Last August, she drove the first rally of her life in the ADAC Opel Electric Rally Cup, then won the “Beyond Rally” development program run by the World Rally Championship promoter, in 2025 had an impressive debut season in the Junior World Rally Championship (JWRC) – and last weekend Claire Schönborn competed in the Spa Rally in the Belgian Ardennes in a new Opel Corsa Rally6 for testing purposes. This is the event that will host the season finale of the ADAC Opel GSE Rally Cup next year. And the event proved to be extremely treacherous, as WRC star Andreas Mikkelsen found out early on with a nasty crash in the shakedown.
The 26-year-old from Löffelscheid got off to a flying start in the 145 hp customer sports racer. However, she lost time in the very first special stage after being held up by a Rally4 car that delivers around 80 hp more power than her Corsa Rally6. “He kept pulling away from me on the straights and getting in my way in the corners,” said Claire, who as usual listened to the instructions of her co-driver Michael Wenzel.
With their first stage win in SS3, Schönborn/Wenzel took the lead in the RC6 class – only to lose more than four minutes in the next stage due to a front right puncture and slip to the bottom of the class standings. With a total of eight stage wins, Claire worked her way back up to second place in the class, making up more than two minutes on the winner by the end of SS15.
“Sure, the class victory would have been easily within reach without the puncture – but that's just part of rallying,” commented the Hunsrück native. "Overall, it was a great rally. The stages were very demanding, especially as the weather conditions were very changeable. Some of the tracks were extremely slippery. And you have to cut almost every corner if you want to be fast – which of course greatly increases the risk of tire damage. You have to weigh up exactly how much risk you want to take. There was always a rock or something else hiding in every cut. The pace notes are extremely important. I can already predict that there will be a lot going on at the final of the ADAC Opel GSE Rally Cup next year..."
And the Corsa Rally6, Claire? “A great entry-level car,” enthuses the JWRC driver. "I didn't expect you could have so much fun with a 145 hp front-wheel drive car with standard tires. The car is perfect for a beginner. You learn to carry momentum, especially since the Corsa Rally6 doesn't have a limited-slip differential. The 235 hp all-wheel drive R3 car can sometimes pull you out of a mistake, but that's not possible with the Rally6. You have to let the car run and get everything out of it at all times to be fast. If you can do that, you can do it in any other rally car."
Claire Schönborn's overall conclusion: “It was a great rally, in which I learned a lot again. And I also enjoyed sitting in an Opel again, working with the brand that started it all for me.”
Opel junior Heindrichs drives onto the overall podium
In addition to Claire Schönborn, Opel had another driver in the spotlight at the Spa Rally. Tom Heindrichs, winner of the 2025 ADAC Opel Electric Rally Cup and newly minted Opel factory junior, used the asphalt race not far from his home to try his hand at a Rally2 car for the first time. And the 21-year-old Belgian took off in the 280 hp Citroën C3 Rally2 as if he had never driven any other car. After SS3, the brother of the dethroned World Rally Champion Thierry Neuville and his co-driver Jonas Schmitz took the overall lead, but ultimately had to settle for third place overall after two punctures (SS9 and SS12) and a slip-up in SS13. Nevertheless, the competitors in the 2026 Junior European Championship, which Heindrichs/Schmitz will tackle in the ADAC Opel Rally Junior Team's Corsa Rally4, should not get too comfortable...
