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Our #hyloathletes have been putting in strong performances and giving their all once again this week. We take a look back at the last seven days’ events and competitions featuring our athletes, teams and clubs.
A win despite setbacks
We would like to congratulate Tarek Hamadeh-Spaniol on his second Deutsche Rallye Meisterschaft (DRM) 2024 win in the NC4 vehicle class (over 1400 ccm to 1600 ccm).
At the Rallye ADAC Mittelrhein on 15 and 16 June 2024, Tarek and his co-driver Henry Winchura secured the class win in the third DRM race in magnificent form, despite a slip and technical issues at the end. Even though he gained the day win after six special stages on day one of the rally, things were not necessarily in the bag.
‘On the first lap of the Dhrontal special stages, we ended up getting lost in the vineyards, because the driver wasn’t really paying attention’, Tarek Hamadeh-Spaniol self-deprecatingly commented about his brief detour into remote terrain. For the final special stage of the day in and around Klüsserath, the team also ended up having the oil cooling system damaged by a stone chip. It took plenty of luck and the help of the second-placed team (Team Nils Hildebrandt – nh) for the Saarland drivers to make it to the finish line and then the service park. With a small lead and no oil cooling, on the second day of the rally Tarek and Henry pulled off the feat of clinching victory in their class with six top-five finishes in the six special stages.
This second win of the season puts the duo of Hamadeh-Spaniol and Winchura up to third place overall in the Deutsche Rallye Meisterschaft.
Bitter defeat for the Saarland Hurricanes
Around 800 spectators answered the Saarland Hurricanes’ call to visit their new home stadium in Völklingen.
The Saarland club celebrated their first game in Völklingen’s Hermann Neuberger stadium with a programme of colourful entertainment for young and old. Head coach Jake Lawrence’s team were hoping that the highlight of the day, the German Football League (GFL) match between the Saarland Hurricanes and the Straubing Spiders, would give their fans a fantastic debut in their new home.
With the Hurricanes at fourth in the table and the Spiders sitting in fifth, this promised to be an exciting encounter. However, the Hurricanes team were decimated by countless injuries, so there were already doubts in the run-up as to how things would go. Without exceptional quarterback Andrew Brito and his talented replacement Marvin Fuchs, who is now also out of action as wide receiver, the Hurricanes struggled to reach the end zone and had to admit defeat 12:40 after four quarters and just two touchdowns.
The Saarland team’s next home game is in Völklingen on 22 June. Hope remains that the coaches will be able to motivate the shaken team so that they can head into the upcoming, urgently needed summer break with a home win.
An evenly matched Hornet battle
On Sunday 16 June, things continued for second division baseball team Saarlouis Hornets with an away game against their namesakes from Bad Homburg.
The aim of the day: to increase their lead over their Hornet compatriots from Bad Homburg, sat directly behind the Saarland team in the table, and thus take another vital step towards the playoffs.
In two exciting duels with strong defensive play, ending in a split (3:2, 2:3), the Saarland team were unable to break away from their table rivals, but kept the Bad Homburg Hornets at bay to bring the playoffs a step closer.
The Saarlouis Hornets are next in action on Saturday 22 June, in an interleague game in Mannheim against the Mannheim Tornados. Go Hornets!