Chilly weather is not to everybody’s taste but there are two huge advantages to a racing event for historic vehicles on ice: low tyre wear and “natural” cooling for engines running hot. At the weekend of 1 and 2 February 2020, the GP Ice Race will be held for the second time in the Austrian town of Zell am See. Motor-sport classics from different marques and derring-do drivers will battle together in enthralling duels on the frosty surface there. BMW Group Classic is taking part in the icy spectacle for the first time. Vehicles with a winner’s genetic makeup are being dispatched to the GP Ice Race 2020, including a first-generation BMW M3 which won the European Touring Car Hillclimb Championship twice before being converted to a successful rally vehicle, and a MINI ALL4 Racing, triumphant in the Dakar Rally in 2012. And the replica of the classic Mini Cooper S that created a sensation just a few weeks ago at the Coppa delle Alpi 2019 will also line up at the starting grid on the automotive ice rink in Zell am See.

The GP Ice Race is a tribute to the legendary racing events that were held on the town’s frozen lake in each of the winter seasons between 1937 and 1974 and attracted large numbers of spectators. The new edition will take place on a natural ice track at the old airfield where modern racing cars piloted by numerous celebrity drivers compete alongside youngtimers and classic cars to test their mettle in a setting with a wintry mountain backdrop. The event programme also includes skijoring, which is one of the precursors for ice racing in Zell am See. Daredevil skiers used to be pulled along over the icy track by galloping horses and later by motorcycles and cars.