Gosselies, Belgium – 26 February 2016: Team Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS notched up their first success of the 2016 season on Sunday, when Team Principal Michael Bartholemy arrived in Monte Carlo to complete the 20th edition of the AvD-Histo-Monte rally.

While the MotoGP element of Team Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS were down under testing at Phillip Island, and the Moto2 element were sheltering from the rain in Jerez, Bartholemy and co-driver Serge Kauth were negotiating their way from Mainz to Monaco in a 1974 Porsche 911 S Coupe.

The 1.800 kilometre route saw the pair tackle stages in the Black Forest , the Jura mountains and the French Alps including Schauinsland, the Clue de Barles and the infamous Col de Turini, which formed part of the original route for the Monte Carlo Rally, over four days.

Bartholemy and Kauth ended the rally in a creditable 60th position and were the first car home from the four-car Team Zebulon entry. The pairing of Volker Scheck and Karl-Heinz Reck, also driving for Team Zebulon, finished in 71st position with their Lancia Delta Evo 1.

The other two cars making up Team Zebulon at the AvD-Histo-Monte Rally were a Lancia Delta Integrale, crewed by Gerard Meeuwissen and Marc Ramscheidt, and a Fiat 124 Abarth Rally, crewed by Dirk and Sabine Lührmann.

The rally was made possible only with the support of Marc van der Straten and his wife Neri, Estrella Galicia 0,0, Total, Beta Tools, CD Design, Porsche Zentrum Aachen, Dribble Dots and Macmaniack, for which Bartholemy and Kauth were extremely grateful. The Team Zebulon pair would also like to pass on their congratulations to the AvD-Histo-Monte Rally promoters for their organisation and running of a fantastic event.

Michael Bartholemy
“The AvD-Histo-Monte Rally is one of those once in a lifetime experiences. Both speed and nature has marked me a lot. To get the chance to drive some of the classic Monte Carlo rally stages as part of such a well organised and run event was a fantastic experience and to finish was just the icing on the cake. I would like to say a bit thank you to all those who made it possible, not just the people and companies who supported us at the event, but also to my Team Zebulon teammates who were with us throughout the four days. It’s certainly an experience I’d like to repeat in the future, but the focus now is on the fast approaching 2016 season and our MotoGP and Moto2 campaigns.”