Cool, fast and successful: Christian Riedemann wins home rally with ease

Cool, fast and successful
Christian Riedemann confidently wins home rally

05/08/2023 1:29 p.m

Sun, rain, wet asphalt or dry gravel – Christian Riedemann didn’t let anything shake him at his home rally. After a rain battle on Friday evening, the local hero started the second stage of the 34th ADAC Actronics Rallye Sulingen on Saturday with co-driver Nico Otterbach as the leader.

In dry conditions, he continuously extended his lead in the Hyundai i20 N Rally2, won seven of the eleven special stages and finally triumphed with a lead of 53.5 seconds. “It didn’t look like it, but it was a tough fight. I’m proud of our team and thank everyone who played a part in this success. Nico gave me great support and we got on better and better with the car as the rally went on. And that in all conditions. The competition can dress warmly at the upcoming Rallye Mittelrhein”, promised the winner of Sulingen to his competitors.

Second-placed Julius Tannert and co-driver Frank Christian showed a particularly strong performance on Saturday and won three special stages in the Škoda Fabia RS Rally2. However, the gap to the top kept getting bigger. “On the first day we practically only drove on the IVG site and Christian showed that he is at home here. In the tests out in the field on Saturday we proved that we can be at the forefront. With second place we were able to we could expand our lead in the championship, that was all we could do,” explained Julius Tannert. The current German rally champions Philip Geipel and Katrin Becker (Škoda Fabia Rally2 Evo) took a similar view.

The co-driver: “It was clear to us that we wouldn’t be able to beat Christian in his home rally. We will never match his knowledge of the route on the IVG site. But with our third place, everything is still open in the championship and for the rally Mittelrhein the cards are being reshuffled.” The combination of Björn Satorius/Hanna Ostlender (Ford Fiesta Rally2) was very happy about fourth place: “At the beginning we lacked the feeling and the self-confidence. Today it suddenly clicked and the times were right. We can count on this great success we are building up,” said Hanna Ostlender happily.

Martin Christ wins DRM2 rating

In the DRM2 ranking, Martin Christ showed a strong and dominant performance on both days. Together with co-driver Lina Meter, the man from Geesthacht in the Opel Corsa Rally4 already pulled away from the competition on Friday and didn’t show any weaknesses on Saturday either. “We got through both days without any major problems. There was a spin on the IVG site. The car stalled and we lost around 15 seconds. Otherwise it went well, especially when it came to the choice of tires in these changing conditions.” , summed up the DRM2 leader. Brand colleagues Jonas Ertz and Maresa Lade also presented themselves in good form. Jonas Ertz: “We drove the last test in a controlled manner and thus secured second place in the DRM2. That’s a great result. Now I’m really looking forward to my home rally on the Middle Rhine. I want to do a similar thing with Maresa in front of friends and acquaintances achieve a good result,” says Jonas Ertz. The duo Alexander Kattenbach/Andreas Luther secured third place in the DRM2, also in an Opel Corsa Rally2.

Dennis Rostek and co-driver Dennis Zenz made it clear that the DRM Trophy was a special classification. The duo drove the competition to the ground in the Škoda Fabia Rally2 Evo and ultimately won with a lead of around five and a half minutes. “At the start of the season in the Erzgebirge, I wasn’t mentally on the ball at all. That annoyed me a lot given the preparation time of half a year. What we deducted yesterday and today is what I expect from myself. That’s what we want in the next rallies continue”, explained the Bückeburger. Georg Berlandy and Tina Annemüller (Škoda Fabia R5), who had inflicted the first defeat on Dennis Rostek in the special classification in the Ore Mountains, had no chance: “A puncture on Friday cost us four minutes. That was the end of it. We still have the maximum picked up points and are now looking forward to our home game on the Middle Rhine and the great special stages in the vineyards”, Georg Berlandy took the result rather calmly.

International starting field inspires in difficult conditions with top rallying

Victory in the DRM Classic once again went to Andreas Dahms and Paul Schubert in the Porsche 911. “That was a very difficult rally when it came to choosing the tires. On Friday evening we were out and about in the dry on rain tires, but they showed up on the second stage and the The sudden onset of rain turned out to be spot on. We got off to a good start on Saturday and carried the momentum with us throughout the day,” explained the driver of the green 911.

With the award ceremony in the city center, the 34th ADAC Actronics Rallye Sulingen came to an atmospheric and happy end on Saturday evening. For two days, the international starting field thrilled the spectators with top rally sport. The second tour stop of the German Rally Championship was also the venue for the first runs of the Dutch Open Rally Championship and the Dansk Super Rally. The fans were also able to experience top pilots from neighboring countries up close. Kenneth Madsen and Mette Felthaus in their Peugeot 208 T16 R5 in fifth place were the best Danish team. Erik Wevers and Jalmar van Weeren finished the 34th ADAC Actronics Rallye Sulingen in the VW Polo GTI R5 as the strongest Dutch duo in sixth place.

The next station of the German Rally Championship is the Rallye ADAC Mittelrhein on 9./10. June.

Highlights of the ADAC Actronics Rallye Sulingen on n-tv

The highlights of the German Rally Championship can be seen exclusively on free-to-air television on n-tv. Every weekend after the racing events, the news channel broadcasts the 30-minute DRM magazine “PS – DRM Deutsche Rallye-Meisterschaft” on Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning. Alternatively, the magazine can be accessed free of charge at any time in the n-tv media center or the RTL+ streaming platform.

The German Rally Championship will take place on the 9th/10th. June continued with the Rallye ADAC Mittelrhein.

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