Emotional, Electric, Exciting: Opel Motorsport Looks Back on Successful 2024 Rally Season

• Electrifying fourth season of the ADAC Opel Electric Rally Cup “powered by GSe”
• Luca Pröglhöf becomes first Austrian to lift title in electric rally cup
• Diverse field: Teams from eight countries, eight female drivers

ADAC Opel Electric Rally Cup “powered by GSe” has once again turned heads on the international rally scene in its fourth season. Up to 16 of the near-production, 100 kW (136 hp) Opel Corsa Rally Electric once again provided exciting rally sport and battles for position for tenths of a second in the world's first and to date only electric rally one-make cup. The diversity in the field of participants was greater than ever: teams from eight nations (Germany, Austria, France, Spain, Belgium, Hungary, Sweden and the Netherlands), including a total of eight female drivers, set standards. With the two-time DTM champion Timo Scheider and the Austrian motorcycle legend Matthias Walkner, two seasoned motorsport pilots made guest appearances and tested their skills against the up-and-coming talents. Especially Scheider impressed by finishing a remarkable fifth place at the start of the season as part of the ADAC Rally Sulingen.

In his second season, Luca Pröglhöf proved to be the driver to beat. Alongside his co-driver Christina Ettel, the 25-year-old Austrian from Sittendorf near Vienna celebrated a total of four victories this season and thus clinched the title before the grand finale at the Central European Rally. For the second time, the Opel Corsa Rally Electric took part in this round of the FIA World Rally Championship and demonstrated its strong performance in front of 125,000 spectators and international media. The other victories in one of the eight cup races in five countries were celebrated by Christian Lemke (Germany), Alex Español (Spain), Jérôme Chavanne (France) and Tom Heindrichs (Belgium), half-brother of the newly crowned rally world champion Thierry Neuville.

Eight female drivers in the field also attracted a lot of attention: Emma Chalvin and Alizée Pottier (both France), Esmée Den Hartigh (Netherlands), Pia Steffe (Austria), Lyssia Baudet (Belgium), Hannah Jakobsson (Sweden) along with the Germans Claire Schönborn and Ann Felke pushed their male rivals throughout the season. With Chalvin, Baudet, Schönborn and Felke, four Opel drivers were invited to the international “Beyond Rally” women's screening in Poland which is hosted by the promoter of the World Rally Championship. Both Baudet and Schönborn not only qualified for a place at the Junior World Championship stage at the Central European Rally, but will even fight for a cockpit for the entire Junior World Rally Championship (JWRC) 2025 next February as part of a shootout at the Rally Sweden.

ADAC Opel Rally Junior Team: Big challenge for Luca Pröglhöf

With his brilliant performances, this year's ADAC Opel Electric Rally Cup champion Luca Pröglhöf qualified for promotion to the ADAC Opel Rally Junior Team. There he will try to follow in the footsteps of his successful predecessors in the Junior European Rally Championship (JERC) next season. A total of five Junior European Championship titles by Emil Bergkvist, Marijan Griebel, Chris Ingram, Mārtiņš Sesks and Laurent Pellier testify to the high ambitions of ADAC Opel Rally Junior Team. In the 2024 JERC season, the 2023 and 2022 Cup champions Calle Carlberg and Timo Schulz also caused a stir with second and fourth places overall.

Opel Motorsport boss Jörg Schrott's expectations for the upcoming rally season are therefore high: “The international perception and interest on the part of organisers and teams in ADAC Opel Electric Rally Cup have grown steadily over the past four years. We are already working hard on the 2025 season. With seven attractive events in five countries and a once again very international field, the fifth season of our innovative Cup also promises a lot of excitement. With Luca Pröglhöf, a promising talent is once again promoted from the Cup to ADAC Opel Rally Junior Team. I'm excited to see how Luca and Dina will do in the fight against the best youngsters in Europe. We are looking forward to the coming rally season, which will once again bring many challenges for Opel, but hopefully also successes.”

