Opel full speed ahead with Opel Corsa at ERC round in Czech Republic

• Opel Corsa Rally4 in first international competition at Barum Czech Rally Zlín
• Electric ADAC Opel e-Rally Cup round at European Rally Championship
• WRC3 leader Yohan Rossel as special guest pilot in Opel Corsa-e Rally

 

New Opel Corsa Rally4

Barum Czech Rally Zlín from August 27-29 is a twofold highlight of the 2021 rally season for Opel Motorsport. Not only will the world's first electric rally one-make cup, ADAC Opel e-Rally Cup, present itself on the international stage at the Czech round of the ERC. New Opel Corsa Rally4, which has already been busy collecting victories and podium places on the national level, will also make its first international appearance at the asphalt event around the industrial city of Zlín in the south-east of the Czech Republic.

New Opel Corsa Rally4

Opel works driver Marijan Griebel (32), the Junior European Champion from 2016 and 2017, will pilot the new 208 hp Opel Corsa Rally4. Co-driver in the customer sports car from Rüsselsheim is Tobias Braun (26), who is also one of the best in his field. And so the goal of the Opel crew is clear: “The competition is really tough, but it is not our aim to simply compete. We want to prove the high potential of the Corsa Rally4 and give it our all to be a contender at the front of the field,” says Griebel.

Opel Corsa-e Rally

Participants of the ADAC Opel e-Rally Cup are sure to pay careful attention to what Griebel/Braun do in the Opel Corsa Rally4. Because in 2022, one of them will have the opportunity to compete in the ADAC Opel Rally Junior Team in exactly this type of vehicle and thus further develop as a driver.

Opel Corsa-e Rally

Season highlight for the first electric rally one-make cup

Barum Czech Rally Zlín is a very special challenge for the Cup participants. Fast asphalt tracks of the traditional event demand the utmost of the young teams in their sporty electric cars. A total distance of 522.72 kilometres – including 12 highly demanding special stages covering 147.33 kilometres – is in store for the crews of the Opel Corsa-e Rally on the three event days.

Opel Corsa-e Rally

Starting competitive status is clear: leader in the ADAC Opel e-Rally Cup is Laurent Pellier. The 26-year-old Frenchman has a flawless record after two rounds with a maximum score of 80 points. His closest rival is Luca Waldherr in the Opel Corsa-e Rally from Opel Austria. Top-ranked German drivers, Max Reiter and Alexander Kattenbach, are hard on the heels of the two leaders.

Guest appearance of WRC star Yohan Rossel in TotalEnergies' Opel Corsa-e Rally

Participants of the ADAC Opel e-Rally Cup can look forward to another special challenge during the Barum Czech Rally Zlín. Top international driver Yohan Rossel has announced that he will be a guest participant in the electric Cup. 26-year-old Frenchman is considered one of the greatest talents of his country. After his third win of the season in the Citroën C3 Rally2 at the Belgian round of the WRC, Rossel leads the WRC3 rankings. At the Barum Rally, the 2019 French Rally Champion and his co-driver Alex Coria will pilot a Corsa-e Rally entered by Opel Motorsport and designed by Opel partner TotalEnergies. “I'm looking forward to my first start in an electric rally car,” said the WRC star. “I will certainly have to adapt in the Opel Corsa-e Rally, but Alex and I are happy to be here and gain experience. We will give everything to be competitive when we start as guests in the ADAC Opel e-Rally Cup. I have no doubt that we will have a lot of fun, and I would like to thank Opel Motorsport and TotalEnergies for the opportunity to experience the Opel Corsa-e Rally.”

Opel Corsa-e Rally

Eurosport TV channel will report on the world's first electric rally one-make cup on Tuesday after the rally as part of its “ERC - All Access” magazine, focusing on standings leader leader Pellier.

!NEW! Opel Dominates FIA ERC Junior Finale

• European Junior champion Emil Bergkvist wins Barum Czech Rally in Opel ADAM R2
• Opel takes first and third place at FIA ERC Junior 2015 finale
• Tire defect costs Opel works driver Marijan Griebel second place

This is what winners look like: Emil Bergkvist and Joakim Sjöberg at ceremony in Zlín.

The ADAC Opel Rallye Junior team finished the 2015 FIA ERC Junior season with another outstanding performance. Swedish Opel works driver Emil Bergkvist (21, from Torsåker) and co-driver Joakim Sjöberg (29, from Ösmo), who had already captured the ERC Junior title before the end of the seaon, won the Barum Czech Rally Zlín in the Czech Republic in grand style. Their brand colleagues Aleks Zawada from Poland and his French co-driver Cathy Derousseaux took third place in a privately run Opel ADAM R2.

Masterful: ERC Junior champion Emil Bergkvist on his way to third season victory.

“I am overjoyed,“ beamed Bergkvist after his third season victory in the FIA ERC Junior 2015’s six races. “This rallye was the perfect end to a perfect season. Everything went according to plan, we were able to control the race from our leading position. We all worked so hard for this success, and it is great to see that our hard work paid off. Many thanks to my fantastic team from Opel Motorsport. Without them none of this would have been possible.”

High-flyer: Marijan Griebel again showed the Opel ADAM R2’s huge potential at the ERC finale.

