The Singing Car in the Snow at the Coppa d'Europa

Sunday, 29 Mar 2026

The route of the 20th edition of the Coppa d'Europa 2026 started in Maastricht and went through the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, France, and Germany to the city of Obersursel in 3 days, Paddy spent the nights in Saarbrücken and Pforzheim.

Paddy got off to a poor start on the first day, lost even more ground on the second, and managed to recover on the third. It was only enough for 23rd place. For the statistics nerds and curious readers, the result tables can be found on the Coppa website.

This year was significantly colder than in previous years. There was even snowfall in some regions. Fortunately, Paddy decided to use Continental Ultra Contact tyres, which, based on their name alone, should deliver grip on all surfaces, even snow and ice. And it worked. During a snowfall, Paddy completed a test in exactly the right amount of time and scored zero. Even in the forest, under difficult conditions, Paddy pressed on and found new ways forward.

Dom’s ignition wasn’t quite set up right. This meant that, when idling, the revs would shoot up from 1,000 to 1,500 and then drop back down again. While some marshals thought Paddy was always in a hurry, others found this amusing and came up with the nickname 'Singing Car' for Dom.

As in previous years, it was a mixture of joy, fun, annoyance and frustration. Although the days spent in the car were slightly shorter, little else had changed since last year. The time has come for the Valkyrie Brünnhilde to enter the stage and begin her farewell scene. Paddy first participated in the Coppa in 2015. After eight participations and only once making it into the top 20, it is time to say goodbye, thank you for all the fish, and all these wonderful memories. Paddy rides on into the sun, looking for new challenges.