Planai – Classic 2026 | Events

2 February 2026 Redazione Events, News

Words Andrea Balti / Photos Ennstal Classic

The old year ends with plenty of good intentions and the new one begins with a host of fantastic events. It’s always been that way. Seems now all of them have been united by a single factor capable of multiplying by a thousand the pleasure of enduring sub-zero temperatures: snow. A lot. Far more than has been seen in recent years, much to the delight of the entire tourism and hospitality sector, which once again thought it might have to curse global warming.

With the exception of the scorching Dakar desert, January is essentially synonymous with what is, in every respect, the most famous event of them all: the Rallye Monte-Carlo, both in its modern form and its historic revival. But there is another reality that has captured our attention and convinced everyone that it could be summed up in just a few words as a wonderful hybrid between the Rallye Monte-Carlo and the Mille Miglia. We are talking about the Planai–Classic, one of the events organized by Ennstal-Classic, a creation born in 1993 from journalist Helmut Zwickl and his friend Michael Glöckner.

The goal was to bring motorsport back to “the way it used to be”: real racing on real roads with pre-1976 historic cars. And so, from the 8th to the 10th of the first month of this new year, the twenty-ninth edition of the Planai-Classic got underway, delivering an authentic spectacle to crews and enthusiasts alike. Legendary icons — often pre-war cars — went head-to-head in a battle from another era, mostly sideways, making the most of the epic backdrop provided by the snow-covered Alps. Special stages were held both on track and on the road, including a night race, with the final day culminating on the historic Planai Straße: a mountain stretch meticulously prepared to offer a unique blend of technical challenge and breathtaking scenery.

The world of Ennstal-Classic — which will host its main event at the end of June — should be a fixed date on the calendar of every self-respecting enthusiast. The simple fact that the cars here are not polished to a shine but instead driven and pushed as they were intended to be decades ago is worth the inevitable cold, a guaranteed souvenir after a weekend spent among snow, bends and proper combustion engines. And then again some more snow.