Four days of highlights: Top tips for the Central European Rally

• New highlights await visitors to the Central European Rally every day
• Start in Prague – finish in Passau – service park in Karpfham – overnight stop in Klatovy (CZE)
• 42 fan zones offer spectacular views of the rally and a great infrastructure

Munich. From 17th to 20th October, the Central European Rally promises to deliver a festival of motorsport in the three-country region between Germany, the Czech Republic and Austria. For four days, it will serve up a feast of unique highlights for visitors. From the start on the Thursday in the Czech capital Prague to the finish ramp in the Bavarian city of Passau on the Sunday, 42 fan zones on the special stages combine spectacular rally action with a visitor-friendly infrastructure. The weekend also has many attractions in store, making for a busy programme away from the 18 special stages over the course of the four days. It is worth taking a look online to keep abreast of the full range of offerings: all visitor information and tickets are available at centraleuropeanrally.eu and via the free “TW Sportsoft” smartphone app.

The best spectator points are signposted and easy to find: access routes are also signposted on the main roads around the routes. Each fan zone is identified with a unique fan zone number, whereby the fan zone is labelled with a special stage and a consecutive number.

Thursday: Furious start
The focus on the opening day of the CER is on Prague and Klatovy. The competitors get the event underway at 14:00 in the heart of the Czech capital. Fans can get up close and personal with the top stars of the rally scene during an autograph session and interviews around the start ramp, right in front of the Presidential Palace. From there, the crews head straight to the first special stage (SS) on the outskirts of Prague: the oval of the racecourse provides the backdrop to Super Special Stage “Velká Chuchle”, which promises to be quite a spectacle and is accompanied by an entertaining event programme. After lunch, the action continues in the centre of Klatovy – the second focal point of the day. Here, as previously at the racecourse, visitors need not miss a second of the rally action, thanks to a large video wall. The competitors will assemble here in the afternoon for the regrouping, offering opportunities for interviews, while autograph hunters will also be in there element here. Early in the evening, attention turn SS2, which is roughly 12 kilometres long. Anyone wishing to watch live, as the headlight beams of the WRC racers tear through the twilight in the race against the clock, will find a host of spectator points along the stage. One good tip is fan zone B4 near the village of Bolešin, which offers lengthy views of the cars, which go airborne over one jump.

Friday: Action around the horse ranch
The action resumes in Klatovy on Friday morning. For those wishing to emulate the WRC aces and spend Thursday night here, the Strašín stage (SS4 / 7, fan zones D) is a great tip: here, they will find fan zone D10 near the village of Hoslovice – a branch with a high-speed decent, which promises plenty of action. Located very close to the special stage is the Hoslovice horse ranch, which offers an extensive programme during the rally, including riding shows, kids’ horse rides, a big screen, catering with local specialities, and much more. Campers can stay overnight on the premises and will even find disposal facilities for their sanitary equipment. For those travelling from Germany and Austria, SS 5/8 Šumavské Hoštice (fan zones E) is the nearest stage and the scene of another hot tip, in the form of fan zone E16: here, visitors can follow the rally cars for almost a full kilometre, as they tackle two corners and a small jump.

Saturday: The first cross-border special stage
Having arrived at the service park in Karpfham near Bad Griesbach from 20:00 on Friday evening, the rally caravan embarks on day three from the same location on Saturday. It is definitely worth visiting this extensive area, as it is not only possible to check out the teams and their cars at first hand, but there is also plenty of entertainment on offer. Anyone wishing to watch the action up close and personal would be well advised to head to the nearby stage “Granit und Wald” (SS 9/12, fan zones F). The large fan zone F20 offers many great locations and nearby camping opportunities. Another absolute highlight awaits in Austria. For the first time, the rally will cross the border between Bavaria and Austria on SS 10/13 (“Beyond Borders”, fan zones G). Shortly thereafter, fan zone G22 provides a genuine “arena” feel near the sawmill in Fuchsödt, where fans have a perfect view of a jump from their hillside position.

