Opel Team Belgium is back in Rally!!

• 100% electric: Opel is pioneering with the ADAC Opel e-Rally Cup 2021
• Opel Team Belgium is making a revival and is taking part in this Cup that takes place in Germany
• Bernard Munster provided a spectacle 30 years ago
• Charles Munster Junior sets the torch on fire again

Charles Munster Junior with the fully electric Opel Corsa-e Rally

30 years ago, Opel Team Belgium was active in Belgian Rallying, in the hands of Bernard Munster , among others . With his Opel Corsa he created a spectacle and even turned his Corsa GSi into a Corsa pickup with a roll over, to the delight of the audience in Ypres. Now it is time for a revival and this time Charles Munster will defend the Belgian colors in a unique concept. After all, Opel is the first manufacturer to organize a Rally Cup with the fully electric Opel Corsa-e.

“I drove an Opel Corsa GSi for Opel Team Belgium for three years. I look back on that period with great pleasure. It was always a pleasant sight, I as a tall pilot and Willy Lux as a small co-pilot. We were a perfect duo and had a great time ”, Bernard tells us, now owner of BMA Motorsport.

Opel Corsa GSi - Opel Team Belgium

And he raised Rally driving to his sons. Both Grégoire and Charles were highly successful in the Opel ADAM Rally Cup for several years. They also learned the business with the Opel cars.

Munster family was immediately ready to take a chance with the Opel Corsa-e, which will compete in a number of competitions in the German championship this year. Electrification is obviously a very big step for them for a family with petrol in their veins, but it is also a unique evolution for them towards better protection of the environment.

Charles thus includes the gloves in the international plateau of this new formula.

“I am really looking forward to defending the colors of Opel Belgium in the ADAC Opel e-Rally Cup 2021. This new formula is groundbreaking and is fully in line with the current realm of the responsibility that the automotive sector takes in the context of protecting the environment. I am already fully preparing - physically and mentally - for this championship ”, the sympathetic Charles Munster tells us.

“Car's “early torque” is particularly spectacular. And another big adjustment for us as pilots is especially good management of the brakes, since braking on the engine is not possible or less severe ”, says Charles.

Charles also told us that he has a good feeling about it because all aspects of safety are covered and go even further than for Rally cars with a petrol engine.

Deutscher Motor Sport Bund is responsible for ensuring that strict safety regulations can be met at all times during an event. One of the most important tasks for the DMSB is to train the rally marshals, from the marshals on the special stages to the staff of the Service Park. For all persons who have to perform certain tasks on or with an electric competition car, different safety certificates are required, which are categorized according to the colors blue-green, yellow-orange-red. Only those certified in the red category are allowed to work on the high voltage system of the Opel Corsa-e Rally or any other electric rally car.

The newly developed safety concept for the ADAC Opel e-Rally Cup thus covers all relevant areas for the use of electric rally vehicles. It includes the technical specifications, the training of teams and rally marshals, as well as information for spectators at the special stages and in the Service Park.

We will keep you informed of the first achievements that Charles has in store for us!!

Opel Corsa-e Rally: Safety First !

• Opel and DMSB develop new safety concept for the ADAC Opel e-Rally Cup
• Pioneer in the development of safety standards for electric rally cars
• Concept includes the use of vehicles as well as training of teams and rally marshals

 Opel e-Rally

As the first car manufacturer worldwide, Opel is currently developing a fully electric rally car for use in a national championship. One of the key areas of focus of the ADAC Opel e-Rally Cup is safety. The development of the Corsa-e Rally is a trailblazing achievement. As no one has ever held an electric rally one-make cup before, the corresponding rules and regulations must be developed in parallel with the competition car. Opel and the ADAC, as the series operator, are working closely together with the Deutscher Motor Sport Bund – DMSB (German Motor Sport Federation) in this process.

“Safety always comes first at Opel,” emphasises Opel Managing Director Engineering Marcus Lott. “On the one hand, our engineers strive for the greatest possible driving dynamics and driving fun for our customers – on the road as well as on the rally stages. On the other hand, total focus is on operational safety. So also in this respect, customers, organisers and fans can rely on us in the ADAC Opel e-Rally Cup. We are all looking forward to exciting and safe rallies in the coming season.”

Opel Corsa-e Rally is based on the production model. This makes the Opel Motorsport engineers’ challenging work much easier. After all, the Corsa-e already meets the very high European standards for approval of type-approved vehicles. Additional racing-specific regulations stipulated by the FIA and the DMSB serve to further improve safety.

In the underbody of the Opel Corsa-e Rally, high-strength steel protects the 18 battery modules, which in turn are installed in a battery casing. In addition, the car has a two-piece protective plate made of five-millimetre thick aluminium.

Furthermore the Corsa-e Rally, like its series production counterpart, complies with regulation UN ECE R100.02. This defines the conditions for the approval of vehicles with regard to the special requirements for the electric powertrain of road vehicles and their batteries. This includes, for example, the minimum insulation resistance of high-voltage components and lines as well as fire protection. The drive batteries (REESS, Rechargeable Energy Storage Systems) must also fully comply with this regulation in terms of mechanical integrity, vibration, thermal shock, mechanical impact, fire resistance, overcharge protection, over-discharge protection, over-heating protection and external short circuit protection.

Fire extinguishing system required is Lifeline Zero 360. It works with an electrically insulating extinguishing agent, whereby the fire risk in an electrically powered car with no fuel on board is generally much lower than in a conventional vehicle with a combustion engine.

Meticulous monitoring of the high-voltage system

Permanent monitoring of the high-voltage system is also important for the safe operation of an electric rally car. Different faults call for different measures. In the event of an insulation fault, a sophisticated sensor system ensures that the displays of the Master Alarm Indicator System immediately report a fault in the HV system, which is operated at up to 434 volts. System can then be switched off manually inside and outside the cockpit. Irrespective of this, the HV system is completely switched off within less than one second in the event of a severe delay, such as an accident. Master Alarm Indicator constantly provides information on the current status of the high-voltage system by means of light signals.

Comprehensive training for safety personnel

Deutscher Motor Sport Bund is responsible for ensuring that the strict safety regulations can be adhered to at all times during an event. On the one hand, this concerns the technical specification of the car, the key data of which are regulated in Appendix J of the International Sporting Code. However, since these formulations are very comprehensive and highly specific, the DMSB is currently developing a safety concept in cooperation with Opel and TÜV Thuringia that meets the needs of both experts and users in practice.

One of the most important tasks for the DMSB is the training of the rally marshals, from the marshals on the special stages to the Service Park personnel. For all persons who have to perform certain tasks on or with an electric competition car, different safety certifications are required, which are categorized according to the colours blue-green-yellow-orange-red. Only those who are certified in the red category are allowed to carry out work on the high-voltage system of the Opel Corsa-e Rally or any other electric rally car.

Newly developed safety concept for the ADAC Opel e-Rally Cup covers all relevant areas for the use of electric rally vehicles. It encompasses the technical specifications, the training of teams and rally marshals as well as information for spectators on the special stages and in the Service Park.

“DMSB is responsible for careful monitoring of compliance with technical and sporting regulations, which include safety guidelines,” says DMSB Sports Director Michael Günther. “Our task is to develop a concept for electrically powered rallying in order to guarantee the safety of all participants and to make exciting rallying possible. In the first step, this also includes identification and elimination of possible knowledge gaps among all participants.”