Luca Pröglhöf Wins ADAC Opel Rally Electric Cup 2024 Title

• Rallye Coeur de France: Seventh race of 2024 ADAC Opel Electric Rally Cup “powered by GSe“ season
• Uncatchable: Austrian Luca Pröglhof seals title with one race left
• First win of season: Spaniard Alex Español leads way over weekend

Luca Pröglhöf left nothing to be desired at the Rallye Coeur de France and secured the title in the world's first electric rally one-make cup in the penultimate race of the season. Second place was enough at the asphalt event around Vendôme behind the strong Spaniards Alex Español/Daniel Rivera de la Red, who celebrated their first victory in the 100 kW (136 hp) Opel Corsa Rally Electric, for the 25-year-old Austrian and his co-driver Christina Ettel. Fourth place behind the guest drivers Arthur Roché/Quentin Proust was not enough for the brothers Anthony and Adrien Rott to challenge Pröglhöf for the title in the finale in three weeks at the Central European Rally.

“It was one of the most challenging rallies I have ever driven because risk minimisation was our priority. Our plan worked completely, we drove through it cleanly, made no mistakes and had no problems. Now we are overjoyed and a little speechless. The fact that we were able to secure the title here is brilliant. Now we have no pressure in the final race of the season and can enjoy the World Championship race. Now it’s time to celebrate,” said a delighted Pröglhöf.

Race winner Español delivered a strong performance in the “Heart of France” (Coeur de France), set the best time in six of the eight special stages and ultimately had a lead of 33.6 seconds over Pröglhöf. “We immediately found a good rhythm and were able to complete the rally without any problems. I'm really happy with the win. We were close to it in previous rallies – it's even nicer that it worked out now," said the Opel Spain driver.

Anthony Rott was in third place until the final Power Stage, but had to give way to guest driver Roché. After all, the Alsatian not only received the full points for third place, but also the five bonus points that could be won in the Power Stage. With a deficit of 42 points he can now longer catch Pröglhöf, but the runner-up position is within reach: “We congratulate Luca and Dina, who were the best throughout the season and absolutely deserve the title. We can also be very satisfied with our own performance. It's a shame that the podium place was snatched away from us in the last stage. But it was a good rally and now we want to try to secure second place overall.”

With fifth place and the points for fourth place, Alizée Pottier and Manon Perrin from the FFSA Academy team achieved their best result of the season. “It was a great rally. We had a lot of fun on the demanding special stages here. And the fact that it worked so well at my home rally is of course particularly nice,” said the 23-year-old from Le Mans, just 75 kilometres from Vendôme.

Jörg Schrott, head of Opel Motorsport, was one of the first to congratulate the new champions: “Luca and Dina have continuously improved their performance since joining the Cup. This year, they clearly set the bar as a team and truly deserved to win the title.”

The final of the ADAC Opel Electric Rally Cup “powered by GSe” will take place on the 19th/20th October at the Central European Rally. The round of the World Rally Championship will be held under the auspices of the ADAC for the second time.

Standings ADAC Opel Electric Rally Cup “powered by GSe” after 7 of 8 rounds:

1. Pröglhöf                 217 points.

2. Rott                         175 pts

3. Español                  156 pts

4. Lemke                    115 pts

5. Chalvin                  94 pts

6. Wittenbeck            91 pts

7. Pottier                    70 pts

8. Hangodi                 66 pts

9. Baudet                   65 pts

10. Melse                  37 pts

11. Kamermans        33 pts

12. Den Hartigh        24 pts

13. Bayer                   20 pts

14. Felke                    13 pts

ADAC Opel Rally Electric Cup: Luca Pröglhöf Still Title Favourite

• Guest victory: Guest driver Jérôme Chavanne wins Rally Mont-Blanc Morzine
• Fifth in France: Luca Pröglhöf is still favourite to take title with a lead of 41 points
• Pure excitement: Two races of the current Cup season still outstanding

Luca Pröglhöf remains the favourite to win the title in this year's ADAC Opel Electric Rally Cup "powered by GSe" despite on finishing fifth over the weekend. Due to technical problems, Pröglhöf and his co-driver Christina Ettel were unable to challenge for the podium at the Mont-Blanc Morzine Rally. But with a 41-point lead in the overall standings over his direct Cup competitors Anthony and Adrien 

Rott, 25-year-old Austrian Pröglhöf is still in a commanding position. Theoretically, he can win the 2024 title at the next race with his 100 kW (136 hp) Opel Corsa Rally Electric. The French Rott brothers came third at the foot of Mont Blanc.

