Press Information
Press release 2017 - 05
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ADAC Eifel Rallye Festival 2017 - Full House
The organisers of the Eifel Rallye Festival are proud to announce that the entry list for their demonstration event for historic rally cars is once again completely full. The three-day event held between July 20th & 22nd in the Vulkaneifel region just south of the Nürburgring will welcome around 170 cars representing 'Six Decades of Rallying', the theme of this year's edition of the Festival. "Our international entries pick up the theme perfectly and really show six decades of our beloved sport", says Reinhard Klein, the head of Slowly Sideways, who is responsible for the composition of the entry list. "We have got everything ranging from a Ford Anglia and a Mercedes fintail that rallied in the early 1960s right up to the modern-day Hyundai i20 WRC. And of course our entry list also features loads of Group 4 and Group B cars. Every rally fan will be able to find what he is looking for in the Eifel Rallye Festival."
The list of cars taking part in the Festival is simply outstanding. It includes more than a dozen Ford Escort models from the early Mk1 Twin Cam to the Escort WRC as well as many Audi Quattro models including the legendary E2 and E2 Pikes Peak. While these cars have by now become "usual suspects", the Vulkaneifel also welcomes new cars like a Peugeot 306 Maxi and two Skoda Felicia Kit Cars which have not been seen during the first six editions of the Festival.
Well-known faces also head the entry list of the Eifel Rallye Festival. Former World Champions Stig Blomqvist and Hannu Mikkola will meet Kalle Grundel and Gunnar Palm from Sweden, Kenyan Mike Kirkland, Belgian Thierry Neuville as well as German rally aces Harald Demuth, Matthias Kahle, Niki Schelle and Armin Schwarz for a special weekend.
Ride of a lifetime: Win a co-drive with Hyundai drivers Neuville and Schwarz
Rally fans visiting the Eifel Rallye Festival have no less than two chances to win a "Ride of their Lifetime" on the shakedown stage during Thursday, July 20th. In cooperation with Hyundai, the organisers will offer one co-drive with Thierry Neuville in the Hyundai i20 WRC and one with Armin Schwarz in a 2003 Hyundai Accent WRC.
"We wanted to give the ordinary rally fan a fair chance to win the co-drive, thus we decided to raffle both rides" says Festival Manager Tim Becker. "For only €5.0, everyone has the chance to win the co-drive alongside Thierry Neuville. Of course, anyone can buy more than one ticket to increase his or her chances." The amount raised by the raffle will be donated to a local organisation aimed at helping young people in the region and called "Verein zur Förderung der Jugendarbeit im Landkreis Vulkaneifel. e.V." All details of the raffle can be found here: www.mitfahrt.eifel-rallye-festival.de
The chance for a co-drive with Armin Schwarz is completely free of charge. The ride with the 1991 WRC Rally Catalunya winner and 1996 European Rally Champion in his original Hyundai Accent from the 2003 Monte Carlo Rally will be raffled on the event's official Facebook page www.facebook.com/EifelRallyeFestival2017. Both raffles will start this Sunday, May 21st, at 0:00 hrs und end on June 30th at 23:59 hrs.
Harald Demuth re-united with his Mercedes 190E
The last addition to the VIP drivers taking part in the Festival is Harald Demuth. The two-times German Rally Champion has not missed a single edition of the event so far and says that "it would be dreadful to miss this family meeting". After driving Audis in the last part of his rally career, in July 2017 Demuth will be re-united with another car that he drove in the past. Thirty years after fighting for the German title in a Mercedes 190E entered by Fricker Motorsport, Demuth will take the wheel of its sister car which is still owned by that particular Mercedes dealer. To make the story complete, Demuth's former co-driver Christian Fellinger and former Mercedes and Fricker team manager Hanspeter Brömmer will share co-driver duties. Demuth promises: "We will get the right tyres to see how sideways we can go."
'Youngtimer' group to serve as crowd pleasers
Sideways is also the theme for the 'Youngtimer' group which traditionally tackles the Vulkaneifel stages ahead of the VIP drivers thus serving as a warm up for spectators. These course-opening cars do not comply with the strict Slowly Sideways regulations in terms of originality, instead they are famous for making a great show. And 2017 will not be an exception as the line-up for the Youngtimer group will feature one VIP in its own right. Former Suzuki works driver Niki Schelle will take the wheel of a Suzuki Ignis S1600. A real crowd pleaser is also the 'Youngtimer' coordinator himself, Jürgen Lenarz, in a BMW M3. This local hero is especially looking forward to the night stage on Friday which passes through his home town. But Lenarz is not the only BMW driver who is especially keen on this stage. It has been re-named "Prowin Hilgerath" and Sascha Winter in another M3 supports the Festival with his company Prowin and is thus responsible for the new name.
Order now: pre-sale for tickets and programmes has started
Spectators who are keen to visit the Eifel Rallye Festival can obtain their tickets and programmes from the official online shop no matter in what European country they are living. While visiting the 'Rally Mile' in the heart of Daun is free of charge, there are various admission tickets needed for those who like to see the action on the special stages. The range offered goes from one-day tickets right up to full weekend tickets.
The pre-sale of tickets and programmes is open until July 07, 2017 from http://www.eifel-rallye-festival.de/en/rallye-shop.html.
Important information for all media representatives:
Accreditation for the 2017 Eifel Rallye Festival is now open. More information can be found here: http://eifel-rallye-festival.de/en/Accreditation-Info.html
Eifel Rallye Festival – Time Table
Thursday, 20.07.2017
15:00 – 19:00 hrs Shakedown at the ‘Mantaloch’ in Brück
from 20:30 hrs Welcome Evening in the Rally Mile, Open Air Cinema with film-maker Helmut Deimel
Friday, 21.07.2017
From 08:00 hrs Scrutineering in the Rally Mile
11:00 – 12:00 hrs Autograph Session with the VIP drivers
From 14:20 hrs Hyundai Super Stage with jump, water splash and gravel action
From 19.30 hrs prowin Spectator Stage in Sarmersbach at night Including the ‘Festival Parade’
Saturday, 22.07.2017
08:30 – 17:00 hrs Tarmac Stages in the Vulkaneifel region, inbetween Rally Mile in Daun with various attractions
From 19:00 hrs Rally Party & Prize Giving
Contact for international media
John Davenport (UK)
Tel: +44 7973.334297
Email: john.davenport@eifel-rallye-festival.de
Sebastian Klein (Germany)
Tel: +49 170 4790713
Email: sebastian.klein@eifel-rallye-festival.de