The OCC Jungfrau Rally always takes place on the last weekend in August, but at different venues. On August 26 and 27, 2022, Kandersteg was the starting point for the fourth time in the history of the rally, with the first day's stage in Valais and the second day's stage in the canton of Bern. The organizers had therefore chosen the motto "All good things come in fours".
Precision required
The number four also played a role in some of the intermediate stages. For example, the teams had to stop their cars at a precise distance from an obstacle. This distance was initially four meters, then a multiple of that, i.e. eight, twelve or 16 meters. A good feel for distances was therefore particularly important this year. As always, there were also various light barrier tests and other skill exercises to master.
From Polo to Testarossa
A total of 82 teams from Switzerland, Germany, Austria and Portugal took part. As always, only women were allowed behind the wheel. The men were allowed in the passenger seat. Particularly striking this year was the great diversity among the participating vehicles. Of course, typical rally cars such as Porsche 911s and Mercedes-Benz SLs were also at the start, but there were also many other vehicles to discover.
These included, for example, a 1975 VW Polo with a 0.9-liter engine and spartan equipment - a rear window heater or reversing lights were nowhere to be found. In contrast, there were luxury vehicles with every conceivable extra, such as a BMW 850i or sensational super sports cars like a 1990 Ferrari Testarossa. The oldest car in the field was a Fiat Balilla from 1934; the newest was a VW Golf Cabriolet from 1992.
Short detour
Friday's stage first led via the Kandersteg-Goppenstein car transport to the Lötschental valley. From there it went via Raron to Bürchen and from there back into the valley to Sierre. In the afternoon, there were once again numerous meters of altitude on the agenda - the route led over some quite spectacular sections all the way to the Val d'Anniviers.
One challenge on the return journey towards Vercorin was an unannounced road closure due to roadworks. As the organizers had found out about the closure the evening before, they were able to draw up a map with a detour route at the last minute. This meant that the Friday stage could continue as planned after the roadworks. It first led back into the Rhone Valley and then back to Goppenstein with a detour through the vineyards near Varen.
Another challenge was posed by heavy rain showers later in the afternoon - but there was also a lucky coincidence: The last intermediate test could be spontaneously moved to a nearby bus depot and thus into the dry.
Sunny Saturday
The weather on Saturday was again at its best. The route led from Kandersteg first to Lake Thun and then on a circuit through the Schwarzenburgerland. After a drive over the Längenberg, the afternoon destination was the P791 Car Residence in Belp, where the teams had to complete a car search game. The route then led back to Kandersteg via Gürbetal, Thun, Wimmis and Mülenen.
Winning family coach
The overall victory this time went to the Marchesi/Niffeler team with their 1979 Opel Commodore 2.5 S, proving that you can also win a rally with a typical "family car". The team put in a consistently good performance and thus also won the new "Top Youngsters" classification of the OCC Jungfrau Rally. The best team was chosen among those with the youngest average age.
The 2023 edition of the OCC Jungfrau Rally is expected to take place in the western Bernese Oberland. The organizers plan to announce details in autumn.