The victory at the weekend was celebrated by guest drivers Jérôme Chavanne and Emilie Galleano, who made full use of their knowledge of the route and, after a hard fight, beat Christian Lemke and Jan-Eric Bemmann by just 0.6 seconds in the last special stage. However, since Chavanne/Galleano were neither entitled to points nor prize money, the duo Lemke/Bemmann scored the full 30 points for their second triumph of the season. “It was a fantastic rally, great stages, a wonderful backdrop,” said 24-year-old Lemke. “We had a really great flow at times, which was incredibly fun. Unfortunately, a puncture in the last stage cost us victory, which was obviously frustrating. On the other hand, we took full points for the cup standings, so everything is on track.”

From the start there was an exciting battle at the top. The Spaniards Alex Español Jove/Daniel Rivera De La Red initially took the lead until they damaged their car and lost around two minutes. After Pröglhöf also lost time one stage later, Christian Lemke took the lead at the end of the first stage. After two best times in a row, guest driver Chavanne moved to the front of the back on Saturday morning and never looked back. The Rott brothers received the points for second place, Español those for third place. “It was a great rally against this wonderful backdrop. But I’m not entirely satisfied with my performance,” the Iberian admitted. “The mistake when we were in the lead robbed us of any chance of a top result. More would have been possible here.”

Due to his comfortable lead this year's ADAC Opel Electric Cup, Pröglhöf, who placed fifth in Morzine, was not too disappointed: “It was a mixed rally. After a good start, we unfortunately lost a lot of time twice. With the best time and maximum points in the Power Stage, we limited the damage and are still on course for the championship.” Anthony Rott knows what a difficult task lies ahead of him if he wants to intercept Pröglhöf. “We're not giving up, but it will be hard. At first, we had a bit of a hard time here, but we got better and better. It was a fantastic rally,” said Rott.

Dr. Gerd Ennser also had an exciting guest appearance. ADAC Sport President confidently drove the VIP Corsa Rally Electric alongside his son Fabian through the difficult mountain stretches and clearly enjoyed his rally debut: “Opel and ADAC are doing a brilliant job together. That's exactly what I wanted to experience firsthand in the Opel Corsa Rally Electric – and I have to say: I'm thrilled! Being able to drive in a rally as great as this one at Mont Blanc is a lot of fun. I congratulate everyone involved and believe the ADAC Opel Electric Rally Cup has a great future.”

The seventh and penultimate round of this year's ADAC Opel Electric Rally Cup “powered by GSe” will take place at the Rallye Coeur de France around Vendôme in central France on 28/29. September.

Standings ADAC Opel Electric Rally Cup “powered by GSe” after 6 of 8 rounds:

1. Pröglhöf                  189 points.

2. Rott                          148 pts.

3. Español                    122 pts.

4. Lemke                      103 pts.

5. Chalvin                     80 pts.

6. Wittenbeck              70 pts.

7. Hangodi                   64 pts.

8. Baudet                     63 pts.

9. Pottier                      48 pts.

10. Melse                     37 pts.

11. Kamermans          33 pts.

12. Bayer                     20 pts.

ADAC Rallye Stemweder Berg: Overall Leader Luca Pröglhöf Wins After Tough Fight

• Around Lübbecke: Fifth round of the ADAC Opel Electric Rally Cup “powered by GSe”
• Season victory number four: Austrian Pröglhöf extends his lead in the overall standings
• Electrifying experience: Actresses Gesine Cukrowski and Lina Helfrich thrilled by the ride in the Opel Corsa Rally Electric

Luca Pröglhöf is unstoppable in the 2024 ADAC Opel Electric Rally Cup “powered by GSe”. Perfectly guided as always by co-driver Christina Ettel, the 25-year-old Austrian celebrated his fourth win of the season at the ADAC Rallye Stemweder Berg and extended his lead in the overall standings to 42 points. “That was hard work,” sighed Pröglhöf, who had started the fifth of eight rallies of the season feeling unwell. “We had to give everything from start to finish and couldn't afford to make any mistakes. But that's how I like it best – fighting hard and celebrating hard at the end.”

