Dramatic finale of the ADAC Saarland Rally: Pöttgen wins in the rain!

Dramatic finale of the ADAC Saarland Rally: Pöttgen wins in the rain!

On October 26, 2025, the starting signal was given for the 52nd ADAC Saarland Rally, which was held at the rally center in Losheim am See. Heavy rain and stormy gusts created challenging conditions and therefore high tension at the final round of the Ravenol DMSB Rallye Cup season. A total of 57 teams took part, including last year's winners Max Schumann and Ann Felke, who opened the competition with their Renault Clio Rally 4. But the adverse weather conditions and a challenging route with 66.07 kilometers of special stages, 3.65 of which were unpaved, demanded everything from the participants. rally200 info reported that the first participants returned as early as 6:13 p.m.

The highly competitive rally saw important favorites drop out in the first stage shortly after the start. Kevin Müller and Stefanie Spreitzer lost a minute due to a slip on the track, while Mathias Schläppi touched the guardrail but still had little time to break. Until the fourth test, Niklas Pöttgen, Schläppi and Max Schumann were at the top of their classes. But misfortune took its course: Max Schumann had to retire in the fifth stage due to a broken wishbone and two of the four favorites were already out of the race at half time. rally magazine further informs that Niklas Pöttgen and Maximilian Kugler as well as Schläppi and his co-driver Dominique Duple continued to fight for overall victory.

The decision on the track

The tension continued as Schläppi struggled with electrical problems from the sixth stage onwards, which severely affected his team. In the final phase of the rally, however, Pöttgen and Kugler were able to achieve class victory with their Seat Ibiza NC8, which also secured them overall victory in the Ravenol DMSB Rallye Cup 2025. Meanwhile, Yannik Büchner and Niklas Zimmer were happy about their victory in the DMSB Rallye Junior Cup 2025, although they had to settle for second place in their class.

The day was also successful for other teams. Dennis Rostek and Stefan Kopczyk drove a Skoda Fabia RS to overall victory in the 2025 Saarland Rally, followed by Max Reiter and Conny Nemenich in the Lancia Ypsilon Rally4 HF, who took second place. Third place went to Tony Bayer and Dominik Buß in the BMW 323 Ti Compact E36. Prizes were also awarded as part of the Ravenol DRC: Niklas Pöttgen won the Ravenol DRC Trophy powered by Pirelli and received 3,000 euros in prize money for his outstanding seasonal performance. motorsport magazine highlights that race day included not only a championship, but also many personal stories and adventures from the teams.

Overall rating and outlook

The overall ranking of the Ravenol DRC 2025 was as follows after the emotional finale:

The ADAC Saarland Rally not only crowned the champions, but also offered the drivers and teams a fantastic end to the 2025 season. In a year that will certainly have a lot of exciting and new things in store, we can look forward to the future development of the rally scene.