Bernina Gran Turismo: Hans Stuck’s Tips for Winning – Or Not?

I’m a little nervous – I have to drive the Audi quattro around the Bernina Gran Turismo 2026 course on the Roarington simulator. I’ve done a few practice runs but I don’t feel confident I can recognise every corner of the 5.7-kilometre circuit. I’m a decent driver, but I could use a little more guidance.

Every table is taken. There’s only one free, in a corner, occupied by an elderly gentleman – lean, with an aristocratic air, dressed in a curious manner: trousers tapered at the ankle, ankle boots, and a windbreaker, equally close-fitting, very different from what people wear today. "May I sit down?" "Please do," he says gently, in German, and adds: "I’m here waiting to be collected and taken to the Bernina Gran Turismo course. I arrived early – at my age one always fears being late."

The original Bernina Gran Turismo course was 16 kilometres long, on unpaved road of course, running from Poschiavo to the Bernina Pass. It was used in 1929 and 1930.

"Bernina Gran Turismo?" I ask him. "Are you also doing the race on the simulator?" The elderly gentleman looks puzzled. "Simulator? What would that be? I’m doing it in my Austro-Daimler ADM-R, six-cylinder 3000, with which I won the first Bernina Mountain Race."

I’m momentarily stunned. "Won it? But is yours four-wheel drive, like my Audi?" The aristocratic old driver looks at me in surprise. "Four-wheel drive? I drive by letting the rear wheels slide and controlling the car with complete precision. I’ve won several European mountain championships – I can’t even remember how many – driving that way. What does one need four-wheel drive for?"

The cars of that era, such as the Austro-Daimler ADM-R that won the 1929 Bernina Mountain Race with Hans Stuck at the wheel, demanded a refined driving technique, keeping the rear end ‘floating’.

I try to explain that the grip is perfect and that the Audi won every kind of race that way. He gives me a sideways look. "On a dirt road I control my hundred horsepower exactly as I please…" I interrupt him: "…but we race on asphalt." "Asphalt? The Bernina Gran Turismo is not on asphalt. There are no barriers along the road, and the ravines on the way up to the Pass are no joke. You risk your life. I know – I raced and won in the Grands Prix as well, with the Auto Union 16-cylinder, mid-engined. Racing demands courage… are you certain you want to enter?" he asks. And then continues: "I am Hans Stuck, and I know what it means to be a racing driver…"

Hans Stuck raced and won in the Grands Prix as well, driving the Auto Union 16-cylinder mid-engined car in the 1930s.

I feel a hand on my shoulder. I open my eyes and realise I’ve fallen asleep. "It’s almost your turn – the simulator is ready and the Audi quattro is waiting for you."

I turn around. I’m alone. I had got something wrong – or rather, yes, I had got the century wrong. Hans Stuck won here at the Bernina in 1929. Now it’s 2026. Courage: I can’t let myself down after that magical encounter. The time to beat is 3:42.86. I have to do it.

Behind the wheel of the Audi quattro on the Roarington simulator, intense concentration and precision are required to post competitive times. After completing the virtual driving experience, it is striking to think how Hans Stuck achieved his feats almost a century ago.