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OTW Spring Tethered Car Tour 2026

Not so much a tour as a 'There and Back'

Kapfenhardt

Schwarzwald Wanderpreis

Well, with the late cancellation of the Basel Tell race, it was jut a there and back, hardly a tour? A very long thrash across Northern France (oh, I do love Autoroutes after the chaos of the UK motorways) and in to the Black Forest and a situation we had not expected. We have mentioned in the past how the RGS was short on help so we expected to do our normal stint, Only to find a completely new regime in place. Frank Wadle, Roland Volker and Frank's wife had spent several weeks previously preparing the site and with the council completing all the mowing on Tuesday and Wednesday, the whole area looked a treat.

Noticeable changes, no more 'on site catering' just a very large fridge, a coffee machine and an honesty box. External caterers supplied hot midday meals on Saturday and Sunday, so our only contribution was to watch it all happen. Something else that caused much comment was that for the first time since we have been attending was that it was entirely dry for the whole race period, but it just kept getting hotter and hotter so the fridge did a roaring trade.

A sad indication of the current trend is that the entry was lowest for many years, just 68 entries in total. In discussion it appears that this is almost entirely down to financial considerations, days off work, flights, car hire, hotels, it all wracks up!

A few problems with the timing equipment that Christoph had to work well in to the night to solve meant training did not start until mid afternoon and not too many takers apart from the Girnth's who seemed determined to wear out as many engines as possible.

And so to the racing and a certain inevitability about Class 1 as Rain Teder informed us that he had achieved 25 consecutive class wins as well as consecutive championships, and he did not disappoint with 257.073 kph straight off. Even Lembit Vaher could not get within 8km of him and Gyorgyi Bondor was a further 9km slower, nearly 20kmh between 1^st and 3^rd.

Class 2 started with a sparkling run from Gyorgyi at 274kph ,whilst German record holder Manu Finn who also did much of the horsing had the slowest run of the first round. He more than made up for this in round 2 with a 275kph, knocking Gyorgyi of the top step. Uku Sermann was a distant third, just ahead of Lembit.

Class 3 equalled the 10s as the largest class with 17 entries. We had heard of some superb runs by Pavlo Yunash including breaking the Pila track record earlier in the season. Hi first run was true to form at 291.633, narrowly missing the Kapfenhardt track record. No one in the first round got within 10kph of him and the next nearest 19kp away. It all tightened up a bit in the second round with Andreas Kestenholz and Daniela Schmutz both recording 284s, not enough to trouble Pavlo but sufficient for 2^nd and 3^rd on the podium.


Pavlo Yunash	His aptly named car. Smolnikov Nova motor.

With the much reduced entry there was plenty of time for a two hour plus lunch break with food supplied by outside caterers. It was seriously hot so we retreated to the cool of the hotel room for a cheese and ham roll and a Stella before facing the heat again.

Class 4 is always a bit of a nervous time for me, as my car, if it goes, is always in with a shout. Straight off Gabor Peto set a very strong marker at 300.754, so a cautious run saw me in 2^nd place after the first round. Lots of fast cars on the list so held off pressing the button for a bit longer for a 294kph, just ahead of Michael Schmutz with his Jan-Erik Falk car. Nothing to do but wait with a couple of 293s to make me nervous before Thomas Finn put in a 296 to demote me to third, but still on the podium.

Instead of wine, this year Christoph had commissioned a series of enamelled medals celebrating the formation of the RGS and DMMC.

Class 5, and for once Tonu Sepp did not lead after the first round with Taduesz Koronka having recorded 329kph. Tonu came back in round 2 at 335kph to take first place, with Michel Duran third at 326. During round 2 another odd incident occurred that did not please one competitor. All totally legal for a second car to be run in the name of a wife, girlfriend or partner, but it is the degree of involvement by the entrant that caused the problems, In this case the car was not shut off by the owner, but the person running the car. The shut-off seemed not to work as the car continued on its way, destroying much of the brush in the process. Eventually it stopped, but was disqualified, much to the annoyance of the entrant, and I suspect a severe ear-wigging for the person running it. One suspects a bit of blame transference went on as the titular runner of the car was a very unhappy bunny.


All the gear?	Cheerful Italian Contingent but not too much luck

Class 3B was very thin and despite the most training of anyone, the Girnth's could not get their cars to perform, so it was down to the Pohjakas brothers to take first and second.

Some good news, for FEMA runners at least, as there are now supplies of tyres from 1.5cc upwards freely available from both Augustyn Vegera and Urs Bach. Urs has a complete range and Augustyn for a variety of classes. Other sources are also available.

Something else that was noteworthy and remarked upon by Christoph Rabeseifner was that the presentation was ready just 15 minutes after the end of racing.

So repack the car, and then the seemingly interminable drag back across France only to be met with a two hour delay at Le Shuttle where we sat in the assembly area in 33C and little information about what was going on. Getting on to the train at last was never more welcome.


Class 1 Rain Teder Lembit Vaher Gyorgyi Bondor	Class 2 Manuel Finn Gyorgyi Bondor Uku Sermann	Class 3 Pavlo Yunash Andreas Kestenholtz Daniela Schmutz


Class 4 Gabor Peto Thomas Finn Hugh Blowers	Class 5 Tonu Sepp Tadeusz Koronka Michel Duran	Schwarzwald Wanderpreis Estonia