ADAC Eifel Rally Festival: Anticipation is building

• Audi Tradition adds to the gathering of Group B stars
• Toyota and the ‘Queen of Africa’ – special guided tours at their museum·
• Advance sales for tickets and programmes are now open
  
  

Anticipation is building for the Eifel Rallye Festival (July 23rd to 25th, 2026). Audi Tradition will be bringing an original Audi Sport quattro from its ‘treasure trove’ to Daun. It will be driven by Harald Demuth thus further enhancing the gathering of Group B rally cars that will be present at the Festival. Rally experts agree that never before have all the ‘big players’ of the Group B era been in one place at the same time. Forty years ago they were banned thus this will be the first time here they are all together in the setting of the Vulkaneifel. These now extremely rare vehicles are mostly housed in museums, but fans will be able to see them in action on the demonstration stages situated around Daun. Where else can you see a Nissan 240RS, a Toyota Celica Twin Cam Turbo, an Opel Manta 400, the Renault 5 (in both Turbo and Maxi Turbo versions), and a Porsche 911 SCRS all together? Then there is the four-wheel-drive contingent. The Audi Quattro is represented by its A2, S1 E2 and Sport Quattro variants, whilst the Peugeot 205 is present as the Turbo 16 and Turbo 16 E2. Also on display are the Lancia Delta S4, MG Metro 6R4 and a Ford RS200. As a special treat, a truly rare Citroën BX4TC is also taking part in this unique Group B gathering.

Toyota and the ‘Queen of Africa’

In 1986, the final year of the Group B era, the Toyota Celica Twin Cam Turbo once again lived up to its reputation as ‘The Queen of Africa’. With rear-wheel drive, legendary robustness and a clever team strategy, it was virtually unbeatable, particularly in African rallies. On the rough tracks, it left its competition – with their four-wheel drive, extreme power and many technical highlights – trailing in its wake. As in the two previous years, a Celica Twin Cam stood at the very top of the podium at the 1986 Safari Rally. Björn Waldegård crossed the finish line half an hour ahead of his pursuers. The record books show that, in what is now the age of four-wheel-drive rally cars, this was the last Safari victory for a vehicle with only one driven axle.

The 1986 African double was rounded off by Toyota’s quadruple victory at the Ivory Coast Rally, which that year counted towards the Drivers’ section of the World Rally Championship. At this year’s Eifel Rallye Festival, we have two very special participants in the persons of Gerd Dicks and Ernst Kopp. Both of them were part of the TTE team during those African campaigns and will be driving their own Celicas. Particularly, Kopp’s car is also the original winning car driving by Waldegård from the 1986 Ivory Coast Rally.

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

Festival atmosphere from ‘Daun Town Day’ to the rock finale on Saturday

The Festival kicks off once again with ‘Daun-Town-Day’ [apologies to Billy Joel !] on Thursday. From the moment the service park opens at 6.00 am, one highlight follows another along the Rally Mile in the heart of Daun. From 2.30 pm to 7.00 pm, public viewed scrutineering will take place, after which the crews and, in addition, the cars will be presented individually on the starting ramp. The autograph session with all the stars begins at 6.30 pm on the Festival stage. Afterwards, from 8.30 pm at the same location, the now legendary Welcome Evening takes place. The entertaining interviews with the stars will, as always, be complemented by moving images from cult filmmaker Helmut Deimel.

The active demonstration stages on the challenging roads and tracks in the Vulkaneifel begins on Friday at 9.00 am. All the way until the finish on Saturday afternoon, there are lots of perfect viewing spots from which to watch that will suit every rally fan.

After the official part of the finale (Saturday evening from 7.30 pm), the eight musicians of HSG Pure Rock will rock the stage. The band from the Saarland has been on the road for two decades and regularly leaves the audience with hoarse voices from singing along and sweat-soaked clothes from partying. “All events in the Rally Mile are open to the public. People from Daun and the surrounding area are warmly invited, especially for the closing party,” says Otmar Anschütz, the head of organisation at the event’s host, MSC Daun, as he looks forward to the Festival weekend.

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