KLAUS Ludwig has a special place in Australian motorsport history, and now one of the key cars from his illustrious European career is heading Down Under.
In 1987, Ludwig became the first Bathurst rookie to take pole position for the Great Race, doing so aboard a Ford Sierra RS500 as the World Touring Car Championship took over Mount Panorama.
By that stage, the German ace was already a three-time 24 Hours of Le Mans winner, and he would subsequently add three DTM crowns as well.
The second of those, in 1992, was significant as Mercedes-Benz’s first in DTM.
That very car, a Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.5-16 Evolution II, is the latest machine confirmed to be attending the 2024 Adelaide Motorsport Festival on March 16-17.
The ex-Ludwig Group A rig is set to appear in a black and silver Sonax livery, with its four-cylinder engine capable of powering speeds nearing 300km/h.
It will be entered in Adelaide in the Invitational category.
Ludwig’s 1992 DTM triumph came in a field that included Formula 1 world champion Keke Rosberg and, for four races, Aussie motorcycle legend Wayne Gardner.
Gardner would later join Ludwig in the Bathurst 1000 polesitter’s club, blitzing a wet Top 10 Shootout in 2000.
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