20. AvD Histo Monte

AvD-Histo-Monte: February 17 to 21, 2016 Decision on penultimate stage

Some extraordinary vehicles were at the start: Jens Prause/Klaus Heitwerth brought a CITROËN 2CV. In case the 28 horsepower of the „duck“ were no longer sufficient in the snow, the Sauerland natives had extra strapped a pair of skis to the rear of the CITROËN. However, the "Lada Boys," Dominic Müller/Martin Kohnle, and Nico Wacker/Florian Buchta competed in what were arguably the most exotic cars, relying on the Lada 1500 Shiguli 2103, which is well-proven in Siberia. Further diversity was also provided by the manufacturer teams from Škoda Auto Germany, Škoda CZ, and Seat Germany, who brought six different models to the start – and the most prominent driver in the field. Matthias Kahle, seven-time German Rally Champion and six-time Dakar participant, once again piloted the rare sports coupe Škoda 130 RS.

The rally route, approximately 1,700 kilometers long, led from the start in Mainz through the Palatinate Forest, the Black Forest, the Jura Mountains, and the Alps, including some original stages of the Monte Carlo Rally, such as the „Col de Turini“ in the French Alps, all the way to the port of Monte Carlo. „We are proud and happy that the AvD-Histo-Monte is completely sold out this year; the organizer has never received so many entries in the history of the rally,“ explained Rally Director Peter Göbel, who, along with his agency Plusrallye, organized the event for the first time in 2015. „Unfortunately, the great interest also has its downsides. Due to official regulations, we cannot allow more than 80 cars, and unfortunately, nothing can be done about that. However, we promise preferential treatment next year to those teams that we have to turn away this time.“

• 

• 

Every beginning is difficult.

On Thursday, February 18th, at 9:00 AM, last year's winners Dominik an der Heiden/Werner Neugebauer were the first to start the rally with their Opel Kadett C-GTE on Mainz Cathedral Square. But not everyone got away without problems or over the first few kilometers. Dirk Lührmann and Sabine Rose-Lührmann's Fiat 124 Abarth broke down with a defective ignition switch, but the problem could be fixed, and the two hurried to catch up with the field. A defective heater valve caused coolant to leak from Heinrich Resch and Jürgen Schwarz's Mini. A club mate from Bad Kreuznach brought the necessary spare part, allowing them to continue the rally. Reinhard Lambert and Edita Grunwald's Mini sputtered gasoline, which could not be repaired. Thus, Lambert and Grunwald started the second leg on Friday in a Porsche.

Noch 40 kilometers after the start, a Mercedes collided with Manuel Roth's Lancia Fulvia at a junction – rear-end damage to the Lancia. On the Cologne resident Peter Lindemann's Mercedes 280 SLC, the brakes failed downhill, requiring a detour to a workshop. The differential failed on Christian Köppen and Helge Osterdell's BMW 2002 Tii; a friend set off from Velbert and delivered a replacement. Despite a temperamental trip master at the beginning, last year's winner Dominik an der Heiden reported no problems with his Kadett C-GTE, but was only in ninth place at the end of the first day. Father and son Theo and Christoph Wellmann led in their BMW 325 ix with only 33 penalty points.

In terms of weather and track conditions, the first stage did not present any major challenges for the participants. Half an hour after the start, the sun had dispelled the high fog, making the vineyards of the Rhine valley gleam. The route also included the „Toten-kopf-Prüfung“ (Death's Head Test), one of the most famous sections of the legendary Rallye Vorderpfalz, in the Black Forest, which offered snow-covered forests and ascents up to over 1,200 meters.

• 

• 

• 

Driving challenges in shady corners

On the second day, last year's winner Dominik an der Heiden had to abandon the rally with his Kadett C-GTE because his company had been burgled. The leg to Aix-les-Bains up into the Jura mountains now brought the snow on the roads that many participants had been longing for; 496 kilometers with eight special stages were on the schedule. Remnants of snow and wetness in shady corners repeatedly presented driving challenges. After crossing the Swiss border over the old Rhine bridge, which is otherwise closed to traffic, the sun shone in the Jura, and in the French region of Franche Comté, the roads were even free of snow again. No participant slid off the course.

