Successful rally double for Patrik Dinkel

Patrik Dinkel once again caused a stir in the Brose Mitsubishi Evo over the past two weekends. Following a thrilling battle in extreme weather conditions, he secured second place overall at the AC-Hof Schwand Rally Sprint (Sunday, 19 April), before going on to claim overall victory at the Fränkisches Weinland Rally last Saturday, 25 April.

Severe weather at the AC-Hof Schwand Rally Sprint

During the track inspection, the demanding mountain and valley course presented itself in dry conditions. Just in time for the start, a storm with heavy rain and fierce gusts of wind caused aquaplaning and plenty of action: “We had a real struggle keeping our Evo on the road. I agreed with my co-driver Cedrik Bächmann not to take any unnecessary risks. The track dried out noticeably during the next two runs, but remained extremely slippery in places right until the end. Ultimately, we set the second-fastest times in all three runs and had to admit defeat, finishing 2.4 seconds behind our brand colleagues Noel Bächmann and Jonah Humeniak. “My respect goes to the winning duo, who did a top job in these difficult conditions,” said Dinkel at the finish line, showing himself to be a fair sportsman.

Early summer at the Fränkisches Weinland Rally

After a one-year break, the 12th Fränkisches Weinland Rally organised by AMSC Hammelburg took place last Saturday. In glorious sunshine and early summer temperatures, the task was to complete three stages familiar from previous years – all on fast tarmac roads – in two runs each. The highlight was the “Lagerberg” circuit on the edge of the Hammelburg military training area. The anticipated duel with Lars Stütz and Jana Schreiber in the BMW M3 came to a premature end at the finish of SS1, when a driveshaft failure forced them to retire early. After a flawless run with five fastest times, Patrik Dinkel and Anna Hinrichs took the top spot on the podium ahead of Fritz Köhler/Petra Hägele (BMW) and Leon Stütz/Tobias Glatzel in another Mitsubishi. “It was a superbly organised event with good stages and a lovely rally centre at the Schwedenberghalle in Elfershausen. Unfortunately, the field of entrants was a little smaller than usual, but that didn’t dampen the good atmosphere,” said co-driver Anna, summing up the event in thoroughly positive terms.