For its 18th edition, the OCC Jungfrau Rally moved again - the starting point was Saanen in the Bernese Oberland. As always, the rally consisted of two daily stages. The start on Friday was in the famous promenade of Gstaad, on Saturday the starting arch was in the village center of Saanen. The finish was in Saanenmöser, a little higher up.
This year's rally was entitled "Final Edition" - the official last edition of the OCC Jungfrau Rally. This is probably why there was a huge rush for the starting places. The rally was sold out early on, even though the organizers accepted a few more entries than in previous years. In the end, 98 teams took part. As always, only ladies were allowed behind the wheel, with the men in the co-driver's seat.
Cars from almost sixty years
As in the previous year, the oldest car in the field was a red Fiat Balilla "Coppa d'Oro" from 1934, while the youngest, according to the start list, was a 1991 Porsche 911 Carrera 2.
In between, many different vehicle manufacturers and vehicle genres were represented. From the small Mini 1000 and eight different VW Beetles to opulent Rolls-Royces and spectacular Ferrari Testarossas, the range was huge.
Also in terms of displacement: between the Citroën Méhari with the brave 2-cylinder boxer and the Corvette C2 with its V8 engine, there is probably a factor of about 10...
Three cantons in two days
The first day's stage of the 18th OCC Jungfrau Rally first led over a small, little-known pass to Jaun in the canton of Fribourg. From there, the route continued through various picturesque towns such as Bulle, Romont and Châtel St-Denis. The way back then offered a relatively large variation in altitude and scenery - first the route led along the old cantonal road down to Montreux.
From there, the route continued along the shores of Lake Geneva, then through the vineyards of the Chablais and finally over the Col du Pillon.
Saturday's stage led down the Simmental valley and, with a few detours (and meters in altitude), to Thun. Afterwards, the organizers took the opportunity to visit the Jungfrau region once again - the afternoon route first led high above Lake Thun to Sigriswil and then directly along it towards Interlaken.
The only downer: the magnificent view of the rally's namesake, the "Jungfrau", was lost in the rain. At the finish in Saanenmöser, the sun was shining again. So there was also a change in the weather.
Precision required
The teams had a lot to do on the route - there were more intermediate tests than ever before. Precision was more important than ever. In addition to the classic light barrier tests, there were also various other tasks to master. For example, the teams had to maneuver around obstacles at a distance of exactly 18 cm. Or they had to stop over a small block of wood so that the front license plate was exactly above it.
A good eye was also required: on the route along Lake Geneva, historic buildings had to be correctly identified and small letters and numbers had to be spotted on four sections. Technical understanding, on the other hand, was required to correctly identify vehicle components.
Mustang right at the front
In the end, the diversity was also reflected in the fact that practically all the trophies went to different teams. Across both days and all disciplines, the Daillet/Horlacher team scored the fewest penalty points with their 1965 Ford Mustang and thus secured overall victory.
Incidentally, it had already been a Ford Mustang that took the overall victory two years ago, albeit with a different crew.
Exciting: Both of the day's victories went to teams with "bread-and-butter cars".
Friday was won by the Vogel/Vogel team with an Opel Kadett C, while the Saturday stage was won by the Flückiger/Flückiger team with a Mini 1000 Special.
Team Hörning/Halter in a Porsche 356 came out on top in the women-only team classification.
And now?
As already mentioned, this was the final edition of the OCC Jungfrau Rally. At the end, the two organizers Claudine and Mark Siegenthaler emphasized that although they still enjoyed the rally very much, the planning and organization effort and the resulting pressure had also increased in recent years. In order to be able to devote more time to their children in the future, they had therefore decided to hold the rally for the last time this year.
However, they have announced that they intend to remain loyal to the classic car and rally scene. They are not ruling out the possibility of supporting other events in the coming years at a somewhat more moderate cost or organizing a follow-up event on a smaller scale in the longer term.
First and foremost, the ladies with a passion for classic cars will probably be delighted with something like this, as the concept with the "ladies at the wheel" was unique far and wide...
