Press Information
Press release 2025 - 06
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ADAC Eifel Rallye Festival: Audi Tradition will bring two Dakar winners to Daun
- Jutta Kleinschmidt will drive the Audi RS Q e-tron.
- A truck full of rare rally cars will be coming from Portugal.
- Now available to order: programme booklets and tickets.
Audi Tradition will be bringing more highlights to fans of the ADAC Eifel Rallye Festival (July 24th–26th, 2025) held in the Eifel region. Jutta Kleinschmidt, the 2001 Dakar winner, will be driving the Audi RS Q e-tron with which Carlos Sainz won that classic rally-raid in 2024. Sitting alongside her will be Fabrizia Pons, also one of the most successful women in rallying. Two-time German Rally Champion Harald Demuth will team up with Christian Fellinger from the Ingolstadt treasure trove to drive the Audi Sport Quattro in which Walter Röhrl finished second in the 1985 Monte Carlo Rally.
Festival fans will thus have the unique opportunity to see the winning vehicle of the 2024 Dakar Rally with its innovative technology not only on display, but also in action on the stages around Daun. This high-tech racer is powered by an electric motor on each axle, which can be powered either by a battery system or by an energy converter using 2-litre four-cylinder turbocharged engine. With its victory in this vehicle, Audi set new standards in the Dakar Rally.
VIP lounge fills up more and more
In addition to Kleinschmidt, Pons, Demuth and Fellinger, the now packed VIP lounge will be welcoming more guests in July. Reinhard Hainbach, two-time German Rally Champion in 1978 and 1979, will drive an Opel Manta 400 on the special stages of the Vulkaneifel. In addition to three World Champions, - Thierry Neuville, Nicky Grist and Stig Blomqvist – the Festival will be joined by Kalle Grundel, Bruno Thiry (European Champion in 2003), John Buffum (four-time US Champion), Rauno Aaltonen (European Champion in 1965), two-time German Rally Champion Ruben Zeltner, Danish Champion Kim Boisen, while Safari legend Mike Kirkland and TV star Niki Schelle have also confirmed their attendance. This means that fans will need to allow plenty of time for the autograph session on Thursday that starts from 6.30pm !
A truck full of rarities is coming from Portugal.
Rally enthusiasts led by Pedro Ortigao, organiser of the Portuguese RallySpirit, a partner event of the Eifel Rallye Festival, are bringing a whole truck full of rally rarities to Daun. Among them is a newly rebuilt Datsun 240Z, just like the one Rauno Aaltonen drove in the 1972 Monte Carlo Rally. There will also be a 1990 Lancia Martini Integrale 16V, a Ford Escort WRC that was driven by Carlos Sainz in Portugal in 1997, and a Ford Escort driven by Hannu Mikkola in the 1969 Monte Carlo Rally. Space has also been found for a Toyota Starlet, which was used by Toyota Portugal in the early 1980s and was driven by Jorge Ortigao, Pedro's father. In 1981 and 1982, he finished fourth in the Portuguese Championship, and in 1983 he even made it onto the podium in third place. Father and son will both drive the faithful replica of the original Starlet in the Eifel.
Advance sale of programme booklets and tickets is now open.
Following the positive experiences of recent years, the sale of programme booklets and tickets for the 2025 event will again be organised via the RallyWebShop. This means that, in addition to weekend tickets, it is once again possible to offer day tickets in advance. The RallyWebShop also offers payment options via PayPal or credit card. All details can be found here:https://www.rallyandracing.com/rallywebshop/eifel-rallye-festival-2025/.
The Eifel Rallye Festival – schedul
| Thursday, July 24th, 2025 (with all events in the Rally Mile, Daun) | |
| From 2.30pm. | Public technical inspection with presentation of the vehicles |
| From 6.30pm. | Autograph session |
| From 8.30pm. | Welcome Evening with open-air rally cinema courtesy of cult filmmaker Helmut Deimel |
| Friday, July 25th, 2025 | |
| From 9.40am. | Kelberger Land 1 |
| From 1:42pm. | Kelberger Land 2 followed by Hochkelberg 1 |
| From 6:01pm. | Hochkelberg 2, partly at night |
| Saturday, July 26th, 2025 | |
| From 9am – 4pm. | Various stages in the Vulkaneifel. |
| In between the stages, Rally Mile Daun with many attractions | |
| From 7:30pm. | Rally Party in the Rally Mile |
Information for all journalists:
Accreditation is possible up until 12 July 12th,2025, at:https://www.eifel-rallye-festival.de/Akkreditierungs-Info.html
More info can be found at: www.eifel-rallye-festival.de
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Contact for international media
John Davenport (UK)
Email: john.davenport@eifel-rallye-festival.de
Contact for international media
Jürgen Hahn (Germany)
Email: presse@eifel-rallye-festival.de