The entry list for the 2022 Olympic Rally '72 Revival is further heightening anticipation for Germany's largest classic car rally. From the start on 8 August in Kiel to the finish on 13 August 2022 in Munich, the maximum of 197 vehicles will travel over 2,252 kilometers during six daily stages. The field of participants comes from eight nations and is made up of 44 different vehicle brands and 175 different vehicle types - such diversity has rarely, if ever, been seen at a classic car rally.
The 53 rally cars from the period from 1950 to 1972 will kick things off, followed by the group of rally cars from the post-Olympic rally era from 1973 to 1990. In between, the "Walter Röhrl & Friends" troupe will start, in which several prominent drivers will be on the road in ever-changing vehicles. Walter Röhrl alone drives 10 different vehicles over the course of the revival. The rally cars will be followed by the ADAC's e-fuel practical test with a VW T1 road patrol van from 1964, followed by the beautiful classic cars in classes 3 and 4 (classic cars from 1950 to 1990) up to starting number 298.
Fans along the route can look forward to an impressive field of participants. The exact route with the passage times of the first vehicle in each town will be published on the website www.olympiarallye72.com from 01.08.2022.
The key points:
Prologue (Saturday/Sunday, 06.-07.08.2022)
Kiel - Schilksee Olympic Center - Kiel
Day 1 (Monday, 08.08.2022) - 295 km - 8 special stages
Kiel - Lübeck - Adendorf - Mölln - Wolfsburg
Day 2 (Tuesday, 09.08.2022) - 396 km - 8 special stages
Wolfsburg - Braunschweig - Reitling im Elm - Einbeck - Bad Karlshafen - Paderborn
Day 3 (Wednesday, 10.08.2022) - 336 km - 7 special stages
Paderborn - Warstein - Meinerzhagen - Cologne
Day 4 (Thursday, 11.08.2022) - 483 km - 8 special stages
Cologne - Gemündener Maar - Pferdsfeld - Kaiserslautern - Speyer (longest stage)
Day 5 (Friday, 12.08.2022) - 425 km - 8 special stages
Speyer - Hockenheim - Sinsheim - Neckarsulm - Gunzenhausen - Greding - Regensburg
Day 6 (Saturday, 13.08.2022) - 317 km - 9 special stages
Regensburg - Konzeil - Grün - Plattling - Pilsting - Landshut - Munich
The permit is here and "home game" for Walter Röhrl
After two years of voluntary preparation and a lot of detailed planning, a somewhat larger letter just under two months before the start put the organization team in a celebratory mood: the post brought the approval of the entire route from Kiel to Munich with the approving statements of all districts and administrations. The important document comprises a total of 202 pages. But the happy surprises didn't stop there: The DFL (German Football League) also supports the revival. The recently published match schedule does not include a home game for SSV Jahn Regensburg on August 12, 2022. This means that the Walter Röhrl Celebration Night can take place in the stadium as planned for the past two years. The "home game" now has the long Regensburg player.
With the support of SSV Jahn and the city's arena management, it will be possible to organize a very special evening for our Walter. Many colleagues from his long career have already confirmed their attendance, and the list reads like a who's who of the motorsport world. Cult rally filmmaker Helmut Deimel will provide moving images. The events surrounding 50 years of Profitum and his 75th birthday on the terrace in front of the business club in the stadium are not just reserved for the revival participants this time. 3,000 fans can be there in the stands opposite, and the entire event will also be shown on the big screens.
The schedule: Participants will arrive at the stadium from 6.00 p.m., with the arrival being expertly hosted. While the participants then enjoy their dinner, the fans will be entertained by Helmut Deimel with a personality film about Walter Röhrl. This will be followed by "Walter Röhrl & Friends" with exciting live discussions. The event is scheduled to end at around 9.30 pm.
The limited tickets are available via the regional media as well as radio and television via www.mittelbayerische-Tickets.de. All net proceeds from the admission fee of 10 euros will go to a project for children and young people in a socially disadvantaged environment.
The route: From Cologne via Speyer to Regensburg
Day 4 (Thursday, August 11, 2022) - 483 km - 8 special stages
With a length of 483 kilometers, the "royal stage" from Cologne to Speyer is challenging for man and material. A first highlight are the routes in the Volcanic Eifel, which are now part of the Eifel Rallye Festival. The organizing MSC Daun welcomes the teams to the espresso stop at the Gemündener Maar. The first original Olympic rally special stage follows at the Moselle, then the next original route directly past Kirchberg. After the lunch break at TRIWO in Pferdsfeld, it's onto the dry handling course at the Pirelli test site. Following in the footsteps of the former DRM Trifels and Rheinhessen rallies, the route leads to the afternoon espresso stop at Stiftsplatz in Kaiserslautern. Via the legendary labyrinth of bends in Waldleiningen with the longest stage of the Revival Festival and the legendary Heldenstein, the route leads through the Vorderpfalz to Speyer. The final stage, the "24 seconds of Speyer", follows in front of the Museum of Technology.
Day 5 (Friday, August 12, 2022) - 425 km - 8 special stages
After the re-start at the Museum of Technology in Speyer, the route crosses the Rhine to Hockenheim. As the first classic car rally ever, the participants are allowed to do their laps on the new Porsche Experience Center. The route leads through the Kurpfalz and Kraichgau regions to the Auto and Technology Museum in Sinsheim. The next test awaits between the historic airplanes. After a lap through the old town of the Staufer Palatinate town of Bad Wimpfen, the route continues across the Neckar and through the vineyards to Neckarsulm. On the former NSU site, we stop for an espresso in the piazza of the Audi Forum. A second espresso stop in the morning will then take place at the Würth Museum in Künzelsau. After the lunch break in Gunzenhausen, the route leads to Regensburg.
On the trail of the legendary 1972 Olympic Rally
In 1972, just before the start of the Summer Olympics, the biggest rally to date was held in Germany. The Olympic Rally led from the sailing areas near Kiel to the Olympic Stadium in Munich. From the start on 14.08.72 at 09.00 in Kiel to the finish on 18.08.72 at 10.00 in Munich, the 307 starting teams covered 3,371 kilometers. The times achieved on 62 special stages with a total length of 632 kilometers gave the overall result, with 145 teams, not even half of the starters reached the finish. The winners' podium was international: Frenchmen Jean-Pierre Nicolas/Jean Todt won in an Alpine Renault A110 ahead of the Swedes Anders Kulläng/Donald Karlsson, who also drove an Opel Ascona 19 SR like the third-placed Frenchmen Jean Ragnotti/Jean-Pierre Rouget. The Olympic Rally 72 also marked the birth of the international rally career of two-time world champion Walter Röhrl. As a nobody in a private Ford Capri, the man from Regensburg set the first of a total of eleven fastest times immediately after the start, outdid the international competition on one or two occasions and was fighting for the lead when he had to retire shortly before the finish.
