New Highlights for the Spectators at the ADAC Rallye Deutschland

• New Wadern-Weiskirchen Special Stage a triple feature on Friday
• The Bostalsee Service Park is only a short distance away from anywhere and offers an open-air festival atmosphere
• St. Wendeler Land Power Stage with subsequent podium ceremony at the Service Park

Munich. The 2017 ADAC Rallye Deutschland offers so many new highlights as none before. Of the 21 Special Stages (SS) making up the German WRC rally this year, more than half are completely new or were re-routed. The rally fans are in for a rally spectacular full of variety when Sébastien Ogier, Jari-Matti Latvala, Thierry Neuville and their fellow WRC drivers go for it between 17 and 20 August 2017 in the Saarland and neighbouring regions. We will review three highlights among the numerous innovations at the 2017 ADAC Rallye Deutschland.

New Wadern-Weiskirchen spectator circuit stage

The all-new SS Wadern-Weiskirchen on Friday, 18 August, is a triple highlight since the WRC drivers will pass through the fast circuit stage three times in the course of the day. This compact stage is only some 20km north of Saarbrücken. Between the townships of Wadern and Weiskirchen, the competitors will face a tricky itinerary. At highest rally speeds they will chase narrow asphalt roads. Some very hard passages and 90-degree turn-offs will challenge the crews. Each will have to drive the circuit twice to get to the Finish of the stage after 9.27km.

The new Special Stage offers perfect conditions for spectators allowing them to view large sections of the stage and take in all the action they want - all the more so since several WRC cars will be on the circuit at the same time. The starting times for the SS Wadern-Weiskirchen are 09:23hrs, 13:09hrs and 18:40hrs. The late start into the final run of the SS will allow the undecided fans to get a happy-hour piece of the action. Between the three runs, the crews will do two runs each of the Mittelmosel and Grafschaft vineyards Special Stages.

New Service Park at Bostalsee

The new Service Park of the ADAC Rallye Deutschland is situated directly on the western shores of lake Bostal in the northern Saarland. The premises near St. Wendel that served as the hub of the WRC rally Germany between 2003 and 2006 offers perfect conditions both for the fans and the competing teams. Centrally located, all Special Stages are only a short drive away and easy to reach.

The Service Park will present a whole new setup. On an area of approx. 150,000 square metres, there will be a diverse mix of facilities and attractions. The service areas where the fans can watch the teams at work are next to emotive presentations by manufacturers and partners of the ADAC Rallye Deutschland. This is also where the fans have the best chance to be up close and personal with their WRC idols - for instance at the public Meet-the-Crews sessions, where the best drivers and their team principals talk about the events of the day. And that is not all. There is something going on at the Service Park at all times and the fans should look forward to a lakeshore ambience with open-air festival flair.

New St. Wendeler Land Power Stage with ensuing podium ceremony at the Service Park

The new SS St. Wendeler Land will be the spectacular showdown of this year's ADAC Rallye Deutschland. On Sunday, 20 August, it is on the schedule twice, early at 08:45hrs in the morning and again at 12:18hrs as the Power Stage. In this final run, there will be three extra points to score for the driver coming in first, two points for the crew in second and one point for the third. The itinerary will bring the drivers towards the Finish line directly at the Bostalsee Service Park from the east. It is a 12.95km sequence of fast uphills and downhills. A number of treacherous hairpin turns will demand ultimate concentration once more.

The starting order for the Power Stage will be the reverse of the rally standings, so the fans will have to wait for the decision until the last car. As a highlight, the Power Stage will segue into the official podium ceremony of the ADAC Rallye Deutschland, which will be held at the Service Park for the first time. Fans and team members will be able to start celebrating with the drivers immediately after. The Power Stage and podium ceremony will be broadcast live on TV.