Tom Heindrichs dominated the third round of the 2025 ADAC Opel Electric Rally Cup. At the Rallye Vosges Grand-Est in northern France, the 21-year-old Belgian and his co-driver Jonas Schmitz were the fastest in seven of the eight special stages and finished in Gérardmer with an impressive lead of 52.8 seconds over championship leader Alex “Sito” Español Jove and his co-driver Borja Odriozola. Kilian Nierenz and co-driver Milena Raithel won an exciting three-way battle with Austrians Marcel Neulinger/Silvano Winkler and Germans Christian Lemke/Jan-Eric Bemmann to secure their second podium finish in the world's first electric rally one-make cup. In the overall standings, Español now has a 17-point lead over the new runner-up Heindrichs.

At the finish line, winner Heindrichs was satisfied with himself and the world. “After the season didn't start quite as we had hoped, we are all the more delighted with this victory,” beamed the brother of rally world champion Thierry Neuville. "The fact that we were able to win seven of the eight stages here shows us that we are on the right track. Now we need to keep at it and continue to make up ground on Sito in the championship. The whole team and we are confident that we can do it. We are looking forward to the next events in the ADAC Opel Electric Rally Cup."

Kilian Nierenz was no less happy, moving up to third place in the Cup standings with another podium finish: "The rally was awesome! During the shakedown, we were really shocked at how demanding but also beautiful the tracks are here. Tom performed outstandingly here, but we are super happy with third place and the second-fastest time in the Power Stage. The Corsa Rally Electric also worked great on these tough tracks, and we were able to gain a lot of valuable experience again. It was incredible fun!"

Fabian Kamermans and Stefan Müller were unlucky. After finishing second in their home race in Eindhoven three weeks ago, they were also fighting for the lead in France, but hit a rock in SS3 and damaged the front axle of their Opel Corsa Rally Electric. The Dutch duo dropped to fifth place in the standings behind Heindrichs, Nierenz and Lemke.

In addition to the Austrians Neulinger/Winkler, who ultimately achieved the best time in the “Power Stage” in pouring rain and missed the podium by just 3.2 seconds with fourth place, the only all-female team in the Cup also put in an excellent performance: Belgians Thyrsa Eertmans and Justine Demeestere mixed it up in the demanding asphalt rally around Gérardmer and shone on Sunday morning with two fifth-place times in the special stages. “I'm proud of our sixth place,” beamed 21-year-old Eertmans. “The hard work and careful preparation are paying off. We feel much more comfortable in the car and are looking forward to the upcoming rallies.”

The Mokka GSE Rally cruises through the Vosges

The new Opel Mokka GSE Rally also thrilled French rally fans. Opel veteran Horst Rotter and his co-driver Conny Nemenich drove the 280 hp electric racer, which will be used in the coming season, as the lead car through the demanding special stages, gathering further important data for the development of the powerful electric car. “The car is already working really well and is enormous fun to drive with its high torque of 345 Newton meters,” praised Rotter.

“As in the past two years, the Rallye Vosges Grand-Est proved to be a challenging but also very enjoyable event for our young participants,” commented Opel Motorsport Director Jörg Schrott. "The fact that all vehicles saw the checkered flag in Gérardmer speaks for our teams and the qualities of the Corsa Rally Electric. Tom Heindrichs delivered an outstanding performance here. I am particularly pleased with the great performances of Marcel Neulinger and Thyrsa Eertmans, who impressively demonstrated their potential here. And our new Mokka GSE Rally made a strong impression on the French fans, while we gained further valuable data. I am very satisfied.“

The teams of the ADAC Opel Electric Rally Cup ”powered by GSE" are now taking a short summer break. The fourth round of the world's first electric rally one-make cup will take place on August 15-16 as part of the ADAC Saarland-Pfalz Rally around St. Wendel.

Standings ADAC Opel Electric Rally Cup “powered by GSE” after 3 of 7 rounds:

1. Español 91 points. 2. Heindrichs 74. 3. Nierenz 72. 4. Lemke 69. 5. Kamermans 55. 6. Neulinger 42. 7. Wittenbeck 35. 8. Jungnickel 28. 9. Eertmans 27. 10. Steitz 23. 11. Rott 19. 12. Raftery 10.