/news/categories/avd-oldtimer-grand-prix
[7] Rheinische Anzeigenblätter, report on the 53rd BELMOT Oldtimer-Grand-Prix — https://www.rheinische-anzeigenblaetter.de/pulheim/c-nachrichten/53belmot-oldtimer-grand-prix_a377259
[8] AUTO BILD and bmwblog, result and driver line-up 24h Nürburgring 2010 (BMW M3 GT2, car number 25) — https://www.autobild.de/artikel/endstand-24-stunden-rennen-2010-1181050.html
[9] ADAC RAVENOL 24h Nürburgring, history of Schnitzer Motorsport and BMW M3 — https://24h-rennen.de/bmw-schnitzer-die-rueckkehr-der-rekordsieger
Bildnachweise
- Lizenziert · Bassaar · CC BY-SA 4.0