Opel Corsa Trophy turns 40

• In 1984 the first of 15 consecutive editions
• An excellent proposal to enter the world of rallying
• Forerunner of the ADAC Opel Electric Rally Cup "powered by GSe"

Forty years ago, in 1984, the Italian single-make championship debuted, initially reserved for Opel Corsa-A 1.3 SR (the GSi was not yet available) prepared according to the international Group N regulations. 

The event, launched by the then importer of the German manufacturer, was born in the wake of the enthusiasm for the successes of the Opel Ascona 400 in the Italian and world championships of the specialty - which materialized respectively with the titles of “Tony” Fassina and “Rudy” Dal Pozzo in 1981 and Walter Rohrl and Christian Geistdörfer in 1982 - and aimed to introduce young enthusiasts to the specialty.

How did it start?

In particular, the Opel Corsa Trophy aimed to, if not solve, at least contain the problem of participation costs, which for many were absolutely prohibitive. The series was in fact run as part of the Coppa Italia trials, that is, the first series national rallies with a maximum duration of 400 kilometers, suitable for those who wanted to try their hand at this specialty for the first time. In essence, it was possible to participate in the trophy with a budget of around 10 million lire, thanks to the 14% discount on the purchase price of the car and the equipment kit that included the essential elements for the rally setup of the Opel Corsa. In this way, it was possible to participate in both the Coppa Italia and the single-make trophy which, in each of its more than 60 races, offered a prize pool of 2,250,000 lire. Result: with 64 participants in its first edition in 1984, it immediately achieved the record for the most crowded single-make.

The story continues “electrically”

The history of the Italian one-make series ended 25 years ago at the end of 1999 (coinciding with the launch of the third-generation Opel Corsa) after fifteen consecutive editions, but it can be said that it paved the way for today's ADAC Opel Electric Rally Cup "powered by GSe" which is a glimpse into an innovative future of motorsport. The world's first electric one-make rally cup, which was contested for the first time in 2021 with the Opel Corsa Rally Electric, is uncharted territory in every respect. With this pioneering achievement, Opel Motorsport is pushing the electrification of rallying forward, thus combining Opel-typical sustainability and efficiency with high dynamics and emotionality.