!NEW! Opel Rallye Junior Team Sets Ambitious Goals for Asphalt Festival in Belgium

• Kenotek Ypres Rallye marks start of second half of FIA ERC Junior season
• Emil Bergkvist wants to defend his lead in the FIA ERC Junior in Ypres
• Marijan Griebel banking on his and the Opel ADAM R2’s outstanding asphalt qualities

Frontrunner: Emil Bergkvist wants to impress with his ADAM R2 in Belgium and tighten his grip on the overall lead of the FIA ERC Junior.

From the gravel of the Azores to the asphalt of West Flanders – the Kenotek Ypres Rallye marks the start of the second half of the FIA ERC Junior season. The ADAC Opel Rallye Junior Team has an ambitious approach to the decisive phase of the strongest junior championship in Europe. Swede Emil Bergkvist (21, from Torsåker) is currently leading the FIA ERC Junior in his Opel ADAM R2 after celebrating two wins in the first three races of the season. His German team-mate Marijan Griebel (26, from Hahnweiler) has been unlucky so far, failing to finish for the second time this season in his last appearance in the Azores. However, thanks to the scoring system, he still has every chance of moving up the rankings. Only four of the six races of the FIA ERC Junior are taken into consideration for the final points tally.

Ambitious goals: Marijan Griebel wants to make up for not finishing in the SATA Rallye and is targeting a podium finish in Ypres.

“I know the Ypres Rallye from last year and know exactly what to expect,” said Griebel, who along with his co-driver Stefan Clemens (28, Thailen) has set himself ambitious targets for the trip to Belgium. “I like the stages and they should be well suited to me. The competition is probably going to be a lot stiffer than last year because the level in the FIA ERC Junior is so high this year. However, the entire ADAC Opel Rallye Junior Team is well prepared and we know that we have a fast car, especially on asphalt. I want a podium finish in Ypres!”

The drivers of the ADAC Opel Rallye Junior Team have demonstrated their potential on asphalt on numerous occasions in the past, most recently when securing a one-two finish at the Rallye Ireland and at the Rallye Wervik in Belgium, which both Bergkvist and Griebel used for preparation for the Ypres Rallye.

Leading duo: Emil Bergkvist and his co-driver Joakim Sjöberg are currently leading the pack in the overall standings of the FIA ERC Junior.

Bergkvist and his co-driver Joakim Sjöberg (29, from Ösmo) realize that they will be facing a real test. “Marijan will be very strong in Ypres,” said the current championship leader who turned 21 on June 17. “I am looking forward to a great rallye and a new challenge. We dropped some points in the Azores but we are determined to fight for a place on the podium in Ypres. We all realize that is will be tough in this very strong field. However, since Ireland at the very latest we know that our ADAM R2 can win on asphalt if we all do a good job. I obviously want to defend my overall lead, but in this strong field that will only be possible if I attack – and that is what I plan to do.”

Two customer ADAM R2s will also be competing in Ypres, with Julius Tannert and his Luxembourgian co-driver Jennifer Thielen along with Pole Aleks Zawada and his French co-driver Cathy Derousseaux racing under the Opel colors.

The first stage of the Ypres Rallye, which in total consists of 17 demanding stages covering 253 kilometers, will start on Friday (June 26) at 16:15 CEST and end at 22:30 CEST. The following day, the action will start at 10:20 CEST and end at 22:30 CEST. Opel offers live timing on the website www.opel-motorsport.com.

The Ypres Rallye on TV:

Friday, June 26
00:00               Eurosport                    Training and preview

Saturday, June 27
00:15               Eurosport                    Highlights Day 1

Sunday, June 28
00:00               Eurosport                    Highlights Day 2
08:00               Eurosport 2                 Highlights Day 2 (repeat)

Tuesday, June 30
23:00               Eurosport                    Inside ERC – The Magazine

!NEW! Opel at the ADAC Rallye Deutschland: New Dimensions

• Season highlight for ADAC Opel Rallye Cup at German WRC round
• ADAM teams to complete two scoring runs at ADAC Rallye Deutschland
• Tough competition for ADAC Opel Rallye Junior Team with works ADAM R2

Rallye Deutschland: The three-day event will cover a total of 1,227 km, including 326 km of timed stages

The ADAC Rallye Deutschland from August 21 – 24 is a journey into a new dimension for most of the teams competing in this season’s ADAC Opel Rallye Cup. This prestigious event is also a round in the FIA World Rallye Championship and the Opel teams will contest all 18 stages and two complete scoring runs, which will present the young drivers with a very special challenge due to the sheer scale of the event.  

This year’s Rallye Deutschland will be based at Porta Nigra in Trier, instead of Cologne. The teams face an exciting challenge, which will start on Monday when they begin their pre-event reconnaissance runs to make pace notes. After starting as usual from the rallye’s service park, the 18 stages will take competitors along idyllic yet challenging asphalt tracks through the Moselle region, as well as provide tough tests at the military training grounds in Baumholder with their famous armour flat (Panzerplatte) section and legendary ’Gina’ jump.

The three-day event will cover a total of 1,227 km – almost three times the length of a normal Cup round within the ADAC Rallye Masters – including 326 km of timed stages. The challenging Panzerplatte Lang stage alone is 42.5 km long and will be driven twice on Saturday. Before each run, competitors will also complete a three kilometer sprint in the Arena Panzerplatte, which has the character of a circuit autodrome.

On Friday, the ADAM teams will tackle the first run with six stages comprising around 100 timed kilometers. The second run will go from Saturday morning to Sunday mid-day.

