ADAC Eifel Rally Festival: A journey through rally history

• Three World Rally Champions and international title-holders in the VIP lounge
• Certified ‘Quertreiber’ in the lead car group.
• Advance sales for tickets and programmes are now open
  
  

Things are set to get exciting at the Eifel Rallye Festival (July 23rd to 25th, 2026) around Daun in the Vulkaneifel. Once again this year, the line-up of vehicles underlines the event’s reputation as Europe’s largest rolling rally museum. Over one hundred and sixty rally cars, all either originals or faithful replicas, will be taking part under the motto ‘To the 60s and Back’. Following the lead cars – eleven selected and certified ‘drifters’ – come the drivers of the VIP lounge, packed with three World Rally Champions and international title-holders. The parade in honour of his eightieth birthday will be led by the man of the hour himself, Stig Blomqvist. Together with Lothar Bökamp, he will kick off a procession of cars he has driven during his sixty year career by first appearing in the RSCC Distomo, a current rally prototype based of the concept of the banished Group S and the Ford RS200. Leading his historical line-up are three Saabs, the oldest being a 1996 Sport Monte Carlo, just as Blomqvist drove in the 1965 Swedish Championship. Peter Schlömer and Ricki Schmitt lead the Talbot Sunbeam Lotus trio, celebrating the 1981 Manufacturers’ World Rally Championship title.

A unique Group B show

The journey back to the 1960s begins with a 2004 Ford Focus RS WRC which, as a contrast, is later followed by a 1962 Ford Anglia 105E. Then comes one of the absolute highlights of the Festival – all the ‘big players’ of the Group B era. For the first time, they are all gathered in one place – not in an exhibition, but in action in their natural habitat, on the demonstration tracks of the Vulkaneifel. “This experience is truly unique; I’m not sure if we will ever manage to get all these cars driving in one place again. A big thank you already to the car owners who are making this show possible,” says Reinhard Klein, the head of Slowly Sideways, as he looks forward to this Group B parade. The parade comprises sixteen different cars, some of which are otherwise only on static display in museums. The line-up ranges from the Nissan 240RS to the Manta 400, Porsche 911 SCRS, Lancia Rally 037 and Delta S4, the Audi Quattro in three specifications, the Peugeot 205 in two variants, and so on, right through to the Citroën BX4TC. A further twenty Group B cars from one of the most exciting periods in rallying history will also be on the road through the Festival stages.

With Oliver and Marc Hermans in their Trabant 800RS, the journey back to the modern era begins. Passing through the classic Group 1, 2 and 4 cars and the GT cars of the 1970s and 1980s, this journey through time takes us via Group A into the more recent past to finish with the WRC cars. Group N is well represented, as are kit cars, S1600s and current R5 cars.

Three World Rally Champions and international title-holders occupy the VIP lounge

Stig Blomqvist, the 1984 World Rally Champion, is already a regular at Daun. Nicky Grist (who won the WRC title in 1993 with Juha Kankkunen) has also been taking an opportunity to hone his driving skills at Daun for some years. New to the World Rally Championship line-up in Daun is Seppo Harjanne, who stood at the top of the WRC podium in 1985 with Timo Salonen and again in 1996 and 1997 with Tommi Mäkinen. Here, the Finn will be sitting alongside Safari legend Mike Kirkland. All-rounder Mark Duez, hill-climb legend Bruno Ianniello, Beetle specialist Herbert Grünsteidl and Safari Classic winner Ryan Champion are also welcome guests this year. Kalle Grundel leads the line-up of German title-holders, joining Harald Demuth, Georg Berlandy and Ruben Zeltner.

Extrovert ‘drivers’ in the lead car group

In the lead car group – where vehicles do not have to comply with the strict rules of the main field – one thing above all is essential. The teams must get the fans in the right mood for the rest of the event with their spectacular driving. This is particularly important because many of the vehicles in the main field are irreplaceable originals. And their drivers consequently have to adapt their driving style to this fact, as well as always bearing in mind the often hopeless situation of the spare parts market. These ‘Quertreiber’ [troublemakers] are led by Nikolaus ‘Niki’ Schelle in the ‘Schreihals’ [loudmouth] Suzuki Ignis S1600, followed by Sascha Winter and two Danish champions, Kim Boisen and John Frederiksen, in their BMWs. The Belgians Yannik Neuville and Markus Meyer have already impressively demonstrated their entertainment skills in their Toyota Starlet while Christoph Kreutz in the GT86 and Björn Satorius in the latest GR Yaris Rally2 complete the Toyota line-up. Willi Bus is bringing his Golf 1 GTI to the stages, whilst the Austrian Reini Sampl is always a visual and auditory highlight in his Audi Quattro. Circuit racing professional, Lance David Arnold, six times on the podium for the 24-Hours of the Nürburgring and also known as a tester of sports and racing cars for Auto Mobil – the VOX motoring magazine – was in Daun last year as a spectator. “I was absolutely blown away when I saw the line-up of cars and experienced the atmosphere in the service park. From that moment on, I knew I had to compete here. It’s going to be a massive show,” says Arnold, looking forward to his rally debut.

ERF special tours at the Toyota Racing Museum

If you’re looking for another highlight on your way to the Eifel Rallye Festival, you might find it in Cologne. Especially for fans of the Festival, ERF’s partner Toyota, is offering two special tours at the Toyota Racing Museum. These will take place on Wednesday, July 22nd, 2026, at 3.00 pm and 5.00 pm. The tours will be led by former World Championship mechanic John Day, who will provide insights into Toyota’s rich motorsport history. Here is the link to the tickets: https://www.eventim-light.com/de/a/63fdb9b39cbd7a7e056cdac6

Advance sales of programmes and tickets are now open.

Advance sales for the programmes and tickets have begun. Details and the local sales points (those function from mid-July) are published on our website (https://eifel-rallye-festival.de/tickets/). Advance sales are handled via Michael Funke’s Rally Fanshop. Orders will be dispatched in early July, in good time before the Festival. Here is the link to the fanshop: https://www.rallye-fanshop.com/Eifel-Rallye-Festival/

The Eifel Rallye Festival – Schedule

Thursday, July 23rd, 2026 (all events in the Rally Mile, central Daun)

From 2.30 pm          Public scrutineering with presentation of the cars

From 6.30 pm          Autograph session

From 8.30 pm          Welcome evening

                             Open-air rally cinema with cult filmmaker, Helmut Deimel

Friday, July 24th, 2026

From 9:38 am          Kelberger Land 1

From 1:46 pm          Kelberger Land 2 followed by Hochkelberg 1

From 6:12 pm          Hochkelberg 2, run partly in the dark.

Saturday, July 25th, 2026

9:00 am – 4:00 pm   Stages in the Vulkaneifel

                             In between the stages, you can visit the Rally Mile in Daun

                             where there are lots of attractions !

From 7:30 pm          Rally party in the Rally Mile….

Information for all journalists:

Formal accreditation is available up to July 15th, 2026 at:

https://eifel-rallye-festival.de/media-akkreditierungen-formular