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ADAC Eifel Rallye Festival 2020 – Preparations continue

  • Preparations continue despite Corona pandemic
  • RallySafe - More safety for all involved
  • Two examples of the many special helpers

From 23rd to 25th of July 2020, the Jubilee is due to take place in the volcanic Eifel region around Daun. The tenth edition of the Eifel Rally Festival, the world's largest rolling rally museum, is coming up. But it is not yet certain whether this year will see a live presentation of original rally history. At the moment, nobody can reliably estimate what restrictions the Corona pandemic may still require.

"It is a difficult time. We want to celebrate the anniversary festival together with the participants and fans. But only if this major event can be held safely for everyone involved," explains Otmar Anschütz the event manager from the organizing MSC Daun. "We are continuing to work on the preparations but are keeping an eye on all the developments. We will make the final decision in mid-May.

Reinhard Klein, head of 'Slowly Sideways', who is responsible for putting together the starting field, adds: "We are an international festival with international participants and guests. So that we can celebrate together, everyone must be allowed to come to us.

RallySafe - More safety for all involved
The Eifel Rallye Festival is a pure demonstration event without any time classification. From the beginning, however, all safety measures were taken as if it was a full national and modern rally. The specifications of the FIA or the DMSB are implemented in the best possible way in connection with the many years of experience available within the organisation. In order to further optimise this concept of safety, RallySafe is now also used. The satellite and mobile phone-based tracking system is successfully used in the World Rally Championship and the German Rally Championship. "Even though we have been offering a very high safety standard for years, we cannot rest on our laurels and must constantly develop further. RallySafe is now the logical extension of our concept", explains Martin Dimmig (Darscheid), the man in charge of track safety. Pascal Neuens (Daun) is also looking forward to using RallySafe in his function as deputy: "This way, we always have an overview in the control centre of where the competitors are at any given moment. In addition, following vehicles are warned in case of a breakdown and we can contact the participants directly via an in-car display". The proving run for RallySafe was completed last year by a testing squad under the leadership of Jürgen Lenarz (Sarmersbach), who subsequently reported: "By combining mobile radio and satellites for data transmission, RallySafe manages to ensure a permanent connection with the participants even in the Volcanic Eifel, which is full of mobile phone dead spots.”

Some of the special helpers
The charisma of the Eifel Rally Festival and the fascination for historic rallying shows in lots of small details. The organising club, the MSC Daun, receives support in many ways, and indeed it is only in this way that it is possible to run such a big event successfully. Here are two of many examples:

Ralf Antweiler from Spabrücken is an integral part of the historic rally scene in Germany. He lives his sport and has been collecting everything he can get his hands on since the age of eight. Since 2001, long before the Festival was launched in 2011, Antweiler has been a permanent guest at the events in Daun. Together with Markus Schmitt and chief mechanic, Peter Milde, he is part of the inventory. Their original Opel Ascona 400, which Walter Röhrl drove at the Ivory Coast Rally in 1982, even has its own fan club. For the first time Antweiler will not be a participant in the anniversary Festival. "The Ascona is ready for action in the workshop, but as we are moving to larger premises with our company, there is not enough time for the meticulous preparations and post-assembly checks". However, he and his team do not want to miss out on taking part in the Festival. "We will be in Daun from Wednesday morning and will be available to help the organizers," explains Antweiler, who has done similar things in the past. "We have to be there; it is simply fascinating to experience the enthusiasm for rally history of these many participants and fans ".

At their debut in Daun last year, the troupe from the far north headed by Jürgen von Schassen (Neustadt/Holstein) came to the Eifel with him and eleven helpers. This year, the 'Northern Lights' are due to come in double the strength. "This was not planned, but the 'first-time offenders' were very enthusiastic about this amazing event with historic rally cars, the warm welcome form the organisation and the nice cooperation they received”. Like last year, the team consists of qualified helpers. The list ranges from licensed timekeepers, heads of track safety and sports commissioners plus trained and experienced track marshals. "We received a super friendly welcome and felt directly an integral part of the whole. The fun of it all connected us and we were happy to take on all tasks, even spontaneously. We were respected and could contribute our knowledge without any reservations. The feeling of togetherness was impressive since everyone pulled together", Jürgen von Schassen says that. "We are looking forward to a busy and eventful weekend in Daun and we are happy to travel the 650 kilometres to adhere to the motto 'Only together are we strong'.