ADAC Opel e-Rally Cup Presented at Essen Motor Show

• Tests with the battery-electric Opel Corsa-e Rally proceeding according to plan
• ADAC and Opel announce further details about the new rally entry platform
• Super Season" 2020/2021 starts in August; highlight is German World Cup round

New Opel Corsa-e Rally

Preparations for the world's first electric one-make rally cup are in full swing. ADAC Opel e-Rally Cup and the Opel Corsa-e Rally car will be presented to sports enthusiasts at the Essen Motor Show from November 29 to December 8 (ADAC stand, Hall 3). At the same time, two purely battery-electric Opel Corsa-e Rally cars will complete an extensive development programme. 136hp electric cars are currently undergoing endurance and component testing at the Test Center in Dudenhofen.

New Opel Corsa-e Rally: 136hp electric cars are currently undergoing endurance and component testing at the Test Center in Dudenhofen

“The demanding development programme is going according to plan, but is far from completed yet,” said Jörg Schrott, Director Opel Motorsport. “The aim is to supply our customer teams with a fully reliable, easy to handle and powerful rally car that will enable the ADAC Opel e-Rally Cup to seamlessly continue the success of its predecessor, the ADAC Opel Rally Cup.”

New Opel Corsa-e Rally: Interior with safety roll cage

2020/2021 calendar with ten qualifying rounds

In the meantime, the two partners Opel and ADAC have announced further key information for the new electric one-make rally cup. Before the start of the ADAC Opel e Rally Cup season as part of the ADAC Saarland-Pfalz Rally (August 21/22, 2020), the customer teams will have the opportunity to prepare their new equipment at two test events. The first test event will be organised by ADAC and Opel will start by organising a test event – the venue and date of this e-Rally Experience Day will be announced at a later date. The second opportunity for testing will take place under competitive conditions. The teams can take part in the ADAC Rallye Oberehe (August 8), a so-called R70 event over 70 kilometres of special stages in Rhineland-Palatinate.

The official start of the season in Saarland will be followed by three more rounds at two events in the 2020 calendar year - the ADAC Rallye Südbayern (September 26/27) and the ADAC Rallye Deutschland from October 15 to 18. The ADAC Opel e-Rally Cup will be holding a double-header at the German World Rally Championship qualifyier. Six further events of the first "Super Season" will be held in 2021 and will be announced at a later date.

Test sessions 2020

Test 1                       e-RALLY Experience Day                                                         Tbn

Test 2                       ADAC Rallye Oberehe                                                      August 8

Qualifying rounds 2020

Event 1                     ADAC Saarland-Pfalz Rallye                                     August 21/22

Event 2                     ADAC Südbayern Rallye                                     September 26/27

Event 3                     ADAC Rallye Deutschland – National 1                   October 15/16

Event 4                     ADAC Rallye Deutschland – National 2                   October 17/18

 Entries open before Christmas

Registration for the ADAC Opel e-Rally Cup starts on December 15, 2019 and teams can register at reduced conditions until January 31, 2020. The fee of €5,900 (plus VAT) includes a comprehensive service package:

• Entry fee for two test sessions and all qualifying rounds of the ADAC Opel e-Rally Cup 2020/2021
• Two ADAC Opel e-Rally Cup overalls
• Team clothing for driver and co-driver
• Service tent with floor tarpaulin and service advertising banner
• Hospitality access for four persons at all rally events
• Free charging on-site
• Electro-technical training for driver/co-driver

The fee for registrations received after February 1, 2020 is €7,500 (plus VAT). The scope of services remains unchanged.

The sporting regulations of the ADAC Opel e-Rally Cup are also taking shape. “In the design of the regulations, we are very much guided by that of the ADAC Opel Rally Cup. This had proven its worth over many years,”" says Thomas Voss, Head of Motorsport at the ADAC. After approval by the German motorsport authority DMSB, the sporting and technical regulations of the ADAC Opel e-Rally Cup will be available for all participants and interested parties to download.

Additional information is available at www.opel-motorsport.com and via email to customer@opel-motorsport.com

!NEW! Rallye Deutschland: Opel Teams Join World’s Rallye Elite

• ADAC Opel Rallye Cup again at German round of World Rallye Championship
• ADAM teams expect four intense days with chance at double points
• ADAC Opel Rallye Junior team celebrates European Championship with fans

Junior European Champion: Emil Bergkvist and his Opel ADAM R2 from the ADAC Opel Rallye Junior Team.

The ADAC Rallye Deutschland from August 20 – 23, 2015 is a journey into a new dimension for many teams in the ADAC Opel Rallye Cup. This round of the FIA ERC, where the Opel teams again race in two complete stages, impresses with its commanding itinerary. It is even more formidable than last year: instead of 18 there are 20 special stages and the overall distance has increased to a mighty 1,285 kilometers.

Rallye Deutschland: The World Championship round on home turf is a highlight for the ADAC Opel Rallye Cup teams

So the teams face a strenuous and exciting week when they set off on Tuesday to meticulously prepare their pace notes for the rallye. As usual, the cars will leave the service park in Trier to head to the special stages, which follow demanding asphalt tracks through the idyllic Moselle region as well as the Baumholder military range with its notorious Panzerplatte and the legendary Gina jump. At 45 kilometers, the Panzerplatte Long stage that will be run twice on Saturday is by far the longest in the entire Cup season. Directly before this super stage, the participants complete three spectator-friendly sprints of 2.9 kilometers on the Arena Panzerplatte circuit track that already attracted thousands of rallye fans last year. In addition to racing excitement, fans can look forward to great entertainment: from 2 p.m. on Saturday, the German band Revolverheld will rev things up even more.

Jump “Gina“: The Rallye Deutschland special stages follow demanding asphalt tracks through the idyllic Moselle region as well as the Baumholder military range

The first highlight is the show start at the Porta Nigra in Trier on Thursday evening. The Cup teams will tackle the first leg with eight special stages on Friday. The second leg with twelve special stages (the ADAC Opel Rallye Cup will leave out stage 17 “Bosenberg”) goes from early Saturday to Sunday mid-day. Full points and full prize money will be awarded for both parts of the rallye. At the end of the second leg, at the ADAC Rallye Deutschland finish line, the teams will have completed almost 340 stage kilometers – about three times as much as at a “normal” race in the ADAC Opel Rallye Cup. Those who make it will drive over the finish ramp in front of the Porta Nigra on Sunday afternoon.

Experience has shown that not only the world elite promise an absolutely first-class show with their spectacular World Rallye cars, the Opel ADAM Cup cars are also real attention-getters in every race and have already caused quite a sensation in the rallye world.

Top favorite: Last year’s winner Marijan Griebel has a good shot at the Division 5 class victory, and he can also capture second place in the European Championship at the FIA ERC Junior season-finale Barum Rallye in the Czech Republic the last weekend in August.

Not to mention the around 190 hp ADAM R2 with which Opel works drivers Marijan Griebel (26, from Hahnweiler) and Emil Bergkvist (21, from Torsåker) from the ADAC Opel Rallye Junior team have stirred up the FIA ERC Junior this season. Quite literally – at the Rally Estonia in mid-July, the young Swede Bergkvist already won the title before the season’s end. His German team colleague Griebel, last year’s ADAC Rallye Deutschland winner and one of the top favorites in Division 5, has a good shot at taking second place in the European Championship at the FIA ERC Junior season-finale Barum Rallye in the Czech Republic the last weekend in August. All the more reason the ADAC Opel Rallye Junior team drivers can hardly wait to perform for German rallye fans as European champions at the home race.

!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“.