It has been announced that the date for the 2014 edition of the Eifel Rallye Festival will be July 24th/26th.
In 2013, more than 40,000 fans came from all parts of Europe to watch one hundred and fifty historic rally cars tackle two days of classic stages just south of the Nürburgring and at the same time celebrate the fortieth birthday of the World Rally Championship. The Eifel Rally Festival is not, however, a competition since the cars and crews drive the stages untimed merely to demonstrate the sights and sounds of rallying as it was in years past.

Already last year, there were seventy-five different types of car from thirty-three different manufacturers taking part in the Festival. For 2014, Reinhard Klein, the man behind Slowly Sideways and one of the instigators of this phenomenally successful event, wants to improve on this and “show the great variety of rally history to the spectators of 2014 Eifel Rallye Festival”. Certainly, fans can look forward to encountering some rare species in the Eifel forests on the last weekend of July.

Other than that, the successful format of the Eifel Rallye Festival will remain much as in previous years. Double World Champion, Walter Röhrl, will once again act as patron of the event and be present from Thursday to Saturday in and around the “Rally Mile” of Daun. The Eifel Rallye Festival will kick off on Thursday afternoon with the mixed-surface shakedown stage that in 2013 attracted more than 6,000 spectators. These crowds astounded the former Audi works driver, Harald Demuth, who was driving on that occasion: “What happened here was really amazing. The roads were lined by rows of spectators.” Peter Schlömer, chief organiser and president of the organising body, the MSC Daun, adds: “The town of Brück that hosts the shakedown stage is really enthusiastic and it revels in being the centre of attention for a day of the whole historic rally scene.”

On Friday, the main event kicks off with the all-gravel Bosch Super Stage with its famous jump and water splash. That evening, the cars will drive a famous asphalt stage – Hilgerath – that features a double loop through the village of Sarmersbach with its hot-dog stands and beer tents. Later the stage is driven again in the night when the action will be enlivened by the sight of red-hot exhausts and glowing brake discs.

Saturday will be a full day of rallying on the beautiful tarmac stages of the Vulkaneifel region located between the famous Nürburgring and the Mosel vineyards where the German WRC round is held.

Hubert Böffgen, Clerk of the Course, is pleased to announce that: “The use of most of the roads has already been approved by the authorities. The cooperation with the residents and authorities of the communities through which our event passes has been as positive as ever.” Peter Schlömer adds: “All of these communities are happy to welcome the Eifel Rallye Festival again in 2014 and, indeed, we have even been approached by some ‘new’ communities who would like to have a stage run through their area.”

Everyone wanting to bring their historic rally car to take part in the Festival should also mark this date in his calendar:- Entries will open on February 15, 2014.

For anyone contemplating a trip to visit the Eifel Rallye Festival, they should contact the Tourist-Information Daun where there are English-speaking staff:-

Tel.: +49 (0) 6592 / 95 13 0
E-mail: touristinfo@daun.de
Web site: www.tourismus.daun.de