In fact, the Austrian had to work much harder for his triumph than he did in his home victory in Weiz. In addition to the leader of the rankings, who was the fastest in four of the 10 special stages over a total of 101 kilometres, Christian Lemke put in an impressive performance with four best times. In the end, the 24-year-old and his co-driver Jan-Eric Bemmann crossed the finish line in second place, 12.9 seconds behind Pröglhöf, and thus jumped up to fourth place in the overall table. “After the setbacks of the last rallies, this second place is really good,” said the winner of the season opener in Sulingen. “We showed that we have the speed to fight at the front if everything goes right.”

Second in the rankings remains Frenchman Anthony Rott, who climbed onto the winners' podium again with his brother Adrien in third place. “I'm satisfied, but not extremely satisfied. There's still a little bit missing, but we're getting closer,” commented the Alsatian. Fourth place went to Spaniards Alex Español Jove/Daniel Rivera De La Red, who, like the Rotts, also set a best time. Johannes Wittenbeck also drove a strong rally. The German and his co-driver Maximilian Kugler got off to a perfect start in the rally with the second fastest time in SS1 and maintained a fast pace, which ultimately gave them the best result of their cup career with fifth place. “Simply fantastic,” beamed Wittenbeck. “We were well prepared and had agreed for the first time that I would not find out any times, but would just drive at my own pace. I could feel in the cockpit that things were going really well. We are very happy!”

Kilian Nierenz and Milena Raithel came sixth, although they did not receive any points as guest starters on their debut in the world's first electric one-make rally cup. “It was great fun! The car is super, we got better and better and felt right at home in the cup right from the start. We definitely want to be there next year,” said Nierenz.

Claire Schönborn also made an impeccable debut in the cup. The 25-year-old German, who has made a name for herself as a fast hill climb driver, made an excellent start to her first rally alongside her experienced co-driver Lisa Kiefer, finishing sixth in the first special stage. On the second day, the rally novice also completed the demanding asphalt stages without making any major mistakes and ended up in eighth place. This made Schönborn the second-best woman in the field behind the Belgian Lyssia Baudet and her co-driver Lea Sam Caw Freve.

Enthusiasm from actresses Gesine Cukrowski and Lina Helfrich

Actresses Gesine Cukrowski and Lina Helfrich were enthusiastic about their visit to the ADAC Rallye Stemweder Berg, which was marked by many strong impressions in the Opel service park as well as at the spectator points along the rally special stages. The highlight for mother and daughter was the ride alongside Opel racing legend Volker Strycek in the right seat of the VIP Corsa Rally Electric, which as course car drove ahead of the cup participants on the special stages.

The sixth round of the ADAC Opel Electric Rally Cup “powered by GSe” will take place on September 6 and 7. The teams will then meet at the Rallye Mont-Blanc Morzine at the foot of the highest mountain in the Alps.

Standings ADAC Opel Electric Rally Cup “powered by GSe” after 5 of 8 rounds:

1. Pröglhöf                                165 points.

2. Rott                                        123.

3. Español                                 96.

4. Lemke                                   71.

5. Chalvin                                  68.

6. Hangodi                                64.

7. Baudet                                  63.

8. Wittenbeck                           53.

9. Pottier                                   38.

10. Melse                                  37.

11. Kamermans                       16.

ADAC Opel Electric Rally Cup: Dominant Home Win for Luca Pröglhöf at Rallye Weiz

• Pröglhöf leads at halfway point of ADAC Opel Electric Rally Cup “powered by GSe”
• Austrian claims third win of season on home event at Rallye Weiz
• Strong performance from motorbike ace Matthias Walkner in Opel Corsa Rally Electric debut

Luca Pröglhöf celebrated his third win of the season in this year’s ADAC Opel Electric Rally Cup “powered by GSe” at weekend. Even a heavy storm that struck Weiz Rally service park on Friday afternoon, damaged team tents and caused entire rally to be interrupted until next morning could not stop him. Alongside his co-driver Christina “Dina” Ettel, 24-year-old Austrian showed a phenomenal performance at his home rally, was the fastest in 10 of 11 special stages and had a lead of 2:11 minutes over runners-up, the Frenchmen Anthony Rott and Hervé Faucher, at the finish on Saturday evening. Third place went to Spanish duo Alex Español Jove/Patricia Sáiz Ruiloba.

