Final run: These are the German rally champions 2021

Monday, November 1st, 2021

Final run
These are the German rally champions 2021

Rally fans experienced a veritable heartbeat finale at the AvD-Sachsen-Rallye, the fifth and final round of the German Rally Championship in 2021. After a great fight around Zwickau and consistently good performances over the entire season in the Citroën C3 Rally2, Marijan Griebel (Hahnweiler) and his co-driver Alexander Rath (Trier) rewarded themselves with the German Rally Championship.

Alexander Merkel and Lisa Kiefer from Kitzingen and Speyer secured the title in the DRM special classification 2WD. They won in an Opel Corsa Rally4. Andreas Dahms from Steinburg is also the new German champion. Together with his co-driver Paul Schubert (Trittau), he won the DRM special classification for historic vehicles in the Porsche 911. Julius Tannert from Zwickau also caused great enthusiasm among the audience. The 31-year-old Skoda driver used his home advantage and won the Saxony rally. N-tv reports on the highlights of the season finale in the DRM magazine “PS – DRM German Rally Championship” on Saturday, November 6th at 9:30 am and on Sunday, November 7th at 7:30 am.

The final DRM run around Zwickau, in the Zwickauer Land and in the Vogtland was another tough one for the German rally elite. At the end of the season, difficult and fast special stages demanded everything from the pilots and their co-drivers. In a total of twelve special stages over 147 kilometers in perfect weather conditions, valuable seconds and points were the focus. Dominik Dinkel (Wonsees) and Pirmin Winklhofer (Welgersdorf / Ford Fiesta Rally2) traveled to Saxony as overall leaders and entered the fifth DRM run of the year as title favorites. But technical problems and a ride on Saturday dashed hopes of overall victory. Their closest rival Marijan Griebel, who was only three points behind them, did not let the chance be taken away, showed almost flawless special stages and thus celebrated his second German championship title with co-pilot Rath. The number one success factor for Griebel was the high level of consistency: the 32-year-old won a run and was on the podium at all other DRM events this season.

Julius Tannert uses his home advantage

With the home fans in the back, local hero Tannert grew beyond himself and impressed with top times. He set the fastest time in six of twelve special stages. In the end, the Zwickau and co-driver Helmar Hinneberg from Hamburg won ahead of Griebel, pushing himself past Dinkel in the overall standings and becoming vice-champion. Philip Geipel (Skoda Fabia R5) from Plauen also used his home game and finished the Saxony Rally with Katrin Becker-Brugger (Hallein) at his side after a strong performance behind third-placed Christian Riedemann (Kirchdorf) and Lara Vanneste from Diekirch (VW Polo GTI R5) in fourth.

Special ranking 2WD goes to the Merkel / Kiefer duo

The final in the DRM special classification 2WD was also exciting: After an accident in SS six, it initially looked like a retirement for Alexander Merkel and Lisa Kiefer. But the team didn’t give up and was able to repair the Opel Corsa Rally4 in time. Fifth place in Saxony was enough for the duo to win the title of German champion. Second was Nico Knacker from Siedenburg (Opel Adam R2), followed by the duo Konstantin Keil (Niestetal) and Stefanie Fritzensmeier from Bielefeld in a Citroën DS3 R3T Max as third.

Exciting finale in the historic rating

For the favorites in the DRM Historic rating, things did not go optimally at the final run in Saxony. The overall leaders Walter Gromöller (Gütersloh) and René Meier (Wilkau-Haßlau / Opel Ascona 400) damaged their vehicle during the fourth special stage and lost valuable time. Even if the team was able to fix the car overnight, the duo were two points short of the German championship in the end. Team Andreas Dahms and Paul Schubert secured the title in a Porsche 911 after completing 147 kilometers. Florian Feustel and Paul Gehbauer also finished third in a Porsche 911.

Julius Tannert also wins the Pirelli Power Stage

The last Pirelli Power Stage of the season was decided by Julius Tannert. The Saxony rally winner needed 6: 54.7 minutes in the Skoda Fabia Rally2 Evo for the 13.48 kilometers long, twelfth and final special stage “Plohn 2”. Tannert will receive a voucher worth 500 euros for Pirelli tires.

Voices after the rally

German champion Marijan Griebel (Citroën C3 Rally2): “I’m totally happy and relieved. The last meters got longer and longer today. At the beginning, when it was still so tight, we went on full attack. You don’t even think about a win or a title. But when it was clear that we just have to arrive, it got really bad. You pay attention to every little thing and listen carefully to the car. However, we were able to solve it seriously and finish the race sensibly. I would describe the season as a perfect one. It was terrific, again before To drive so many fans. The enthusiasm here is immense. That was a worthy end to the German Rally Championship in 2021. “

German champion special classification 2WD – Alexander Merkel (Opel Corsa Rally4): “How we managed to do that, I actually wonder. After the rollover on the sixth special stage, I thought it was over. I photographed the damage and sent it to my mechanic. He replied: ‘Get in, drive on. I’ll fix it Again ‘. Incredible, he managed it. Fortunately, we had enough points in the rallies before that we were able to do such nonsense today and are still German champions in the end. “

German Champion Special Classification Historic – Andreas Dahms (Porsche 911): “That feels perfect. But we have also prepared very well – both technically and mentally. Of course, we also benefited from the failure of Walter Gromöller on Friday evening. The time gained made it possible for us to win the title Walter is actually totally superior to us in terms of driving technology. The spectators also spurred me on. I really wanted to show what the Porsche and the crew can do. “

Winner AvD Saxony Rally Julius Tannert (Skoda Fabia Rally2 evo): “I know my way around here very well and know about the stages. Two of them were brand new, that was a special challenge. You can’t afford to make any mistakes. We were able to exploit the car’s full potential and keep up with the German elite. That is a Great feeling for me. The fans really motivated me. Ten years ago I drove my very first rally, now to win at home is something very special. “

Further background information and the complete scores for the DRM and the ADAC Rallye Masters are available at: adac.de/drm and adac.de/rallye-masters

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