18.04.2024Two Mercedes 190E piloted by two absolute Formula 1-legends

After Niki Lauda's terrible fire accident in 1976, Formula 1 decided not to hold any more races at the Nürburgring for safety reasons. What followed in order to bring the premier class of motorsport back to the Eifel was an extensive renovation, which resulted in today's significantly shortened Grand Prix circuit. To celebrate the opening of the new section of the track, an opening race was held in 1984 with the support of Mercedes, in which various Formula 1 legends such as Stirling Moss, Jack Brabham, Jody Scheckter and also Lauda's best-known rival James Hunt took part. Even Juan Manuel Fangio appeared at the Nürburgring, but decided not to take part in the race for health reasons. A total of 20 Mercedes 190 E 2.3-16s were converted for this purpose and, with the exception of Niki Lauda and Ayrton Senna's vehicles, were returned to their original condition after the race. The Minichamps label has limited these two Mercedes and released them exclusively for ck-modelcars and modelissimo. The 1:43 scale models have a high level of detail and are reminiscent of the last two remaining vehicles from the opening race at the Nürburgring. While Ayrton Senna's winning vehicle is limited to 600 units, Niki Lauda's model is limited to 400 units.

For Niki Lauda, the opening race at the Nürburgring, which was held under the name “Race of Champions”, was certainly very special. After his devastating accident on the Nordschleife, he returned to the track in the Eifel as a driver for the first time. The young Ayrton Senna had just competed in his debut race in Formula 1 a few weeks earlier and was still relatively unknown. Nevertheless, Senna immediately showed what talent he has behind the wheel when he won the opening race over twelve laps in light drizzle. And that even though Senna was only invited by the organizers as a gap-filler. The 20 vehicles available should only be reserved for Formula 1-world champions. However, when no 20 confirmations could be recorded from this site, replacements from the current season's Formula 1 driver field were invited. Lauda, who started the race from 14th place, was the only one that day who was able to keep up with Senna's pace and therefore crossed the finish line at the end of the race in second place, just 1.38 seconds behind Senna. A total of 100,000 people came to the Eifel that day to admire the race and the show program on offer.

In 2023, the Mercedes from Niki Lauda's opening race went under the hammer at an auction. The vehicle was owned by Hugo Boss boss Jochen Holy for several years and then belonged to the Iseli Collection in Switzerland. On September 15th, 2023, it was auctioned there by the well-known auction house RM Sotheby's. Due to the rarity of the vehicle, experts estimate that the auction value was between 400,000 and 500,000 euros. The vehicle with which Ayrton Senna started is in the Mercedes factory museum.

Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.3 #11 Winner opening race Nürburgring A. Senna 1:43, item-no.: 943035603, RRP €39.95

Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.3 #18 2nd opening race  Nürburgring N. Lauda 1:43, item-no.: 943035604, RRP €39.95

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	Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.3 #11 Winner Opening race Nürburgring A. Senna 1:43 Minichamps	35,95 €
	Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.3 #18 2nd opening race Nürburgring N. Lauda 1:43 Minichamps	35,95 €