“Mission accomplished,” rejoiced Pröglhöf, who increased his lead in overall standings to 31 points at halfway point of season. “We had prepared as best as possible, studied a lot of onboards from last year and made perfect pace notes. We quickly got into rhythm and were able to set a fast pace without having to take too many risks.” On ninth special stage, Austrian even set 10th fastest time in overall field in his Opel Corsa Rally Electric, which boasts 100 kW (136 hp) and 260 Nm of torque; Pröglhöf/Ettel left behind some all-wheel drive cars that were twice as powerful. “Downhill it's just fire away!” laughed Pröglhöf. “Opel Corsa Rally Electric handles fantastically, and after three years I trust myself and car so much that I can push myself to limit in these sections. It was great fun again.”

Rott was also happy with his performance again, but  Alsatian wants more: “We had prepared very well for Rallye Weiz after things didn't go so well here last year. I benefited a lot from Hervé's experience. We got a good feel for the changing grip conditions and felt comfortable in car. Now we hope that we can do a little better in Stemwede and put more pressure on our friend Luca.” With podium finish, Alex Español moved up to third place in the overall rankings: “It was a difficult rally, we struggled to find our rhythm on the first day. Congratulations to Luca, he was unbeatable here. But all in all, I am also happy with my performance.”

Fastest woman in field this time was Belgian Lyssia Baudet, with Frenchwoman Lea Sam-Caw-Frève in co-driver’s seat. Baudet, supported by Belgian automobile association RACB, finished fourth ahead of  French FFSA sponsored drivers Emma Chalvin/Emy Ailloud-Perraud, who thus retained their fourth place in the interim rankings. “First rally with Lea went really well,” said Lyssia Baudet happily. “Rally was very challenging due to constantly changing grip conditions, but we got better and better. Fourth place is great, but I won't be really happy until we can move up a bit.”

Austrian Matthias Walkner also made a great impression. Winner of the motorcycle classification of the 2018 Dakar Rally put on a brilliant performance alongside co-driver Thomas Haider in what was only his second car rally and was very fast as the pilot of the course car. “I have to say that this electric rally one-make cup works very well,” said Walkner. “We felt perfectly at home and had a lot of fun. I was pleasantly surprised at how well balanced Opel Corsa Rally Electric is. With every kilometre we got better at handling the car and built up more and more confidence. I'm looking forward to hopefully more!”

Journalist Reiner Kuhn and co-driver Ilka Minor also did well in their first outing in Opel Corsa Rally Electric – apart from lightly touching a wall in the first special stage. “After that, we took it a bit easier,” said the experienced rally writer with a smile. “When I got used to the car and became more confident, the fun increased. I achieved my goal and brought the car safely to the finish line.”

Fifth round of ADAC Opel Electric Rally Cup “powered by GSe” will take place on August 9/10 as part of  ADAC Rallye Stemweder Berg around Lübbecke.

Standings ADAC Opel Electric Rally Cup “powered by GSe” after 4 of 8 rounds:

1. Pröglhöf                              130 points.

2. Rott                                      99.

3. Español                               74.

4. Chalvin                               68.

5. Hangodi                              64.

6. Baudet                                48.

7. Lemke                                42.

8. Pottier                                38.

9. Melse and Wittenbeck       37 each.

11. Kamermans                     16.

12. Bayer                               14.

ADAC Opel Electric Rally Cup: Opel Corsa Rally Electric Masters the Rigours of the Vosges

