3 starts - 3 victories: Dominik Dinkel's strong season

Dominik Dinkel had a short season this year with only three events, but he finished with strong results. It started at the beginning of September in Croatia with overall victory at the Rally Kumrovec, followed by the Rally Sprint Deggendorf shortly before the Rally Franconian Switzerland, where he celebrated overall victory for the sixth time in a row.

"I also wanted to try out a few new things this year," beamed the 32-year-old after the renewed success in Franconian Switzerland (October 11). There he competed once again with co-driver Michael Teufel in a Renault Clio Rally3, a vehicle that was unfamiliar to him. "Even without testing beforehand, we felt comfortable in the car from the very first meter and set the fastest time in the opening stage with a lead of more than 10 seconds. In the second loop, we slowed down a little and drove home the victory quickly and in a controlled manner," Dominik summarizes.

Just a week earlier, he and Michael Heinze had competed in the rally sprint in Deggendorf (October 5). Here they competed with a Peugeot 208 Rally4, a less powerful vehicle with front-wheel drive. This also worked perfectly, with two class wins on the podium.

However, the highlight of the short season was the return to the Kumrovec Rally in Croatia (September 4-6). There, after a break of almost a year, Dominik Dinkel competed with Kathrin Götzenberger in the Ford Fiesta Rally2 against strong international competition. Here, too, the duo were able to keep up straight away and ultimately clinch overall victory. "This rally is extremely demanding and is one of my absolute favorite events. It includes some stages that are also driven in the European Rally Championship. I still really enjoy driving - maybe I just needed the break. I'd like to compete in more events again next year!" says the older of the Dinkel brothers, looking confidently to the future.