Motorsport: Dominik Dinkel secures Mitropa Rally Cup victory in Croatia

The Brose Rally Team presented itself in top form after a long break. At the "12th Kärcher Rally Kumrovec" Dominik Dinkel and Pirmin Winklhofer in the Ford Fiesta Rally2 secured victory in the fiercely contested Mitropa Rally Cup classification as strong second overall.

"After the break of three and a half months we were of course not at all sure where we would stand in this field of 80 cars". Among them were many top-class and local heroes with plenty of experience at the event in the hinterland of Zagreb. "That didn't make the task any easier for us as newcomers. In addition, the eleven special stages over a total of 101.96 kilometers, which had it all. "The track was different in every run, often there was nothing left of the asphalt surface" reported Dominik Dinkel. "Unfortunately, due to a lack of suitable material, we were not able to prepare ourselves through video or onboard study, so inspection and write-up had to do it."

Once again, the Brose Ford Fiesta Rally2, prepared and supported by ZM Racing, was a permanent fixture for this. "We had found a very good set-up right from the start, we were also always right with the tyre choice. We always felt comfortable in the car." All in all, 30-year-old Dominik Dinkel from Upper Franconia assesses the trip to Croatia absolutely positively: "After the long break, combined with minimal preparation and no experience, to be able to show a competitive speed again immediately at this selective rally is something my co-driver Pirmin Winklhofer and I, together with the whole team, are really happy about. Among the top three on the time list on all stages, three of them at the top as fastest, winner of the MRC classification and second overall, that's really something to be proud of." In the end, the Slovenian winner Rok Turk (Hyundai i20 N Rally2), who had already won the Rally Kumrovec last year, was only 10.6 seconds behind. There was a gap of more than 1:20 minutes between the Brose Rally Team and third place. Which impressively underlines the pace set.