at the
2006 event Previously part of the
European Rally Championship and the
German Rally Championship, the rally was included in the
World Rally Championship calendar for the
2002 season. The organisers opted for a split in locations: media center, rally headquarters and the parc ferme were placed in Trier, the parc ferme being a prominent display of all remaining cars on the Viehmarkt, surrounded by restaurants, pubs and special events such as music and the brewery festival. Start and finish ceremonies were also held in Trier in front of the
Porta Nigra with the cars making their way through the spectators. Meanwhile, the service park was located roughly 60 km southeast on the shore of the picturesque Bostalsee. The rally traditionally started with the shakedown close to the servicepark on Thursday morning, before moving to Trier for the showstart. The next three days were separated according to the three different track characteristics. Friday's leg one was held to the northeast of Trier around the Moselle in the vineyards. For afternoon and evening service the cars returned to Bostalsee before heading to Trier and parc-ferme. Saturdays' stages were held on and around the military training grounds of Baumholder, including the famous special stage "Panzerplatte". The day ended with a spectator special stage in the small town of
Sankt Wendel. Leg three was held in the northern Saarland around Sankt Wendel, followed by a second pass through the spectator special stage. In the early afternoon the crews returned to Trier for the Finish ceremony. The existing layout received criticism from fans, teams and the
FIA with many complaining about the long liaison between stages, and the town of Trier, especially its small businesses, looking for more involvement by moving Trier into the center of rally. at the "Circus Maximus"
SSS of the
2007 rally. For the
2007 edition, the layout was modified accordingly. The service park along with the media center moved from Bostalsee to Trier's convention center grounds, which offer better infrastructure and are easier to reach. Fans can park in the streets nearby or make use of special shuttle services serving large parking grounds throughout Trier. Both parking and the service park itself are now mostly based on asphalt making them more weather-safe. The shakedown was relocated to the
Luxembourgish border and the stages reorganised altogether, putting more focus on the vineyards close to Trier. As before, Friday consists of stages northeast of Trier. However, the second day now combines both the military grounds of Baumholder with a shortened version of Panzerplatte as well as some of the previous Saarland-stages. Sunday again moves the crews back to the vineyards, before the teams return to Trier for the newly created spectator special stage Circus Maximus. Advertised as the highlight of three days of Rally Germany, this stage is a 4.37 km run through downtown Trier around the Porta Nigra. Four cars enter the track separated by 10 to 20 seconds and drive four laps on the roads of Trier. Fans can watch the stage on specially erected grandstands or simply from the curbside. In 2008, the WRC run through stage was broadcast live on television. preparations for their return began in 2012, entering a
Škoda Fabia S2000 throughout
the season to gain experience running a team. The revised layout received a lot of praise. 2007 saw 15,000 spectators in Circus Maximus alone, with a total attendance of more than 200,000 for all three days. Due to a cutback in the number of rallies included in each season's calendar and the introduction of alternating rallies, Rallye Deutschland was not part of the
2009 calendar. It returned in the
2010 season, with
Sébastien Loeb taking his eighth consecutive win; a WRC record for wins in a single event. == Characteristics ==