The season opener of the ADAC Opel Electric Rally Cup “powered by GSe” at the ADAC Actronics Rally Sulingen ended with a full field of 15 cars, participants from eight nations, no fewer than 14 women in the cockpits and Christian Lemke's much-acclaimed first victory. After a thrilling battle over more than 100 asphalt kilometers, the 23-year-old from nearby Martfeld-Hustedt was 14.7 seconds ahead of the one-year older Austrian Luca Pröglhöf, who has been one of the title co-favorites in 2024, not least since his victory at last year's season finale as part of the Central European Rally. Third place went to 23-year-old Hungarian Bendegúz Hangodi, who made people sit up and take notice with a best time in the very first special stage.

At the finish line, the joy of winner Lemke and his co-driver Jan-Eric Bemmann knew no bounds: “I have no words to describe my feelings! Ever since the shakedown on Thursday, I had a great feeling in the car and with the new Michelin tire compound,” said the Cup veteran, who had already taken part in the debut of the world's first electric one-make rally cup in 2021. “The good start to the event gave us confidence so that we could attack straight away. Driving the Corsa Rally Electric on these treacherous stages, especially in the IVG area, was great fun. And now I'm just happy!”

Pröglhöf, whose co-driver Christina Ettel had, as always, withheld both the stage times and the intermediate standings, was also satisfied with his start to the season: “On the first day, after six months off from rallying, I drove a little too cautiously at first. But the night stage in the IVG area really suited me, and I quickly regained confidence in the car. I got the day off to a good start today and am completely satisfied with how everything went.”

Meanwhile, third-placed Hangodi and his co-driver Dániel Petrovszki (H) had traveled from Hungary to northern Germany with very high ambitions. Hangodi: “The podium finish is great, even though I had the feeling that my performance improved over the course of the rally, but the results did not. It was nice to see that we have the potential to fight for the championship at the very front. And that is the clear goal. So I should be satisfied with my debut in the Cup. But I'm just a maximalist ...”

With fourth place, the brothers Anthony and Adrien Rott marked their best result to date in the ADAC Opel Electric Rally Cup. The Alsatians were correspondingly relaxed. “There was already a steady upward trend last year, and it's great that it has continued here,” said a delighted driver Anthony. “Experience plays a big role in this cup. The more we drive the Corsa Rally Electric, the better it gets.”

Impressive performance by DTM champion Scheider

Timo Scheider made a very strong impression. In his second guest start in the Corsa Rally Electric, the 45-year-old DTM champion from 2008 and 2009 mastered the demanding special stages at the ADAC Rallye Sulingen brilliantly and finished fifth overall, just 8.8 seconds behind the Rott brothers, a result that even he had not necessarily expected. Perfectly guided by his 24-year-old co-driver Jara Hain, Scheider even gave a taste of his driving skills in the notorious military area in the Eickhofer Heide (formerly IVG area), which has been the undoing of many a rally driver, and set the third-fastest time on the winding tarmac on Saturday.

At the finish, Scheider was satisfied with himself and the world: “I knew from the start that the front runners in the ADAC Opel Electric Rally Cup would be extremely close together, that experienced people would be fighting for every tenth against young rookies. That's why I'm really happy with our performance. From the first special stage onwards, we were able to make steady gains. Jara and I were a super team, she was great at guiding me through the rally. A big thank you to Opel, of course, for giving me the chance to be here. I have to admit, the passion to make more of it has been kindled. I had a grin on my face after every special stage.”

The same was true for Opel Motorsport Principal Jörg Schrott: “This was a great start to the fourth season of the ADAC Opel Electric Rally Cup. We experienced a thrilling rally with Christian Lemke, who I wholeheartedly congratulate on his victory. This year's field of participants is really fun, lots of young people, almost half of them women, all fast and in good spirits. What more could you want?”

Round 2 of the ADAC Opel Electric Rally Cup “powered by GSe” will take place on May 24/25 as part of the ELE Rally around Eindhoven in the Netherlands.

Results ADAC Opel Electric Rally Cup “powered by GSe” / ADAC Actronics Rallye Sulingen

1. Christian Lemke/Jan Bemmann (D), 1:12,17,3 h. 2. Luca Pröglhöf/Christina Ettel (A) +14,7 sec. 3. Bendegúz Hangodi/Dániel Petrovszki (H) +20,1 sec. 4. Anthony Rott/Adrien Rott (F) + 37,7 sec. 5. Timo Scheider/Jara Hain (D)* +46,5 sec. 6. Alex Español Jove/Lorena Romero (E) +1:18,1 min. 7. Axel Bayer/Clara Bettge (D) +2:11,1 min. 8. Hank Melse/Joep van Heugten (NL) +3:15,0 min. 9. Lyssia Baudet/Pauline Denis (B) +3:28,2 min. 10. Emma Chalvin/Emy Ailloud-Perraud (F) +4:26,3 min.

Point Standings ADAC Opel Electric Rally Cup “powered by GSe” nach 1 von 8 Läufen

1. Lemke 31 Punkte. 2. Pröglhöf 29. 3. Hangodi 27. 4. Rott 21. 5. Español 19. 6. Bayer 14. 7. Melse 12. 8. Baudet 10. 9. Chalvin 8. 10. Pottier 6. 11. Felke 5. 12. Steffe 4. 13. Wittenbeck 3.

* Guest starter