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A stellar line-up

The cars and stars that are coming to the Eifel Rallye Festival at the end of this month make a truly dazzling list, particularly so since the organisers announced this week that ex-World Rally Champions, Bjorn Waldegard and Stig Blomqvist, will be joining their fellow ex-champion, Walter Rohrl, in the list of drivers participating. That list includes drivers coming from thirteen different countries. As for the rally cars that will be there, they too break new records since there are thirty-one different manufacturers represented and seventy-six different models of car among which there are thirty-six Group B cars and more than forty absolutely original rally cars.


This list gives an idea of who will be driving what over the weekend:


Walter Rohrl, World Champion in 1980 and 1982 will drive four cars. An Audi Sport Quattro E2 (a replica of his Sanremo 1985 winning car), an Opel Ascona A (original car from the European Championship in 1974), an Opel Ascona 400 (original car from his win on the Monte Carlo Rally of 1982), a Porsche 911 SC (a car from the German championship, it was not driven by Rohrl at the time but competed against him).

Stig Blomqvist, World Champion in 1984, is down to drive a Ford RS200, his original winning car from the South Swedish Rally of 1986 now newly restored by John Wheeler, the man who engineered the RS200s.

Bjorn Waldegard, World Champion in 1979 has at his disposal a Porsche 911 Carrera RS, Safari 1974, Kuhne & Nagel, original. In addition, on one loop of stages, he plans to drive a Ford Escort RS1800, a replica of his winning car from the 1977 RAC Rally in British Airways livery, now owned by Richard Eklund and recently restored.

Armin Schwarz, German Champion 1987/88, European Champion 1996 has a Lancia Stratos 24 valve, a replica factory car.

Harald Demuth, German Champion in 1982 and 1984 will drive a Mercedes 500 SLC, a replica of the Argentina 1980 car driven by Mikkola.

Philippe Wambergue, ex-works driver for Citroen and Mazda has brought his own Citroen BX 4TC, original car from the Acropolis 1986, the only works BX that is still running today.

Aaron Burkart, Junior World Champion in 2010 has the Subaru Impreza WRC, original car driven by Colin McRae on the Monte 1997.

Sepp Wiegand, the official works driver of .koda Germany for 2012 who is contesting the IRC where he currently lies fourth. On the Eifel Rallye Festival, he will drive a VW Golf G60, an original car from the Australia Rally of 1990.

It is worth mentioning that there will also be some famous co-drivers taking part in the Festival and these include Yvonne Mehta, Hans Schuller and Stephane Prevot. Also one of the organisers of the festival is Christian Geistdorfer who was twice World Champion alongside Walter Rohrl. He is amazed by the response to this year.s
Festival : "This is just sensational ! This variety is unique in Europe and indeed anywhere in the world. Even back in the 1980s you could never have seen more real Group B cars in one event than you can now at the Eifel Rallye Festival."

For the tens of thousands of rally fans attending, there are plenty of chances to get involved from a photographic competition to autograph sessions. There is even the possibility to bid for a ride on the shakedown as a co-driver in an Audi Sport Quattro E2. The auction number on eBay is 261043488425.

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