• Exciting battle between electric rally teams at Rallye Vosges Grand-Est
• With victory, Austrian Luca Pröglhöf extends his lead in standings
• Locals Anthony and Adrien Rott move up to second place in overall classification

With his second win of the season, Luca Pröglhöf has extended his overall lead in the ADAC Opel Electric Rally Cup “powered by GSe”. Alongside his co-driver Christina Ettel, the 24-year-old Austrian won at the Rallye Vosges Grand-Est ahead of the two local teams Julien Casale/Pierre Delorme and Anthony and Adrien Rott. In fourth and fifth place, two women's teams, Emma Chalvin/Emy Ailloud-Perraud (France) and Lyssia Baudet/Pauline Denis (Belgium), braved the adverse conditions on the challenging roads around Gérardmer. The skies opened their floodgates again and again, which made the choice of tyres a tricky matter.

Exciting duel between Pröglhöf and guest driver Casale was decided on the penultimate special stage by a puncture on the Opel Corsa Rally Electric of the 29-year-old from Merville, who is competing in the Stellantis Rally Cup France this season. The result of the fourth special stage on Sunday morning showed just how close it was at the top: after 26.02 extremely demanding kilometres, Pröglhöf and Casale were separated by just three tenths of a second.

“It was really tough,” said Pröglhöf. “We got off to a great start and were able to maintain a fast pace on both days without having to take unnecessary risks. You could see from the whole field how quickly you can get a puncture, and of course a bit of luck is also involved. But I really enjoyed the special stages again and we are of course delighted with our second win of the season.”

“I had a lot of fun with my first experience in the Corsa Rally Electric. The car is nice to drive and the Cup is well organized. The puncture was of course annoying, but we can live with second place. I hope we can come back at some point,” summed up Casale, who did not receive any points as a guest driver. The Rott brothers secured the 25 points for second place and moved up to second in the interim classification. “That's great, of course, we're happy to take the points,” said driver Anthony Rott happily. “Unfortunately, we damaged a shock absorber and the suspension on Sunday afternoon, which meant we could no longer fight for victory. I'm not entirely happy with our performance, but of course we're very pleased with the podium finish.”

Casale/Delorme were not the only team to be slowed by a puncture. Alizée Pottier and Manon Perrin in the second Corsa Rally Electric of the FFSA Academy had to change tyres twice on stage 5, as did the Hungarians Bendegúz Hangodi/Dániel Petrovszki, who had no fewer than five flat tyres in total.

Three Opel GSe models also attracted a lot of attention from spectators. Skilfully driven by French rally teams, the sporty Astra GSe ensured safety on the special stages as course cars ahead of the field of participants (combined values for Opel Astra GSe according to WLTP 1: weighted energy consumption 17.8 kWh electricity/100 km plus 1.3 l petrol/100 km; CO2 emissions 30 g/km; CO2 class B. With discharged battery: fuel consumption 6.2 l/100 km; CO2 class E).

[1] A vehicle's values not only depend on the vehicle's efficient use of fuel, but are also influenced by driving behaviour and other non-technical factors.

At the halfway point of the season, the teams of the ADAC Opel Electric Rally Cup will travel to Styria in Austria in just under four weeks. The Rallye Weiz on July 12 and 13 will be the venue for a qualifying round of the world's first electric rally one-make cup for the third time.

Standings ADAC Opel Electric Rally Cup “powered by GSe” after 3 of 8 rounds:

1. Pröglhöf                               95 points.

2. Rott                                       72.

3. Hangodi                               64.

4. Chalvin                                 49.

5. Español                                48.

6. Lemke                                   42.

7. Pottier and Baudet             28 each.

9. Melse                                    25.

10. Wittenbeck                         23.

11. Kurstjens                            16.

12. Kamermans and Bayer    14 each.

Calle Carlberg Wins 2023 ADAC Opel Rally Cup

• 23-year-old Swede finishes second in last round to take the title
• Austrian Luca Pröglhöf scores first victory in Opel Corsa Rally Electric
• Electric cars perform strongly at Central European Rally in front of 125,000 fans

The winner of this year’s ADAC Opel Electric Rally Cup “powered by GSe” is Calle Carlberg. At the season finale on the Central European Rally around Passau, the final round of the FIA World Rally Championship, the 23-year-old Swede made certain of victory. In front of the world rally elite and around 125,000 spectators, Calle and his father Torbjörn drove maturely to second place in the Corsa Rally Electric from Schmack Motorsport, thus taking the 2023 title in the world's first electric rally one-make cup.

