The 14th edition of the OCC Jungfrau Rally took place on August 30/31, 2019. The venue for the rally, which traditionally only allows women to take the wheel, was the Deltapark Vitalresort in Gwatt near Thun this year.
There were 85 vehicles from the years 1939 to 1989 at the start. As always, the field of participants was diverse, with most teams coming from Switzerland or Germany, but some also from Belgium, Luxembourg or France. As in previous years, the rally was sold out several months before the start.
Two stages with a view of the mountains
This year's program also included two daily stages. The motto was "The Jungfrau, the lake and the horns". The organizers chose well-known and lesser-known routes with corresponding views. Friday's stage led high above Lake Thun towards Beatenberg - thanks to the glorious weather, there was a clear view of the Jungfrau massif for long stretches. The stage finish was in Grindelwald, where they ate directly below the imposing Wetterhorn.
On Saturday, the route led to Schwarzsee. Even on the way there, there were always good views of the mountains. The weather remained perfect almost until the end - there was only a brief downpour at the finish.
Many mishaps
The "god of breakdowns" was a little less kind to the participating teams than the weather gods. This year, the rally's own breakdown service had more work to do than ever before. On Friday they had to deal with no fewer than 17 breakdowns, on Saturday "only" six. However, these were often minor issues such as defective fuel hoses or ignition parts. The rally itself was accident-free.
However, one participant had a minor accident shortly before the start while handling a knife: she injured her finger so badly that she was no longer able to steer the car. As a result, her husband was forced to take the wheel.
As the rally regulations do not allow men at the wheel, the team drove as a support vehicle outside the classification.
Skill and a special estimation question
As always, the teams had to master various tasks along the way. These included light barrier tests and finding letters on specially marked routes. One particularly tricky task was an estimation question that the teams were asked after a long climb: The task was to determine the temperature of the exhaust pipe at its end as accurately as possible.
This also caused a few laughs, as many teams had prepared themselves for a completely different question and had memorized the various dimensions and weights of their own vehicle beforehand.
Three teams with the same number of points
The final ranking also offered something unexpected: the three best teams in the overall ranking had scored exactly the same number of penalty points. According to the regulations, the year of manufacture of the vehicle was therefore decisive - older vehicles are given preference over younger vehicles in the event of a tie.
The overall winner was therefore the Röhrs/Bühler team with their Kaiser Jeep from 1966.
Second place went to the Waletzko/Waletzko team in their 1979 Mercedes 280 SL, while third place went to the Schrader/Schrader team in their 1987 Porsche 911.
The women's competition was won by the Angst/Bucher team in a Triumph GT6.
The next OCC Jungfrau Rally is expected to take place on August 28/29, 2020. The venue and further details will be announced in the coming weeks.
