Beyond the results, the season stood out for its mix of modern sports prototypes, historic racing cars and several high-profile names. Tens of thousands of spectators followed the SCC at some of Europe’s biggest historic motorsport events.
Hockenheim: Fink opens with a double victory
The season opener at the Jim Clark Revival at Hockenheim already offered a clear indication of what was to come. Marco Fink put his Nova Proto NP01 at the front in qualifying and went on to win both races.
Sven Barth in the Ginetta G61 and Michael Herich in the Duqueine completed the leading positions. Former Formula 1 driver Christian Klien, by contrast, endured a frustrating weekend. The Austrian was forced to retire his PRC WPR66 with technical problems on the opening lap of Saturday’s race, before a gearbox issue prevented him from even starting on Sunday.
Away from the pure sporting results, Hockenheim also made an early statement. Twenty-five cars took part in practice, while 18 made the grid for the first race after several technical retirements. Around 50,000 spectators attended the Jim Clark Revival.
Nürburgring: Klien takes the fight to Fink
At the Nürburgring, the duel that had failed to materialise at Hockenheim finally came to life. During the Oldtimer Grand Prix, Klien and Fink fought closely for overall victory on both days.
Klien prevailed in the first 30-minute race. Fink mounted another attack in the closing stages but finished 2.388 seconds behind the Austrian. Klaus Abbelen added a strong nostalgic element to the race by taking third overall and the Classic class victory in his historic Porsche 962C.
On Sunday, Klien once again crossed the finish line first. A post-race time penalty, however, dropped him to ninth place and handed the victory to Fink. Sven Barth underlined his consistency by finishing second overall, while Diego Romanini was another of the weekend’s standout performers thanks to his successes in Pro Division 2.
The atmosphere matched the quality of the racing: 43,000 spectators attended the 53rd Oldtimer Grand Prix, the event’s best crowd for several years.
Spielberg: Lauda surprises, Fink cleans up
The Red Bull Ring round attracted particular attention. Alongside Klien, Mathias Lauda also entered the event, marking his first race weekend since 2020. He immediately caused a surprise in qualifying by putting the PRC WPR66 on pole position.
The anticipated Austrian showdown was then ruined by technical problems. Lauda’s car suffered a loss of compression, ruling him out of both races. Klien was initially stopped by a shifting problem on Saturday, before a suspension failure prevented him from starting on Sunday.
Fink took full advantage and secured another double victory. Marco Werner produced an especially notable performance: the three-time Le Mans winner finished second in both races in a sports prototype around 26 years old and roughly 200 kilograms heavier than the leading machinery. Sven Barth was also back on the podium on Sunday in third place. Young Swede Emma Wigroth caught the eye as well with a strong recovery drive and an entertaining battle with Franz Konrad.
Spielberg also set a new benchmark in terms of attendance. A total of 20,500 spectators represented a record crowd for the Red Bull Ring Classics.
Brno: Fink ends the season with two more wins
At the season finale during the Masaryk Racing Days, Klien and Lauda were absent, but the situation at the front remained unchanged. Fink won Saturday’s race with a controlled lights-to-flag drive ahead of Barth. Just over one second separated the pair after 13 laps. Miro Konopka finished third and won the D5 class, while Adam Konopka followed in fourth as the D4-GTX winner.
On Sunday, there was once again no way past Fink. Adam Konopka made a spectacular start, charging from seventh to second, but Barth later worked his way back past him. A collision involving Jeremy Siffert and Miro Konopka, who had been leading the D5 class at the time, triggered a lengthy Safety Car period.
Even with his advantage wiped out, Fink remained completely composed. He controlled the restart and the final few minutes to complete another perfect double.
Fink stands out in a highly successful season
Seven wins from eight races made Fink the undisputed star of the four race weekends. Barth was one of the most consistent performers behind him, regularly appearing near the front, while Klien showed at the Nürburgring that, with reliable machinery, he could challenge Fink on equal terms.
Lauda’s pole position, Werner’s impressive performances and the blend of modern prototypes with historic machinery provided several additional highlights throughout the season.
The 2026 SCC campaign therefore ends as a clear success. Hockenheim, the Nürburgring and Spielberg alone attracted well over 100,000 motorsport fans to their respective events, while the Masaryk Racing Days in Brno provided a fitting finale. Different classes, famous drivers, technical drama, close battles and spectacular racing cars combined to make the four weekends a varied and entertaining motorsport package – with Marco Fink as the central figure of a season in which he was almost impossible to beat.