Sunday: Conclusions and presentation ceremonies
The final day of the rally is all about the victory and podium positions, and a possible outcome in the WRC title race with one rally still to come. However, before the champagne is sprayed and the trophies presented, there are still four special stages to be won. Spectators cannot go wrong on SS 15/17 (KNAUS TABBERT Am Hochwald, fan zones K), which runs right past the site of the manufacturer of leisure vehicles. Fan zones K31 to K34 benefit from easy access from car parks, whilst offering fantastic views of the rally action and a good infrastructure. It goes without saying that visitors can use breaks in the action to check out the company’s products, which will be on display. Furthermore, a camping area has been set up and a shuttle service to the Jägerbild Nordic Centre means it is also possible to watch the grand finale to the rally: it is here that the cars assemble after the second running of SS 16/18 (“Passauer Land”, fan zones L), which is classified as the Power Stage. After a short “Flower Ceremony”, an initial presentation ceremony is held for the top three in the rally. The overall podium ceremony and ceremonial reception for all competitors follows from 15:30 in the centre of Passau. There is plenty on offer for fans here too, as they will find an entertaining event programme around the town hall in the three-river city.

Overview: All the highlights at a glance

Thursday, 17th October 2024
From 09:00: Shakedown (Točná)
From 09:00: Fan programme in Velká Chuchle (incl. live coverage of Shakedown and Start)
From 12:00: Fan programme in Klatovy town centre
From 14:00: Show start with large fan programme in Prague city centre (Hradčany)
From 15:00: SS 1 – Velká Chuchle (fan zones: A)
From 18:26: SS 2 – Klatovy 1 (fan zones: B)

Friday, 18th October 2024
All day: Programme at Hoslovice horse ranch (near fan zone D10)
From 06:45: Start of day two from overnight Parc Fermé in Klatovy
From 08:02: SS 3 – Klatovy 2 (fan zones: B)
From 09:32: SS 4 – Strašín 1 (fan zones: D)
From 10:42: SS 5 – Šumavské Hoštice 1 (fan zones: E)
From 13:11: SS 6 – Klatovy 3 (fan zones: B)
From 13:58: Regrouping & Technical Zone Janovice
From 16:14: SS 7 – Strašín 2 (fan zones: D)
From 17:24: SS 8 – Šumavské Hoštice 2 (fan zones: E)
From 20:04: Parc Fermé & Technical Zone / Flexi Service Karpfham / Bad Griesbach

Saturday, 19th October 2024
All day: Service area for the ADAC Opel Electric Rally Cup in Hauzenberg
From 06:20: Start of day three from service area Karpfham / Bad Griesbach
From 07:58: SS 9 – Granit und Wald 1 (fan zones: F)
From 09:05: SS 10 – Beyond Borders 1 (fan zones: G)
From 10:34: SS 11 – Schärdinger Innviertel 1 (fan zones: H)
From 11:40: Regrouping & Technical Zone Karpfham / Bad Griesbach
From 14:28: SS 12 – Granit und Wald 2 (fan zones: F)
From 15:35: SS 13 – Beyond Borders 2 (fan zones: G)
From 17:04: SS 14 – Schärdinger Innviertel 2 (fan zones: H)
From 18:07: Parc Fermé & Technical Zone / Flexi Service Karpfham / Bad Griesbach

Sunday, 20th October 2024
All day: Sunday shopping in Hauzenberg, checkpoint and presentation of competitors in the town hall square (Rathausplatz)
From 07:20: Start of day four from service area Karpfham / Bad Griesbach
From 09:11: SS 15 – KNAUS TABBERT Am Hochwald 1 (fan zones: K) with exhibition of KNAUS TABBERT models at the company’s site and stopping point for spectator shuttles heading to Jägerbild
From 10:35: SS 16 – Passauer Land 1 (fan zones: L)
From 11:33: SS 17 – KNAUS TABBERT Am Hochwald 2 (fan zones: K)
From 13:15: SS 18 – Wolf Power Stage Passauer Land 2 (fan zones: L) with Flower Ceremony at Jägerbild Nordic Centre
From 15:30: Podium and presentation ceremony in Passau city centre, Rathausplatz