Knüpfer celebrates rally debut: East Thuringian driver impresses in the Erzgebirge

The German Rally Championship kicked off the new season with the 61st ADAC Rally Erzgebirge. From an East Thuringian perspective, two crews were particularly in the spotlight: Paul Knüpfer with co-driver Stine Schmidt and Clara Bettge alongside Fabian Schulze. Both teams finished their runs and delivered class placements at the start.

Paul Knüpfer masters the role change – debut as a driver

For Paul Knüpfer from Wünschendorf, the weekend in the Erzgebirge was a step into a new role: after years as a co-driver, he sat behind the wheel as a driver in a competition car for the first time. He competed in an Opel Astra OPC together with Stine Schmidt (Treuenbrietzen) and finished his debut without retirement.

In the NC3 class, the duo finished fifth. Especially at a first start at the wheel, a faultless finish is often the decisive benchmark—not only for the ranking, but because routines, car feel, and rhythm really develop only under competition conditions. Knüpfer described exactly this process after crossing the finish line: “I am happy to be at the finish. With every meter, I got to know the car better.”

Fifth place in NC3: a result with a signal effect

The rally in the Erzgebirge is considered a challenging season opener; changeable weather and a strong field increased the pressure from the start. In such an environment, a controlled performance is often more valuable for debutants than a single fast stage: those who complete the distance cleanly collect data, confidence, and a basis for the next starts.

The fact that Knüpfer and Schmidt ended up in fifth place in NC3 reflects this approach: get to the finish, become faster step by step, and do not exceed the limit. For the further course of the season, this is exactly the first test that a new driver-co-driver duo must pass.

The overall victory of the rally was taken by Philip Geibel (Plauen) and co-driver Jennifer Lerch in the Toyota GR Yaris Rally2.

Clara Bettge and Fabian Schulze with sixth place in RC4

Clara Bettge from Zeulenroda was also able to record a solid class result at the start. In the Peugeot 208 Rally4, she reached sixth place in the RC4 class as co-driver of Fabian Schulze. Bettge classified the performance with regard to the density of competition: “The pace is extremely high this year. All the more satisfied we are with the result.”

This means that from an East Thuringian perspective, there are two results that primarily radiate stability: Knüpfer achieves a successful start as a driver with fifth place in class, Bettge keeps up with Schulze in the fast RC4 field and finishes the rally in sixth place.