Opel driver and TV host Lina Van de Mars: More information about her rallye experiences can be found on the Opel motorsport website under “Lina’s Rallye World”, where the Berlin resident reports on her adventures in the Opel ADAM Cup

While the ADAC Rallye Deutschland represents a huge challenge for experienced competitors in the ADAC Opel Rallye Cup, it will be an even tougher test Opel driver Lina Van de Mars. In view of her limited experience, the famous TV host is approaching the “Deutschland Rallye adventure with due respect: “I’m not familiar with a single meter of this rallye, but I’ve received lots of reports and have a pretty good idea of what to expect,” she says. “My main goal has to be reaching the finish ramp on Sunday. But I’m really looking forward to the great tests ahead and many fans!” More information about Lina Van de Mars’s rallye experiences can be found on the www.opel-motorsport.com website under “Lina’s Rallye World”, where the Berlin resident reports on her adventures in the Opel ADAM Cup.

In addition to following the fortunes of ADAC Opel Rallye Cup competitors, rallye experts will also be keeping a close eye on the exploits of the two 190 hp ADAM R2 vehicles of the ADAC Opel Rallye Junior Team. Marijan Griebel (25, from Hahnweiler), as well as Fabian Kreim (21, from Fränkisch-Crumbach) have already caused quite a stir in expert circles during the first few months of competition since the ADAM R2 was homologated earlier this year. All told, the car has racked up no less than 14 class wins from 19 starts across Europe!

ADAC Opel Rallye Junior Team: Marijan Griebel as well as Fabian Kreim (photo) have already caused quite a stir in expert circles during the first few months of competition since the ADAM R2 was homologated earlier this year

The Opel Rallye Junior Team looks forward to continuing this impressive form on the ADAC Rallye Deutschland. “It will be no walk in the park,” admits Marijan Griebel from personal experience. “Whoever wants to drive at the front can’t afford to give only 90 percent. We certainly have a fast car and we’re well prepared for what lies ahead.” Fabian Kreim is relaxed about his prospects: “We feel at home in our ADAM R2, but we’re not going to let ourselves go crazy. The top priority is to cross the finish line, and we’ll see how all the rest goes.”

More information about the ADAC Rallye Deutschland and Opel’s involvement as an official partner is available at www.opel-motorsport.com under the section “Pure Passion“.

!NEW! Opel ADAM R2 Takes European Rallye Scene By Storm

• Strong showing: Opel ADAM R2 impresses with top performance
• Great results: 12 class wins to date from 15 starts
• High interest: Customer inquiries from many European countries

Shooting Star: The 190 hp Opel ADAM R2 has already racked up 12 class wins from 15 starts in national championship rounds in Germany, Spain, France and Austria.

The Opel ADAM R2 has made a huge impact on the European rallye scene in the seven months since it was homologated for competition by the international motorsports federation FIA (Fédération internationale de l’Automobile). The 190 hp ADAM R2 has already racked up no less than 12 class wins from 15 starts in national championship rounds in Germany, Spain, France and Austria.

In Spain, Esteban Vallin and co-driver Borja Odriozola are leading the R2 class in an ADAM R2 entered by the Spanish importer, while Yoann Bonato and Thierry Michaud in an Opel Motorsport Team France car are also top of their rankings in France. And after a false start on their debut event, Daniel Wollinger and Bernhard Holzer have got into their stride in the Austrian Rallye Championship, claiming two class victories in the last two rounds. Not to be outdone, the ADAM R2 prepared by German customer team Audex Motorsport from Extertal and driven by Dutchman Timo van der Marel has also secured a class win on its debut event in the Netherlands. The German-Luxembourgian duo Julius Tannert and Jennifer Thielen, one of the leading teams in this season’s ADAC Opel Rallye Cup, finished a strong second in the Rallye Luxembourg in a highly competitive field of 19 R2 vehicles.

ADAC Opel Rallye Junior Team drivers are providing even more reasons to be cheerful. Marijan Griebel/Alexander Rath and Fabian Kreim/Josefine C. Beinke have taken clear victories in every Division 5 round of the ADAC Rallye Masters to date, failing just once to take a double win. These young Opel works drivers have reached the second stage of Opel and ADAC’s talent promotion pyramid after finishing as the best placed junior drivers in the 2013 ADAC Opel Rallye Cup and achieving selection from a driver screening session. The goal of the Opel/ADAC program is to bring a young German driver to the pinnacle of European rallying in the mid-term – at the wheel of an Opel, of course.

Further proof of the Opel ADAM R2’s competitiveness has come from the GEKP Ypres Rallye in Belgium, held on June 20-21. In a starting field of 44 R2 vehicles, representing all brands who have such a fast car in their portfolio – including all 15 teams from the FIA Junior European Championship – Marijan Griebel/Alexander Rath were battling for a podium finish on one of the most demanding asphalt rallies in Europe when they were halted by drivetrain trouble at the beginning of the 20th and final stage as they were in third place. Former European champion Bruno Thiry was also having an excellent rallye on his debut in an ADAM R2 when he hit a rock and had to retire. Fabian Kreim/Josefine C. Beinke met with a similar fate on the last stage but still managed to finish ninth in the R2 category after stopping to change a wheel.

“The ADAM R2 has completely fulfilled our high expectations to now,” says Opel Motorsport Director Jörg Schrott. “The car is quick and reliable. And our teams praise its driving characteristics and how well it responds to changes in set-up. The ADAM R2’s strong performance is already sparking interest from many customer teams across Europe and we are, of course, delighted about that.”