One year’s preparation for four days of ADAC Rallye Deutschland

• Complex planning process for the German event in the FIA WRC

Munich. After the rally is before the rally – this is absolutely true of the ADAC Rallye Deutschland. For the WRC stars to bring some spectacular action to the Saarland and neighbouring regions, where the ADAC Rallye Deutschland will take place between 16 and 19 August 2018, comprehensive planning is required. Clerk of the Course Friedhelm Kissel and an organising team of approx. 20 specialists from different areas of expertise – most of them volunteers – coordinate the preparations. They have set up their control centre at the permanent rally office in Saarbrücken.

Detailed planning is in full swing
The organisers’ preparations are well under way and on schedule: some eight weeks before the ADAC Rallye Deutschland, they are mostly working on the details. In addition to finalising important documents such as road books as well as the itinerary and setup, they are currently focussing on staff planning: to ensure that everybody is safe at the event, some 2,000 volunteer marshals must be coordinated. And the planning also extends to helpers such as medical staff. ADAC involves the towns along the itinerary in the organisation of spectator areas and car parks. The towns usually assign the different tasks to local associations, groups and businesses.

Getting everything ready until right before the rally
When the list of participants in the ADAC Rallye Deutschland is finalised by mid-July, it will be the key job of the rally office staff to communicate with the teams. Other great challenges during this phase will be the planning and logistics for setting up the entire rally infrastructure in coordination with the SS teams. Also, the staff will have to coordinate the transport of some 100 tonnes of material from a central depot.

Final preparations and setup during the rally week
When preparations enter the “hot phase”, the organising team will move from Saarbrücken to the AUTODOC Service Park which is located on the lakeshore of Bostalsee. At the AUTODOC Service Park, a theme park will be set up for the rally fans near the teams’ work areas. Several installation and removal teams will be working almost around the clock also at the other hotspots – from the Shakedown to the Special Stages to the town centre of St Wendel which will host the ADAC Rallye Deutschland opening and podium ceremonies on Thursday (16 August) and Sunday (19 August), respectively.

First planning milestones: itinerary and authorisations
When the first WRC cars approach the start line at Schlossplatz in St Wendel on 16 August, the organising team will look back on approx. one year of planning. Based on findings of last year’s event, the rally was enhanced, and several meetings and on-site inspections were conducted to optimise the ADAC Rallye Deutschland. In addition to experts in the areas of environmental protection as well as spectator and track safety, the ADAC regional clubs of the rally region were involved in this process at an early stage. With a view to authorisations, many preparatory meetings were held with towns, authorities and landowners. As a result, the finalised itinerary was submitted to the FIA for approval as early as February. The world federation of motor sport then approved the planning and gave the go-ahead for the German WRC event.

Get your rally and day passes in pre-sale now!
Passes for the ADAC Rallye Deutschland are available from the official ticket shop on the web: go to www.adac.de/rallye-deutschland (under the Tickets tab) to get your four-day rally passes or day tickets (Thursday, Friday, Saturday or Sunday). Pre-sale buyers will enjoy discounts and an attractive package offer that includes the official event magazine. Just like last year, the pre-sale price of a rally pass package is €70 (€65 for ADAC members). Day passes are available for €35 exclusively in pre-sale. During the ADAC Rallye Deutschland, the regular price for a rally pass will be €80 at all on-site sales points.

The rally passes cover:
– Access to all Special Stages on all days
– Access to the AUTODOC Service Park on all days
– Access to the Shakedown on Thursday
– A spectator map providing all the essential information about the rally
– ADAC Rallye Deutschland lanyard
– ADAC Rallye Deutschland sticker
– ADAC Rallye Deutschland magazine (in German with essential information in English and French)

ADAC Rallye Deutschland information:
The ADAC Rallye Deutschland has a unique worldwide reputation. Its mix of hairpin stages in the vineyards, tough tracks on the Baumholder tank range and fast asphalt roads presents extreme challenges for both the teams and the drivers. Excellent driving skills and versatility are of the essence here. Diversity, high-class action and closeness to the fans are the ingredients that make the ADAC Rallye Deutschland such an attractive package for spectators as well. Year after year, this major event draws enthusiastic crowds from all over Europe, giving it a special, international atmosphere.