From July 23 to 25, 2020, the tenth edition of the ADAC Eifel Rallye Festival will take place in the Volcanic Eifel around the start and finish town of Daun. "This is a unique success story," says organization manager Otmar Anschütz (Daun), looking forward to the anniversary. "When we at MSC Daun decided to organize the festival from 2011 instead of the previous best time rally, we were all very confident. But none of us would have dreamed that it would develop so positively."
Globally recognized meeting place
The Eifel Rallye Festival very quickly became a globally recognized meeting place for the historic rally scene for participants and fans. As in previous years, around 160 automobile witnesses from 50 years of rally history will thrill international fans in 2020. The space in the Rally Mile in the middle of Daun simply does not allow for more vehicles.
The participants' exquisite vehicles are an important success factor. "The quality of the vehicles has developed to an extraordinary degree in recent years. The participants' awareness of the originality of their gems has become much greater," says Reinhard Klein (Cologne). He is responsible for the composition of the starting field and ensures that only originals or faithful replicas of the historic vehicles are at the start of the demonstration drives.
The world-renowned rally photographer and head of 'Slowly Sideways', the Europe-wide association of owners of historic rally vehicles, is helped by his extensive photo archive, "so I can advise the owners, from the details to the exact color of the interior or the placement of the sponsor stickers."
Kick-off at the shakedown in Bodenbach
The teams meet for the shakedown, a final test before the festival, on Thursday afternoon in Bodenbach. The service area is located in the middle of the village around the community center. Here, fans can look over the shoulders of the participants as they make the final preparations for their cars. The driving route leads over parts of the former 'Kelberger Land' stage, and in Borler and on the outskirts of Bodenbach there are catered spectator areas with a great view of the route.
Everything new on Friday
Friday will be completely new - at least as far as the demonstration routes are concerned. The Super Stage in the afternoon will be held between Steineberg and Demerath, with one of the spectator points located along the spectacular gravel section.
The evening stage runs near Demerath and was last run in a similar form in 2017. Big plus for fans: park once and watch twice. There is a shared parking lot for the two main spectator points in the afternoon and evening. But it is also only a few hundred meters from the afternoon to the evening stage for the fans from the other hotspots.
Additional highlight on Saturday
In addition to the classic 'Lehwald' and the route on the Risselberg around Niederstadtfeld, which has been ridden for two years, there will be an additional highlight on Saturday. The new circuit is located between Köttelbach and Mosbruch and bears the name of the nearby Hochkelberg. After the start in the middle of Köttelbach, the route leads over narrow and challenging asphalt roads towards Mosbruch and back again. In Köttelbach, a spectacular through-town section awaits the participants. Fans can follow a large part of the route from the central spectator points.
Great support from the municipalities involved
The extensive changes to the route for drivers and fans were only possible for the organizers thanks to the great support of the participating municipalities. "The Eifel Rallye Festival attracts up to 40,000 international fans to the Vulkaneifel and is now one of the biggest events in the region," explains Anschütz. "In some cases, the municipalities even approached us with ready-made concepts for a stage and support us massively. The local clubs are also involved, taking on important tasks from organizing the parking spaces to catering for the fans.
