Residents of Port Macquarie are well aware of Andrew Miedecke’s connection with Mercedes-Benz. Those wanting to park a three-pointed star in their driveway know to head to the Mercedes-Benz dealership the racing car driver runs with his son, but few are aware they’re buying a car from ‘Mad Andy’. 

It’s a nickname Andrew – who is actually very affable and not mad in the slightest – earned in the early days of his racing career, thanks to his hard-charging style, which brought plenty of success but also a few spectacular accidents.

This is the story of Andrew's racing debut alongside some of the most significant names in motorsport history – and his reunion with his Bathurst race car from the 1980s. Decades on, that reunion came full circle at Mount Cotton racetrack in Queensland as part of the Mercedes-Benz ‘140 Years. 140 Places.’ drive – which is connecting 140 destinations across six continents to mark 140 years since Carl Benz patented the world’s first automobile.

From Tasmania to touring cars

Having grown up in northern Tasmania, Andrew began his racing career in single-seaters with dreams of joining the Formula 1® grid. A stint in England racing Formula 3 didn’t work out, but there were plenty of trophies in the Asia-Pacific region. 

After a crash in New Zealand in 1979, Andrew realised his F1® dream was over. He changed direction, establishing a car dealership business in Port Macquarie and later made his move to the touring car circuit. 

In 1986, Andrew was asked by motor-racing legend and former Bathurst winner Bob Jane to drive one of two Mercedes-Benz 190 Es he had brought over for the 1986 James Hardie 1000. The cars – powered by Cosworth engines – were to be run by RSM Marko, the team founded by 1971 Le Mans 24 Hours winner Dr Helmut Marko, with assistance from Hans-Werner Aufrecht – the ‘A’ in Mercedes-AMG. 

The plan was to pair two European drivers with two Australasian drivers for the race. Young German driver Jorg Van Ommen and Austrian gold medal-winning skier-turned-racing driver Franz Klammer were joined by New Zealander and 1967 F1® World Champion Denny Hulme, with Andrew rounding out the four-driver line-up. 

Andrew had originally been down to share the #41 car with Denny, before a late change of plans put him alongside Jorg instead. 

Their race was over almost as soon as it began – an accident at Murray’s Corner, the final bend of the Mount Panorama circuit, ended their run on the first lap. The other car fared far better, with Denny and Franz bringing it home in an impressive ninth outright. 

Despite the result, the 190 E impressed Andrew. “Its pluses are unbelievable agility,” he tells us. “The basic suspension design is still used in this race car and the roadholding is terrific, and the bodywork is designed to have, if not downforce, no lift – you can tell the difference going down Conrod Straight at Bathurst. There’s a hump there that normally cars would take off; this car just sat on the road. 

“It wasn’t as fast as the V8s up the hill, but man, we could make their lives hard over the top of the hill and back down.”“It wasn’t as fast as the V8s up the hill, but man, we could make their lives hard over the top of the hill and back down.” 

A fortnight later, the 190 Es lined up again at Calder Park for the Sun Pacific 300 – Andrew’s first real chance to put racing laps on the board in the car. By the following season, ownership of the cars had passed to Phil Ward and Llynden

Riethmuller, who went on to campaign the pair in a variety of championships through the late 1980s, before they were sold again in 1996.

Restoration of the Bathurst racer

The 190 Es effectively disappeared until 2012, when they were discovered gathering dust in a warehouse in America.

Andrew and fellow Mercedes-Benz dealer Meon Nehrybecki bought a car each and arranged for them to be returned to Australia – though they were a long way from their former glory.

Since Andrew had last taken the wheel in 1986, his car had been modified for various championships, so it needed plenty of care to get it back to its best. The restoration was handed to Phil Ward, the man who had purchased it 25 years earlier, with the 190 E returned to its black, gold and red 1986 livery and displayed at Motorclassica 2019. 

“I really bought the car back because I had fond memories,” Andrew said at the time. “Bathurst 1986 was my first-ever touring car race, and my first drive at Bathurst, having raced only single-seaters. It was an opportunity for me to meet Denny Hulme, and we became good friends.”

Full circle at Mount Cotton racetrack

To complete the story, Andrew needed to get back behind the wheel. Since the Bathurst racer’s restoration, he has performed demonstration runs at events including the Adelaide Motorsport Festival. Its most recent outing was at the Mount Cotton driver training facility in Queensland – the final stop on the Mercedes-Benz '140 Years. 140 Places.' tour of Australia.

With the engine singing and a smile on his face, Andy is anything but mad.