Sulzdorf an der Lederhecke
Grabfeld Rally: Motorsport spectacle in difficult conditions

Last weekend, Patrik Dinkel and co-driver Anna Hinrichs competed in the 29th Grabfeldrallye) with start and finish in Sulzdorf an der Lederhecke. In the newly built Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9 RS, the duo, as last year's winners, led the largest field of participants in Germany with almost 200 vehicles and caused quite a stir with their usual fast times.
Full of anticipation and highly motivated, Patrik and Anna rolled through the starting arch at the rally center at 10:30 a.m. towards the first special stage "Möbelwerke I", which took an unexpected course: "We were shown red flags after just one kilometer and even had to stop once. We then finished the stage at a reduced speed - a car in front blocked the route," said the youngster, who, after setting two good times in the "Baunachgrund I" and "Bayernturm I" stages, received a corresponding time credit for the incidents in the opening stage and reached the forced break in third place behind two favored Skoda Fabia R5s.
After midsummer temperatures with sunshine in the first round, the conditions changed with a summer thunderstorm approaching for the second turn. Heavy rainfall flooded the special stages, which spurred Patrik and Anna on to set the first fastest time against the technically superior R5 cars. "It simply went perfectly - over 20 seconds ahead of our direct competitors, which we wouldn't have expected ourselves," beamed the duo, before the next stage, "Baunachgrund II", brought an early end.
"We were again the first to start the stage and everything seemed to be under control until we swam up on a mixture of mud and water in a fast left-hand bend and simply ran out of road, which unfortunately led to a premature end," Patrik and Anna summed up, visibly frustrated. The emergency vehicle is already being rebuilt - when and where it will continue will be decided in the next few days.

The Brose Motorsport team with Michael Stoschek (Ahorn) and Dieter Hawranke (Kassel) were also at the start. They competed in the Slowly Sideways group in one of only 20 Group B Porsche 911 SC/RS cars produced in the Belga design. The original works car was built by Prodrive in 1984 for the European Rally Championship and homologated with a 3-liter engine that delivers 280 hp at a vehicle weight of 980 kg.
The audience was thrilled by the historic cars of the Slowly Sideways, which provided a great atmosphere outside of the classification as advance vehicles.