In a second works Opel ADAM R2, Marijan Griebel (26, from Hahnweiler) and co-drive Stefan Clemens (28, from Thailen) had a stroke of bad luck when they suffered a puncture on their right front tire in the eleventh special stage after a top performance that had them on their way to becoming vice champion. As there were still more than ten kilometers to go to the finish line, the duo was forced to stop for a tire change. A good three minutes were lost and so they were only able to take fourth place in the rallye. In the fight for second place, Griebel came in hard on the heels of the young Latvian Ralfs Sirmacis, finishing a very strong third.  

Subdued joy: A tire puncture cost Marijan Griebel and Stefan Clemens the vice championship

But Griebel was disappointed: “We deserved second place. It is really bitter that a tire defect ruined everything. But with a little time and distance, I‘ll be able to look back at this year with the ADAC Opel Rallye Junior team with great satisfaction. We were really competitive in this extremely tough championship and drove a strong season.”

The three customer Opel ADAM R2s were also very fast. Aleks Zawada celebrated his second podium finish in the FIA ERC Junior, where Julius Tannert also could have joined him. But he and his co-driver Jennifer Thielen from Luxembourg lost valuable time on the first day and were stopped by a technical problem on Sunday on the way to the first special stage. The Bavarian duo Dominik Dinkel/Pirmin Winklhofer drove so well in their first European championship race in their Opel ADAM R2 that they would have come in sixth in the ERC Junior (for which they weren’t registered).

Proud boss: Opel Motorsport-Director Jörg Schrott with the winners Bergkvist (l.) and Sjöberg.

Opel Motorsport Director Jörg Schrott was very pleased with the Opel teams‘ performance in the Czech Republic: “This result again shows that the ADAM R2 is currently the benchmark in the R2 class. Our European champion Emil once again gave us a taste of his exceptional talent. I feel very badly for Marijan, who yet again suffered a tire puncture that cost him a better result. My compliment go to Aleks, Julius and Dominik, who were very fast in our customer cars.”

Strong comeback: Opel celebrated first European championship title in 33 years with Emil Bergkvist and the Opel ADAM R2.

!NEW! ADAC Opel Rallye Junior Team Ready to Rumble

Second season of ADAC Opel Rallye Junior Team with ADAM R2

Six EC races and ADAC Rallye Deutschland world championship race

Winning formula: The ADAC Opel Rallye Junior Team wants to repeat last season’s success with the ADAM R2. 

From Latvia’s snow over Northern Ireland’s asphalt to the Azore’s gravel roads – the junior European Rallye Championship (FIA ERC Junior) 2015 calendar covers the entire spectrum of challenging racing surfaces. The best rallye drivers born in 1988 or later are set to prove themselves in Europe’s toughest young talent league in vehicles from the RC4 category, also known as R2. The ADAC Opel Rallye Junior Team with two Opel ADAM R2 cars driven by Marijan Griebel and Emil Bergkvist are ready for the action to start.

Junior team: Marijan Griebel (right) and co-pilot Stefan Clemens (left) hope to get off to a successful start to the 2015 European Rallye championship in their Opel ADAM R2.

The competition is fully aware of the enormous potential of the 190 hp ADAM R2, and not just since Griebel’s outstanding second-place finish at the Barum Rallye in the Czech Republic last year. Griebel is accordingly optimistic before the season starts in Latvia: “In spite of the early start, we are going into the second season of the ADAC Opel Rallye Junior Team well prepared. Last year’s results show that we can hold our own against the competition in the ERC Junior. In the last months, we further developed not only the ADAM R2, but also ourselves as a team.”

Swedish duo: Emil Bergkvist (right) and his co-pilot Joakim Sjöberg (left) after looking forward to the start of the 2015 FIA Junior European Rallye Championship.

Emil Bergkvist, who advanced to the ADAC Opel Rallye Junior Team following his title win in the ADAC Opel Rallye Cup 2014, is also raring to go: “I learned so much in the ADAC Opel Rallye Cup. I’ll benefit from that in the ERC Junior. And as a Swede, I’m of course especially looking forward to the hopefully snowy races in Latvia.”

Open in Latvia: The pilots can look forward to some snowy stages at the Rallye Liepāja.

A special season highlight next to the six FIA ERC Junior races is participation in the ADAC Rallye Deutschland, where Marijan Griebel celebrated an overwhelming class victory last August. His new co-driver is Stefan Clemens. Bergkvist’s co-driver this season is again the Swede Joakim Sjöberg. The Opel works drivers will encounter two other ADAM R2 cars in the EC. German Julius Tannert and his Luxembourgish co-driver Jennifer Thielen will be in four of six races, including the Rallye Liepāja. Pole Aleks Zawada and his French co-driver Cathy Derousseaux are taking part the whole season. However, their car is being run privately, while the works ADAM R2 is, as usual, in the capable hands of Holzer Motorsport.

Calendar ADAC Opel Rallye Junior Team 2015

February 6 - 8            Rallye Liepāja, Liepāja/Latvia (gravel/ice/snow) *

April 2 - 4                  Circuit of Ireland Rally, Belfast/Northern Ireland (asphalt) *

June 4 - 6                  SATA Rallye Açores, Ponta Delgada/Azores/Portugal (gravel) *

June 25 - 27              Geko Ypres Rally, Ypern/Belgium (asphalt) *

July 17 -19                auto24 Rally Estonia, Otepää/Estonia (gravel) *

August 20 - 23           ADAC Rallye Deutschland, Trier (asphalt)

August 28 - 30           Barum Czech Rally, Zlín/Czech Republic (asphalt) *

* Race in FIA ERC Junior