Recently I was in the Toronto area and had the opportunity to visit with my friend, Harald von Langsdorff. I have been fortunate to compete in a number of rallies with Harald as his navigator. I was looking through his automotive library and one book caught my attention – “Oldtimer-Rallye” by Rolf Blaschke. This is book that is a handbook for competing in all types of rallies in Germany. This of particular interest to me as Harald and I have competed in rallies in Germany before and Harald and I are going back to compete in the Baden Classic again in April 2014. Note that in Germany, the term “oldtimer rallye” refers to rallies that require the use of old cars – not the age of the people competing in the rally!
This Is A Very Informative Book About German Rallies
I was able to convince Harald to sell the book to me with him planning on buying the latest edition of this book the next time that he is in Germany. As I will have to translate the German text, it will take me some time to read this book. Fortunately, as I have competed in the Baden Classic rally in Germany several times before, I have a good understanding of the rallies. Therefore I can skip large portions of the book, which will make my translating much easier.
By the way, while the book focuses on German rallies, it is interesting that the photo on the front cover shows two rally competitors looking at a timing sheet from the third day of the Italian Mille Miglia rally!
As shown below, the book is well illustrated throughout with color diagrams and many photos. These illustrations are useful to help understand the German text. In addition, as car rallying is an international sport, many of the rally rules, signs, and instructions will be very familiar to North American rally competitors.
An Example of the Illustrations In The Book
I found some of the discussions about map rallies, as shown of the page below, to be quite interesting and informative. I don’t know if some of these techniques will be used in any rally that I will take part in, but I feel better prepared for future rallies.
Map Rally Example
In summary this is very good book about German car rallies. It is challenging to read for non-German speaking readers such as I, but I think that the effort is worthwhile and it will provide me with the opportunity to be better prepared for German rallies. It has also given me some ideas for some interesting twists for rallies in North America.
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