HK-ENGINEERING

English translation of the German article: Bernd Hahne / Portrait by Leopold Wieland
HE WHO DANCES WITH THE GRIP
Caption: Bernd Hahne did not win a cup for his victory in the Mercedes 300 SL at the Nürburgring (large photo)
Somehow he seems to be the forgotten hero of the Oldtimer Grand Prix 2011 at the Nürburgring. Bernd Hahne (67) won the
overall ranking for two-seater racing cars and GT up to model year 1960/61 the weekend before last.
No, the event managers, the Automobilclub von Deutschland (German Automobile Association AvD) had not planned an award
ceremony for the overall winner. Worse still: the reports in „MOTORSPORT aktuell“ covering the event forgot to mention
Bernd Hahne‘s victory in the overall ranking for two-seater racing cars and GT up to model year 1960/61 which resulted from
the addition of the times clocked up during the two legs on Saturday and Sunday.
Magic moments in the 300 SL
Unlike his ever-critical older brother, the journalist Wilhelm Hahne (78), Bernd Hahne can laugh about these glitches. „That‘s
life,“ says the 67-year-old retired car salesman from Meerbusch near Düsseldorf, with the composure typical of people from the
Rhineland. He‘s still pleased, however, that the editors of MSa have decided to make up for their lapse and dedicate an article
to his victory. How did he manage this special victory then, without having been first past the chequered flag once with the
Mercedes 300 SL from HK-ENGINEERING?
„It was only thanks to the bad weather. I wouldn‘t have won anything if it hadn‘t rained on Saturday evening,“ admits Bernd
Hahne, and laughs again. The legendary 1955 Gullwing made available for the Oldtimer GP by the world‘s leading Mercedes-
Benz 300 SL restorer, Hans Kleissl, would have been „too heavy, too slow“ otherwise. With its 270 hp, three litre displacement
and top speed of 250 km/h, the 300 SL would have been easy prey for the Maserati T61, Austin Healey 3000 MK 1 and Ferrari
250 GT in dry conditions. Especially because the FIA rules valid for the Oldtimer Grand Prix at the Nürburgring state that
this Mercedes model can only enter the race with drum brakes rather than the more powerful and effective disc brakes allowed
for other historic races. In the cool, rainy conditions at the track, this technical disadvantage was more than compensated by a
human advantage: Bernd Hahne‘s gut feeling. „It seems like I have more of a feeling for the road than others in the rain,“ says
the experienced driver modestly, befitting the driver of such a classic car. From 17th to 6th in the first leg, then from 6th to 4th
in the second – at the end of the day that meant victory overall for the 56-year-old Mercedes 300 SL with Bernd Hahne at the
wheel– who, incidentally, has never been a professional driver, unlike his brothers Hubert (76) and Armin (54). Bernd Hahne
emphasises his motivation once again, „I just enjoy moving a car one hundred per cent at its limit.“ He is not at all interested in
historical Formula 1 racing cars from the 1970s or 1980s. Because „I would never be able to move such cars at their limit. That
wouldn‘t satisfy me.“ What he loves is to steer a tour car or a GT into the curve, let it drift at an angle to the crown and then get
the vehicle nose back straight again – in other words to drive rallye style, like his brother Hubert. He emphasises that driving at
and beyond the limit is the only way the Dunlop racing tyres used on classic racing cars get up to the right temperature and thus
develop optimum grip. That was the secret when the vehicles were new, and it‘s the secret now, too.
Grip champion Bernd Hahne will be hitting the track in Spa-Francorchamps and the Nürburgring again before the end of the
2011 season.
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