... burnouts are not a bad thing at the Opel Meet. Rather, they are an amazing spectacle. Christian ‘Pongo’ Pongratz burned his way through 40 rear tires with his three-liter Senator called the ‘Burnator.’ Three minutes of spinning and smoldering, and all that remained of the tires were dangling from the rim in pieces. The result? Lots of coughing and a victory for ‘Pongo’ in the burnout contest.

Oschersleben 2014

„Guilty pleasure“

The Opel Meet didn’t need a lake, man-made or otherwise, let alone Wörthersee.

: … some things can be cleared up quickly. In this case, the question was who crossed the finish line first in the quarter mile drag race. Manta or Astra, Kadett C or Calibra, Ascona Voyage or Meriva? None of them, however, stood a chance against Christian Mählen’s Corsa A. He sped down the 201.2 meter strip in 6.915 seconds. Under the hood of his Corsa you could find a pair of two-liter turbocharged engines, each producing around 450 HP.

: … burnouts are not a bad thing at the Opel Meet. Rather, they are an amazing spectacle. Christian ‘Pongo’ Pongratz burned his way through 40 rear tires with his three-liter Senator called the ‘Burnator.’ Three minutes of spinning and smoldering, and all that remained of the tires were dangling from the rim in pieces. The result? Lots of coughing and a victory for ‘Pongo’ in the burnout contest.

: … things can sometimes get out of control, in this case, on the Hasseröder corner. Thomas Weberhofer cruised to victory in the Opel Drift Challenge in a Lotus Omega. An Opel even managed a top-four finish among the professional crews competing in the Gymkhana Speed Drift, with Gerrit-Jan Toonen nearly scoring a podium place among the top drifters in his white Manta B.

: … Opel drivers are team players. One place where this team spirit was really on show was at the supersized foosball table in the OPC tent. A spontaneous friendly match pitted the motley crews from the ‘Astra zwei’ and ‘OPC’ teams against each another. It took a while before anybody scored a goal, but everyone had fun all the same.

: … it was a clean affair. Everyone was given the chance to put a shine on their Opels at the two washing stations. There was always a crowd, but none more so than in the build-up to the ‘Show and Shine Contest.’ Mathias Petzold and Caroline Gründel from Aue give their Corsa A a special paint job. It was painted light brown with a roller, then draped in grandma’s finest curtains, and then sprayed white.

: … anyone who was brave enough had the chance to pop open their hood at the NOS2.de performance testing station. It was now put up or shut up. This green diesel-powered Astra put in a moderately good performance on the rollers. Top dog at the meet was a Kadett C featuring a 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine, nitrous injection, and a cropped 24-valve head. It generated 450 HP and 560 Nm.

: … Opel is looking out for the future as well. That means children were more than welcome. So there was no reason not to bring them along to the Opel Meet, especially since the little ones were treated to a fantastic, fun-filled program at the free daycare center, complete with Opel Bobby Cars and Haraldino the Clown. Of course, the grownups outside had an equally great time.

: … Luise and Ramona were on hand. The revelers at the night of festivities crowned Luisa Reuter Miss Opel 2014, with Ramona Capalbo taking second place, decided in a closely contested final round. The blond-haired nurse is ‘over the moon’ about her first title. “We really had a great time.” That was the common refrain of the two contestants.

: … you could also sit back and relax every now and again. That might well have been on a private port-a-let. Guests also had the option of renting their own quiet patch for the meet. That is just what Opel fans from Wilhelmshaven and Flensburg did. They placed their portable toilet next to the dining room “because then at least then you know who the smelly one is.”

: … no distance was too great. The meet attracted Opel fans from all over the world. The lads from the Astra Owners Network and the Vauxhall Club came from England, Ireland, Wales, and Scotland in a convoy of 20 cars, some traveling 1,600 kilometers to the Opel Meet. “There is no other event like this. It’s fantastic,” said Andy, a Scotsman who was later to appear in a kilt. A man true to his roots.

: … the festivities continued well after the sun had set. The Opel enthusiasts in Oschersleben partied into the morning hours in a number of tents that had been set up for the occasion. Entertainment included the Mütze-Katze DJ team and Malle für Alle. Haudegen and a cover band also performed live, which meant that nobody got much sleep at the Opel Meet.