A rally veteran wins: These are the winners of the ADAC Rally Masters 2021

Monday, November 1st, 2021

A rally veteran wins
These are the winners of the ADAC Rallye Masters 2021

Walter Gromöller secured overall victory in the ADAC Rally Masters 2021 at the AvD Saxony Rally together with co-driver René Meier. The duo in the classic Opel Ascona 400 claimed first place in the classification ahead of Tarek Hamadeh-Spaniol.

The final of the ADAC Rallye Masters 2021 was a real shivering match for the new champions Walter Gromöller and René Meier. After the team had to give up the fourth special stage “Glück-Auf-Brücke II” on Friday evening due to damage to the vehicle, their team used the night to prepare the rally car for the second stage. Just in time for the start on Saturday morning, veteran Gromöller and his navigator Meier were on the road again.

Further technical problems during the course of the rally day did not prevent the experienced Gütersloher from bringing the rally classic from Opel to the finish. A third place in the NC2 class was enough at the AvD-Sachsen-Rallye to take the overall class victory, to remain the team with the highest points in the overall Masters standings and thus to win the title. This was mainly thanks to consistently good results: Gromöller / Meier took two wins and a second and two third places in their classification in five championship races.

Bad luck in Bavaria prevents Hamadeh-Spaniol’s Masters triumph

Another impressive performance was Tarek Hamadeh-Spaniol (Citroën C2), who finished the 2021 season with second place in the overall standings of the ADAC Rallye Masters. The Saarlander shone four times as the best-placed driver in a rally car of the NC4 class and thus confidently secured the overall victory in the NC4 classification. However, a technical defect in the final phase of the ADAC 3-City Rally cost Hamadeh-Spaniol the decisive points, so that the maximum yield at the season finale was not enough to overtake the champions Gromöller / Meier in the final table. During the past Masters season, the 29-year-old put his trust in the co-drivers Jaqueline Kaiser, Ann-Kathrin Mergen and Alessandra Baumann, and he contested the Cimbern Rally together with Henry Wichura.

Christ completes the ADAC Rallye Masters podium

Martin Christ (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) had every reason to cheer at the Saxony Rally. He finished the season finale through Zwickau, the Zwickauer Land and the Vogtland together with co-driver Tino Krajewski as the fastest starter in the ADAC Rally Masters in fifth place in the rally classification. Another top result brought Christ the overall triumph in the traditionally strong NC1 class. In addition, the Mitsubishi driver from Geesthacht near Hamburg moved up to third place in the overall ranking of the popular ADAC mass sport rally series. The tie in points with Alexander Merkel / Lisa Kiefer is in favor of Christ, as he achieved better results in his class over the course of the season.

RC4-Armada in the ADAC Rallye Masters classification

Behind Christ, the attractive rally cars of the RC4 class cavorted in the ADAC Rallye Masters table at the Saxony Rally. Jonas Ertz, who started with a front-wheel drive car for the second time around Zwickau, and his co-driver Maresa Lade (Opel Corsa Rally4) set the second-fastest Masters time. So they won the RC4 rating. The duo was followed by Tobias Just / Hanna Ostlender (Citroën C2 R2 Max) in second place in the class, Nico Knacker / Enrico Flores-Trigo (Opel Adam R2) took third place. The top 5 of the RC4 vehicles in Saxony were completed by Konstantin Keil / Stefanie Fritzensmeier (Citroën DS3 R3T Max) and Timo Schulz / Christoph Gerlich (Citroën C2 R2 Max). Alexander Merkel and Lisa Kiefer (Opel Corsa Rally4) celebrate the overall victory in the RC4 class with the finish at the Zwickauer Kornmarkt.

Pirelli Junior rating

With the Pirelli Junior classification, the German Rally Championship and the ADAC Rally Masters introduced an attractive classification for aspiring rally talents up to the age of 25 for the 2021 season. Jonas Ertz and Maresa Lade secured the prize for the best youngsters who did not start in a Rally2 racing car. You can now look forward to three sets of rally tires from partner Pirelli for the coming DRM or ADAC Rallye Masters season.

Voices after the rally

Overall winner ADAC Rallye Masters – Walter Gromöller (Opel Ascona 400): “At first we focused on the DRM Historic rating, we hadn’t set ourselves any specific goals for the ADAC Rallye Masters. But after the class wins came, the ambition was aroused, and we definitely wanted to win! That’s why After our slip on Friday evening we were highly motivated to get the car back in shape. Today we took it a little slower at the beginning, but then quickly got back to our rally pace and gave everything again. “

Vice-Champion ADAC Rallye Masters – Tarek Hamadeh-Spaniol (Citroën C2): “I would never have expected our placings before the season. It is of course a little annoying that we missed a few points in Bavaria. After all, as a racing driver you are simply ambitious, but we are incredibly happy about second place. To be a master is a great thing! “

3rd place ADAC Rallye Masters – Martin Christ (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9): “It went very well for us! It was the first Masters season that we ever drove. For me it was accordingly all new runs. That is why we were good at music everywhere. We are very satisfied with that. At the end of the season To win once in the ADAC Rallye Masters and to take fifth place in the rally naturally makes us totally happy! “

“PS – DRM German Rally Championship” – the broadcast times