For the first time the Classic Days took place in Düsseldorf. After a two year break due to the covid pandemic, the organization team of Marcus Herfort had to find a new place to keep this fine event alive and keep to a secure future. The location was found in Düsseldorf and is called „Green Park“, it is a part of the a parking area of the Düsseldorf exhibition center and the football arena.
The infrastructure is excellent, the airport nearby, enough parking area for the visitors and just a few minutes from a highway – perfect reachable with a car.
The name is not usual for a parking area but there are so many trees and gras on the ground – it is in fact a „Green Park“.
The organization team did a very good job at the new location. Every thing was new, also for me as a photographer. But such a change is always exciting and positive. New views, new backgrounds, new light conditions. And although the look was brand new there were a lot of familiar design and content – it was a Classic Days weekend with the Classic Days look and feeling.
The best thing about the new location was the layout of the track. It reminds me a bit to the Detroit GP circuit of the 1980’s. A few 90 degree corners and a very long straight with a slightly smooth flat out righthand corner and at both ends a hairpin. The track goes quite through the middle of the “Green Park”, so that the spectators could have a look at the action and the most fabulous cars surrounding the track from so many places.
The cars and of course the motorcycles of the demonstration grids were high-class, the most popular and the fastest one was of course the „David Piper“ Porsche 917, painted in green with white stripes. I am not quite sure if this is an original, but it looks and sounds great.
One of my personal highlights was a Mercedes Benz Avus SSKL Kompressor with 240 bhp. SSKL stands for Super-Sport-Kurz-Leicht. The design of the car was a bit like a whale, but „painted“ in silver the car looks great. And the lady at the passenger seat had big smile on her pretty face while holding her hat.
All known aspects of the former Classic Days were presented at the new place, the lovely heroes, Charme and Style, the camping area, the American cars like Buick and Cadillac, the racing legends, the clerk of the course and so on. There were also a lovely market place presenting stands with period cloth, memorabilia, books and much more but also a lot of very good food and drinking stands.
The weather was very good, a bit to hot, but very good. Only the loud airplanes landing nearly all five minutes were not so pleasant. But this is okay – the Classic Days Düsseldorf was a pretty good event, which will further improve over the next years. I hope this event will stay in Düsseldorf – in my hometown. Don’t miss it next year, at the first weekend of August 2023 you can visit the next „Green Park Classic Days. Find out more about our photographer Ralph Lüker.
