ADAC RALLYE DEUTSCHLAND
author: Andries van der Walt
The Adac Rallye Deutschland round 9 of the WRC, being held this weekend, is a rally of three parts, with competition through the Mosel vineyards, including some of the steepest hairpin bends around, the Saarland country lanes - as good as the lanes anywhere in the world, and finally in the Baumholder military testing ground. And this is where the going gets tough. This is where the drivers will find Panzerplatte.
And this year, Panzerplatte’s been working out, it’s even tougher than ever. It’s 18 kilometres longer than last time it was used. At a mighty 48 kilometres, it’s the season’s biggest stage. In short, it’s a monster. And that’s in the dry. If it turns wet, Panzerplatte is the stuff of nightmares. And the drivers have to do it twice next Saturday. Nice.
The surface in Arena Panzerplatte is always changing - and it changes again with every car that passes over it. It’s a hard road to read - and with 48,000 metres to get through, the co-drivers are going to have a lot of pace notes to read. The arena section of this stage is where the fans all congregate to see their heroes close up - and the atmosphere in the middle is just wonderful.
There’s no time for the drivers to take any of that in, though, they need to be 100 per cent focused. If they’re not, there’s a hinkelstein (the enormous slabs of stone used to keep tanks on the right track) waiting at the side of the road.
There’s plenty to keep the fans on their feet, too; this year’s Rallye Deutschland is the first of two rallies (Rallye de France being the second) that is a round of all three support series. That means, as well as the World Rally Car-driving superheroes at the front of the field, fans will see the cream of Juniors, Production and Super 2000 World Rally Championships.
And, they’ll also be treated to the return of Francois Duval. Eighteen months after his last World Rally Championship outing, the Belgian who has come closest to beating a supreme Sebastien Loeb in these parts will be back for another crack at the master.
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