Weiz, Styria, Austria – The fourth round of the ADAC Opel Electric Rally Cup took place this weekend in the picturesque but challenging landscape of Weiz. The Infypower chargebyte e-Rally Team, with driver Johannes Wittenbeck and his new 16-year-old co-driver Maximilian Kugler from near Bremen, was also in attendance.
Rallye Weiz is known for its slippery asphalt roads and steep gradients. With temperatures reaching up to 35 degrees Celsius, the teams were put to the test. The Thursday afternoon shakedown went well for the team until a severe accident involving the Hungarian team Hangodi and Petrovszki in a blind corner caused a brief moment of shock. Fortunately, the driver quickly got to safety and warned Wittenbeck and Kugler about the dangerous spot.
The official start from the rally ramp in downtown Weiz took place in the evening, heightening the anticipation for the coming days. On Friday afternoon, the rally finally began with three stages to complete. After two stages, the team was in a solid eighth place. Then the weather turned: a severe storm hit the Weiz region, causing chaos. Johannes Wittenbeck and Maximilian Kugler were trapped in their rally car at the end of the second stage as fallen trees blocked all paths. The service park was heavily damaged, tents were blown around, and one person was carried several meters by a tent. A total of 15 people were injured, but fortunately, there were no serious injuries. The rally was temporarily suspended. Mechanic Felix described the dramatic scenes: “Incredible, I have never experienced anything like it. The sky turned black, we tried to hold the pavilion, and then it just flew away. We had no choice but to take shelter in the car and watch as everything was destroyed outside. Luckily, our car was on the track.”
Thanks to the energetic help of everyone involved, the rally was able to continue on Saturday morning without tents. In the fifth stage, the team achieved the sixth-best time, placing them in fifth overall. In the seventh stage, they recorded the fifth-best time. Saturday afternoon developed into an exciting battle for fourth place. On Saturday evening, the team finally reached the finish in Weiz after ten stages with a total time of 1 hour, 22 minutes, and 44.5 seconds. This resulted in a sixth-place finish, just 14 seconds behind fifth place and 23 seconds behind fourth. The victory went to local heroes Luca Pröglhöf and Christina Ettl from Austria. Second place went to Anthony Rott and Herve Faucher from France, and third place was secured by Alex Espanol and Patricia Saiz from Spain. Wittenbeck and Kugler finished as the best German team.
Johannes Wittenbeck is satisfied: “We had an exciting battle for fourth place at the end with the Belgian and French national teams. It might not have been enough, but we were not far off. We are really happy with our performance and will be pushing hard again in four weeks at Stemweder Berg!”