Team VÖLKEL at the Panamericana 2026: Racing, Late-Night Repairs and Cheering Fans

It is already late at night in Querétaro, but our service team is nowhere near calling it a day. Work on our Mercedes W123 continues in a workshop. There is too much play in the rear wheel bearing, the shock absorber mount is broken, and the gear linkage also needs adjusting. After all, the car has to be back on the starting line the next morning. This night is just one of many challenges at La Carrera Panamericana 2026: seven stages, around 3,860 kilometres across Mexico, and a motorsport adventure that put drivers, mechanics and the media team to the test alike.

“You reach the finish in the evening and think: Right, that’s the end of the day. And then you find out just how much needs doing to the car. In Querétaro, our mechanics worked late into the night so that Chris and I could start again in the morning. And when you drive through the next village and people are standing there, cheering and wanting to take photos, you forget all that stress very quickly. That’s exactly what makes the Panamericana so special to me.”

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Back in Mexico: Team VÖLKEL Takes on the Panamericana for the Second Time

After our debut in 2025, one thing was clear: we would be back. This time with more experience, our own team of mechanics and our Mercedes-Benz 280E W123 AMG, which had been prepared for another appearance in the legendary rally.

The adventure began with the journey to Mexico City. From there, the race car, service vehicle and media car first headed to Veracruz and then continued to Tuxtla Gutiérrez in the state of Chiapas, where La Carrera Panamericana 2026 began. With temperatures above 30 degrees, tropical humidity and heavy rain showers, the programme included technical scrutineering, final preparations and, finally, the prologue.

The official start took place on 16 October. Once again, Jörg Sand was behind the wheel of our Mercedes, car number 312, this time accompanied by his new co-driver Christian Huntgeburth. The very first kilometres took them along extremely demanding roads and through extraordinarily impressive landscapes. The W123 performed well. Tight bends, changeable weather and long liaison sections nevertheless kept the drivers and support team constantly on their toes.

A Long Night in Querétaro and Daily Work for the Service Team

After four days of racing, the signs of strain on the Mercedes were impossible to miss. There was too much play in the rear wheel bearing, which also left the driveshaft loose. The gear linkage needed adjusting, and a broken shock absorber mount had to be welded.

For these repairs, our service team received support in Querétaro from the workshop “Die Werkstatt”, which made its premises available. Our mechanics worked late into the night to make sure the Mercedes was ready to race again the following morning. A big thank-you to the local team for their hospitality and straightforward help!

The night in Querétaro was just one particularly intense example of the work our service team carried out throughout the Panamericana. Our mechanics Robert Thiele, Kurt Richter and Alexander Schmidt were on duty every day, checking the Mercedes at service points, taking care of maintenance and repairs after the stages, and making sure the car was ready to go again the next morning. Sometimes the jobs were small; sometimes they were major repairs, like those in Querétaro. After all, in a race spanning seven stages, it is not enough for the car to last just one day.

What Makes the Panamericana So Special: The People

As impressive as the cars and routes are, the enthusiasm of the people in Mexico is at least as memorable. Whether at the ceremonial start in Tuxtla Gutiérrez, in small towns along the route or at the reception in Mexico City, the participants were welcomed everywhere with incredible warmth.

People danced, sang and cheered in the streets. People of all ages celebrated the passing race cars, screamed with excitement and cheered even louder whenever the engines roared. Time and again, huge crowds gathered around the vehicles, hoping for autographs from the drivers or a photo with them and the Mercedes. In some places, the atmosphere was like a public festival hours before the first cars arrived.

These encounters were also a special part of the trip for our team. Because alongside the motorsport, it is above all this extraordinary enthusiasm that makes the Panamericana so special and has brought us back to Mexico for the second time.

Behind the Scenes: Long Days and Short Nights for the Media Team

While Jörg and Christian were tackling the special stages in the Mercedes, Nils Schmidt, Vivian J. Rheinheimer and Marcus Huntgeburth from our media team also had their hands full. After all, we wanted not only to experience the rally ourselves, but also to share those impressions with you.

A typical race day began at around six in the morning. Road closures, police checkpoints and the search for suitable filming locations were all part of daily life. Sometimes this meant waiting for two and a half hours beside a country road in almost 40-degree heat and high humidity just to capture a few seconds of footage of the Mercedes. After that, it was a matter of moving on to the next finish town as quickly as possible to film the cars arriving there as well.

Of course, this schedule left hardly any time for leisurely lunch breaks. On one race day, nuts and biscuits had to do until the media team could finally enjoy a proper meal in Veracruz that evening. But that was still a long way from the end of the working day. Back at the hotel, photos and videos were backed up, the next Reels were edited, and the equipment was prepared for the following day. This regularly continued late into the night, with the next stage waiting just a few hours later. There was not much sleep, but there was plenty of footage and memories to take home.