“We really did it!”, Carlberg cheered. “There was so much pressure on us all weekend. I was so nervous because I knew that I only had to finish, but it was clear to me how quickly a mistake could be made in these incredibly difficult conditions. In the end I only thought about the championship, not the rally result, and I am overjoyed that we brought the Corsa Rally Electric to the finish line safely. Many thanks to everyone who helped, and especially thanks to Max and Conny, who were such strong, fair opponents throughout the season.”

As probably the best reward for winning the title, the young Scandinavian is promoted to the ADAC Opel Rally Junior Team and will drive the Corsa Rally4 in the Junior European Rally Championship (JERC) next season. “It’s a dream come true,” beamed Carlberg.

Meanwhile, his rival Max Reiter's title hopes suffered a sudden setback early on. A tyre failure in the first special stage on Saturday morning cost around one and a half minutes and dropped him to the back of the field. Nevertheless, the 23-year-old German and co-driver Conny Nemenich fought their way back up to third place with three fastest times, but in the end had to settle for second position overall.

“It was a really great rally and a real honour to be able to take part in this world championship event,” commented Reiter, who was ultimately 18 points short of the title. “After the puncture the motto was ‘maximum attack’ to close the gap as much as possible. Without bad luck we could have won here. But ‘if and maybe’ doesn’t count in motorsport. Congratulations to Calle, it was a fantastic battle with him throughout the season. He is definitely a worthy champion.”

Freed from the pressure of the title fight, Luca Pröglhöf and co-driver Christina Ettel delivered an outstanding rally, fighting for the lead of every special stage, setting two best times and celebrating their first victory in the ADAC Opel Electric Rally Cup. Thanks to their best time in the final “Power Stage”, the 24-year-old Pröglhöf scored the maximum 35 points and ended the season in third place overall.

“I’m speechless,” admitted Pröglhöf. “It was the first time for me in so many areas – the first world championship rally, the first special stage best time, and now the first Cup win. We improved as a whole team. Christina played a big part in helping us with her feedback. It was a great rally in extremely difficult conditions. To be here and stand at the top of the podium is simply brilliant.”

In fourth place, Raffael Sulzinger and his partner Lisa Kiefer delivered a strong guest-start in the field of electric rally cars. Despite only a few test kilometres in the Corsa Rally Electric, the 38-year-old local hero quickly acclimatised and was happy with his performance at the finish: “It took a few kilometres to adapt, but our goal was to finish in the top five among all the experienced Cup drivers. We really enjoyed the guest drive. Especially because the atmosphere in the cup and among the competitors is really cool.”

Since Sulzinger was not entitled to points, Sarah Rumeau and Julie Amblard once again picked up the points for fourth place, where they also completed their debut season in the ADAC Opel Electric Rally Cup.

After their strongest performance of the season and only two seconds behind Rumeau/Amblard, the brothers Anthony and Adrien Rott continued their upward trend and finished the rally in sixth place, which brought the Frenchmen the points for fifth.

“The Central European Rally was both a highlight and a challenge for our mostly young drivers, which they mastered very well,” commented Opel Motorsport boss, Jörg Schrott. “Against this impressive backdrop, we were able to prove once again that electric rallying works. This season’s ADAC Opel Electric Rally Cup was exciting and eventful. We have had great rallies and Calle Carlberg is a worthy champion. We are looking forward to working with him in the Junior European Championship.”

Final standings ADAC Opel Electric Rally Cup (after 8 rounds)

1. Carlberg, 253 points.

2. Reiter 235.

3. Pröglhöf 186.

4. Rumeau 153.

5. Van Hoof 108.

6. Lemke 102.

7. Baur 81.

8. Gudet 70.

9. Rott 64.

10. Mendoza 59.