Title defence mission: Tarek Hamadeh-Spaniol begins the 2024 DRM season
The 2024 Deutsche Rallye-Meisterschaft (DRM) is just around the corner, and current DRM National Champion Tarek Hamadeh-Spaniol is beginning the new season with the aim of defending his title. The season starts with the ADAC Rallye Erzgebirge on 15 and 16 March 2024.
The 31-year-old rally driver from Saarbrücken has had an impressive career. This reached its peak so far at the end of last September: in his Citroën C2 Challenge, he was able to win his fifth of six races in his NC4 class thanks to victory at the ADAC Rallye Stemweder Berg, the Deutsche Rallye-Meisterschaft 2023 season finale, and once again celebrate topping his class. This success also secured him the title of DRM Nationals Champion for the first time. He is now the reigning champion of the DRM Nationals, a special DRM category where each team gains points in its particular vehicle class based on the class results, meaning that the team that has scored the most points in its class (of a total of nine classes) wins.
Athlete’s Page of
Tarek Hamadeh-Spaniol
More information about the rally driver can be found here.
After third place overall in 2019 and finishing as runner-up in 2021, he has now gained the championship title at the DRM Nationals. 50% of this success can be attributed to his two co-drivers Ann-Kathrin Mergen (Nohfelden) and Henry Wichura (Berlin), who Tarek describes as having a ‘fifty-fifty share’ in the title win. Since 2014, Tarek has mostly been driving the rallies in his home region – such as the Saarland-Pfalz-Rallye and Rallye Mittelrhein – with Ann-Kathrin. For the other DRM races, Henry Wichura is generally sat by Tarek’s side. This split has proved its worth and he works exceptionally well with both co-drivers.
This weekend, the Saarland driver and his co-driver Henry Wichura begin the mission to defend his title with the ADAC Rallye Erzgebirge around Stollberg. This first race is a real endurance test for the 68 teams. The rally offers 137.62 stage kilometres with quick circuits as well as difficult asphalt and gravel roads. The weekend will be filled with exciting races and intense competition across the twelve stages on Friday and Saturday. The elevated areas of the Ore Mountains traditionally involve unpredictable and erratic weather.
As with his last three appearances in the ‘Erze’, Tarek will be looking to climb to the top of the podium for a fourth time on Saturday evening. We wish him much luck and success for a good start to the season and a successful mission.
Tarek’s other races for the 2024 DRM season are:
- ADAC Actronics Rallye Sulingen, Sulingen: 03/05/24 – 04/05/24
- Rallye ADAC Mittelrhein, Föhren: 15/06/24 – 16/06/24
- ADAC Saarland-Pfalz Rallye, St. Wendel: 28/06/24 – 29/06/24
- ADAC Rallye Stemweder Berg, Lübbecke: 09/08/24 – 10/08/24
- ADAC Ostsee-Rallye / Lensahn: 06/09/24 – 08/09/24