However, the Lancia Fulvia belonging to Manuel Roth was „hit“ a second time. After a misunderstanding, Peter Caspar-Bours rear-ended him with his Mini at a checkpoint, striking the left flank of the car. Caspar-Bours had to retire, while the Lancia, with a dented door, was able to continue the rally. After repairing its injection system, the Lancia Beta Montecarlo AX of Swiss couple Marc and Carin Dietrich also rejoined the race. In Aix-les-Bains, Jens Herkommer's Skoda team worked in the hotel's underground garage until late at night to fix a gearbox failure on the 1967 Skoda 1000 MB belonging to Czechs Frantisek Dvorak and Vitezslav Kodym.

Meanwhile, Matthias Kahle, a two-time Histo-Monte winner, and Bianca Leppert in their Skoda 130 RS secured the day's victory and moved up a few places in the overall standings. However, Theo and Christoph Wellmann in their BMW 325 ix maintained their lead.

Secret target time measurements caused a frenzy and confusion

On the third rally day, the route led through the Grand Canyon du Verdon to Cannes under bright sunshine, with high mountains and deep valleys. But as soon as the remaining 77 participants left Aix-les-Bains via the Col du Granier that morning, they ran into a long caravan of ski vacationers and had to fight their way through. This particularly affected Lars Blunck and Norbert Aschmann's Opel Ascona A, which had been running with a damaged clutch release bearing since the previous day. No replacement could be found, so the two managed with a makeshift repair through the heavy traffic and the day. In the evening, it was unclear if they would be able to make it to the final on Sunday.

Shortly before the stage finish in Cannes, the oldest car in the field, Herrmann Unold and Jürg Hügli's '53 Fiat 1100, had to retire from the rally due to gearbox damage. Heinrich Resch and Jürgen Schwiertz's Innocenti Mini also came to a halt due to engine trouble. Two secret timing checks on stages 19 and 20 caused hectic activity and confusion. Even some top teams did not complete the stages correctly. This also affected the leaders, Theo and Christoph Wellmann, who accidentally missed the slaloms set up on a gravel strip with light barriers on the 19th stage, causing them to drop to second place. Dietmar Gornig and Stephan Hinze took the lead in their Audi Quattro.

• 

• 

Overheating – and too fast to the finish

The final 215 kilometers on February 21st led over the Col de Braus, the Col de Castillon, the Col de Turini, and the Col de l’Orme with its two dozen hairpin turns. However, the Ascona A-Team Blunck/Aschmann did not want to do that to the battered car anymore and had a relaxed day in Cannes.

At the Col de Turini, the leading Audi Quattro showed slight signs of overheating, but these no longer posed a major problem for the remainder of the race. After four days and 1,655 kilometers, Dietmar Gornig and Stephan Hinze were celebrated as the overall winners of the anniversary edition in the port of Monte Carlo. The decision for the victory and the final places directly behind them was only made on the penultimate special stage, where the lurking Wellmanns with their BMW 325 ix were 5.6 seconds too fast at the finish and received 56 penalty points. The Westphalians were even relegated to third place because Franz and Thomas Roth had put in a strong final sprint in their Opel Ascona B. The pairing of Matthias Kahle and Bianca Leppert was pleasantly surprised. The co-driver of the two-time AvD Histo Monte winner, a journalist, contested her first historic rally in a factory-prepped Skoda 130 RS and finished in fourth overall place with the German rally record champion. The „hourglass class“ was won by the seasoned veterans Dr. Ernst Schröder and Willy Potjans in a Porsche 356. Ultimately, 73 out of 80 started teams were classified, which was a relatively good rate.

• 

•