Dinkel finishes second in the Erzgebirge Rally

Dominik Dinkel and Christina Fürst (Rossach/Tiefenbach) captured second place in the seven race in the German Rally Championship (DRM), the ADMC Erzgebirge Rally around Stollberg, losing out only to Marijan Griebel and Alexander Rath (Hahnweiler/Trier) after both pilots battled for every second in a race where the lead changed hands many times. However, Dominik Dinkel’s car developed a technical problem, which meant he did not have a sporting chance to compete with his rival on equal terms in the final trial. As a result, Griebel now leads the overall standings in the DRM, twelve points ahead of Dinkel.

Battle for every second between Griebel and Dinkel until the final trial

On the very first trials around Stollberg on the Friday evening, it was clear that both contenders for the title of German rally champion were fighting with ambition to clock the best time and win the championship. The lead thus changed hands between Dinkel and Griebel after every trial, up to the seventh one, where the Peugeot team suffered a slow puncture on a lengthy gravel passage. That seemed to seal the rally in Dinkel’s favor, but in fact spurred on Griebel’s ambition even more. He clocked three more best times to reduce the gap and retook the lead on the tenth trial. Dinkel’s car developed a technical problem and prevented him from attacking on the final trial, as a result of which Griebel was able to capture his third win of the season in commanding fashion.

Dominik Dinkel voiced his disappointment afterwards: “It was an unfortunate end for us. We had a mechanical problem shortly after starting the last trial. That meant we weren’t able to attack to the hilt and so lost more than a minute. Marijan now has a twelve-point lead, but we’ll keep on fighting and will do all in our might to become German champs at the season’s finale in Straubing,” said Dinkel.

Source: ADAC Motorsport