70-year-old pensioner from Germany broke into the championship in Moscow on a rare tractor in 1936 issue. What for?

"He who understands life does not hurry any more." I do not know if the honored German grandfather Hubert Wirth was reading the poetry of Omar Khayyam, but his way of life is absolutely in line with the philosophy indicated by the famous line of the Persian philosopher. A pensioner from the Bavarian town of Forchheim loves to travel, and as a means of transportation he uses an old German tractor Lanz Bulldog, which pulls a beer barrel on the wheels (in fact it is a converted mobile camper).

Before retiring, Hubert Wirth worked in the testing department of Mercedes-Benz on the development of both new and already produced models. In particular, he took part in the creation of such machines as W123, 190 (W201) and E-class (W210).

But why on the tractor? Herr Wirth on this question answers approximately so: say, I the pensioner, free time at me it is a lot of, and I like to look the world. But do not run, but with feeling, with sense, with alignment. And with stops every hundred kilometers. The old (but quite cheerful) Iron Bulldog can do no more than 20 km / h, so you will not get much done in a day. And do not want to particularly: a sociable German, he said, likes to make new acquaintances. With this there is no problem: his outstanding person, sitting behind the wheel of the pre-war mechanism, always evokes the greatest interest of the public. That's just how to communicate with Hubert, if in English grandfather does not speak in principle, let alone Russian?

From Germany, a tractor with a trailer has traveled a length of almost 2,5 thousand kilometers, digesting about 500 liters of diesel fuel. Travel to Russia from Hubert Virt lasted a whole month.

In Moscow, the tractor driver stopped at the campsite in Sokolniki, where I went to get acquainted with him and with his landmark tractor. The technique is really prettiest. To begin with, Lanz Bulldog is the most common tractor in the world. At one time it was so popular both in Germany and abroad, that the very name of the model for the Germans became a household word: they call all small tractors bulldogs. And the bulldog is interesting with its motor.

The controls, in general, do not differ from those on the car. On the ergonomics of speech does not go in principle. The steering wheel is used as an external starter: it is removed together with the shaft, inserted into the center of the flywheel and twisted - neatly, but strongly.

By the way, the pensioner did not limit himself to one "dog": the company on a trip to him usually also includes a coarse-tailed dachshund called Hex. Especially for her tractor was equipped with a special couch on the right hand of the driver. The dog's equanimity is surprising: Hexa has the super ability to sleep quite calmly on a wounded piece of iron that is shaking as there is urine.