The Classic Days, first for years at Schloss Dyck in Jüchen, then twice in Düsseldorf in the ‘Green Park’, will return in 2025. After a year of an involuntary pit stop, it’s back to ‘Gentlemen start your engines’ on the first weekend in August.
I’m very happy about this and it’s great that the automotive summer will once again be enriched by another attraction.
For me personally, the Classic Days have been an important part of my annual photographic journey through the world of classic cars for well over a decade. I associate many memories and stories with the Classic Days. I have seen countless special vehicles from many decades there and experienced them on the circuit. I was able to meet famous drivers there. I particularly remember the personal conversations with Hans Herrmann and Sir Stirling Moss. Both are real gentlemen, down-to-earth and extremely friendly. And both of them took great pleasure in viewing and signing my pictures.
So many rare and extremely valuable classic cars were presented there that it would take days to write a list. I missed the first edition of the Classic Days, but from the second I was always there. And one day I was accepted into the illustrious circle of official Classic Days photographers, which is of course an honour but also an obligation. But at this annual event, nobody needed to look for special motifs, it was rather difficult to discipline oneself and choose the best from the many possibilities.
The fact that such an almost privately organised event is still possible at all in Germany is solely due to the perseverance of Marcus Herfort and his team. Last year there were seemingly insurmountable obstacles on the part of the authorities. I’m sure many people thought that was it for the Classic Days and, to be honest, I wasn’t one hundred per cent convinced that it would go ahead again. So I’m all the more pleased. It’s just great when perseverance and enthusiasm pay off in the end.
The years at Schloss Dyck were of course very special. Schloss Dyck with its wonderful English parkland with its diverse and rare tree population, the incredibly beautifully laid out small gardens, the colourful flowerbeds that were in full bloom in August and, of course, the moated castle with the stronghold and two outer castles formed a unique backdrop for a garden party with classic cars. From 2006 – 2021, the Classic Days were a permanent fixture in the annual calendar of events at Schloss Dyck.
When the organisers came up with the idea of the Classic Days, they always had an event in mind that they would like to attend themselves. This is how the Classic Days became what they were and are, and they were also fondly referred to as German Goodwood. A meeting of like-minded people in a wonderful location with a family atmosphere. The festival grew bigger and more professional over the years, which sometimes caused the charm of the beginnings to fade somewhat, but it was essential to grow and establish itself further.
This was followed in 2022 by the move to and the new start in Düsseldorf in the ‘Green Park’. I think many friends, participants and visitors of the Classic Days were rather sceptical about the location, after all a simple trade fair car park one would think. But I was wrong, the name Green Park fitted perfectly, countless trees provided welcome shade on this very hot August weekend in 2022. The organisers had succeeded in creating an atmospheric ambience, perfectly staging the individual, much-loved areas such as Charm & Style. And the best aspect for me and perhaps also for the spectators was the circuit that now ran through the centre of the grounds and could be seen from many places. This possibility did not exist in this form at the castle.
The Classic Days in Green Park in 2022 were absolutely outstanding, perfectly organised and with plenty of action on the circuit. As photographers, we had to rethink a little, as the classic motifs such as the sycamore avenue, the castle as a backdrop or the orangery peninsula were missing. However, we managed to take ‘new’ typical pictures – after all, it is a photographer’s job to show what is there and not to wish for other backgrounds or possibilities. So we all found our own views and perspectives that characterise the Classic Days in Green Park. It was a very exciting and challenging task to create a new look that matched the atmospheric appearance and represented the Classic Days in Green Park.
Over the years, the Classic Days have also been plagued by unexpected incidents from time to time. I believe it was the first edition where two valuable cars were stolen, including a Ferrari F40. Bernd Schneider once destroyed a McLaren Formula 1 racing car on a bale of straw after barely a hundred metres of driving, and once there was also an injured spectator. The safety requirements became ever more stringent and almost impossible to fulfil. It was quite funny when the police used their lasers to check the speed of the racing cars at the end of the two straights. Horst Lichter, the famous TV chef and self-confessed classic car fan and therefore a regular guest at the Classic Days, liked to drive the circuit far too fast, which sometimes caused quite a lot of trouble.
The opinion of some ‘concerned’ citizens that an event like this, where racing cars with a fuel consumption of 30 litres are driven, which are also loud, is ecologically difficult to justify and a little out of date, was certainly understandable. On the other hand, automotive development is a piece of cultural heritage that needs to be preserved and on which a large part of our prosperity rests.
The Classic Days 2025 will therefore once again start with a colourful and interesting mix. The new venue is Rittergut Birkhof, not far from Schloss Dyck, and so a historic setting has once again been found for the Classic Days. I’m sure it will be an appropriate one, the description on the Classic Days website reads really wonderfully.
Save the Date 01 – 03 August 2025 – don’t miss it. Find out more about our photographer Ralph Lüker.
