Photo: Jochen Walther takes a break and something to drink - and planning how to win the Volvo Original Nordic West Euro Cup 2010...

Jochen Walther from Germany really want to win the Euro Cup 2010. 
During the winter he and young Philip Knoof started in winter rallies both in Sweden and in Norway.

The Cup will start - as usual - in Triestingtal Rally in Austria during the spring - but this year there also are some Bonus Rallies where you can pick up maximum 3 x 15 points extra.

Jochen has started a lot of times in norwegian Rally Finnskog - it was in this rally he saw the Volvo Original cars for his first time (when he started in a Renault Clio together with codriver Kay Treder). That was Jochens last rally in the Renault - after that he built a Volvo 240 himself and took the Volvo Original Cup to Germany!

But - 2010 was not a good year for Jochen in Norway. He started ok - but went off and had to retire. Even young Philip Knoof had to retire. Philip went off at SS 1 but could go on until SS6, where he had to retire because of a mecanic problem.

Young swedish driver Kristoffer Karlsson had a better day and really liked his first start abroad. Now he wants to test the gravel roads in Austria too.

French veteran Philip Hugla also started in Kongsvinger in his old 240 VO and even he took 15 extra points. 24 % of all starting teams in Rally Finnskog was Volvo Original cars - mostly norwegian teams of course. They had a cold rally with a lot of snow - and a lot of cars had to give up.

Fastest Volvo Original car in Kongsvinger was Carl-Borge Røsen ho after 1,5 hour on the 6 stages could beet Marius Haugerud with 10.6 seconds. Fastest overall was young norwegian Subaru-driver Mads Østberg. A driver who started rallying as a 16 year old junior driver in a Volvo Original-car in Sweden. Now he is a little bit older, has driving license and drivs a Subaru WRC. A lot of drivers has started in the "Ungdomsrally" where you are allowed to start in Sweden Volvo Original cars, so called Gr E cars - f ex standard Volkswagen Golf - and Gr N cars maximum 1400 cc. In Norway they also allov N3-cars, f ex Fiesta N3. Here you can drive from the year you are 16 until you are18 - but in Sweden you are not allowed to use pace notes. One other driver started in this classe is the Rally Champion in Russia - swedish driver Patrik Flodin.

Volvo Nordic West Original Cup 2010
Rally Vännäs, Day 1, S (Euro Bonus Rally)
1) Robert Nordin/Johnie Fredriksson, Åland/FI, Volvo 940, 32 min 06 secs, 2) Jochen Walther/Philipp Musholt, Germany, Volvo 240, 34.27, 3) Siegfried Mayr/Hubert Spindler, Germany, Volvo 740, 36.34, 4) Karl  Rumpler/Maria Rumpler, Austria, Volvo 740, 37.57, 5) Philip Knoof/ Bianca Lustig, Germany, Volvo 940, 58.15.
(15 points for all 5 drivers.)

Rally Finnskog, Norway (Euro Bonus Rally): 1) Kristoffer Karlsson/ Lars Johansson, Sweden, 940, 94 min, 1,4 secs, 2) Olivier Hugla/ Réjane Le Gratiet, Frankrike, 240, 115.12,0. (15 points to both). 
Retired: Jochen Walther/Philip Musholt, Germany, 940, Philip Knoof/ Bianca Lustig, Germany, 940. (7 points to both)

After 2 Bonus rallies: 1) Walther/Musholt, (15-7) and Knoof/Lustig, (15-7), 22 points each, 3) Nordin/Fredriksson, Mayr/Spindler, Rumpler/ Rumpler, Karlsson/Andersson and Hugla/Le Gratiet, 15 points each.