Dominant home victory for Pröglhöf

Luca Pröglhöf is half-time champion of the "ADAC Opel Electric Rallye Cup powered by GSe". Third win of the season for the fast Austrian at his home event in Weiz. Strong performance by motorcycle ace Matthias Walkner on his debut in the Corsa Rally Electric

Even a powerful thunderstorm that devastated the service park of the Weiz Rally on Friday afternoon, destroyed almost all the team tents of the ADAC Opel Electric Rally Cup "powered by GSe" and caused the entire rally to be interrupted until the following morning, could not stop Luca Pröglhöf from his third victory of the season in the world's first electric one-make rally cup. Alongside his co-driver Christina "Dina" Ettel, the 24-year-old Austrian put in a phenomenal performance at his home event, was fastest in ten of the eleven special stages and had a lead of 2:11 minutes over the runners-up, Frenchmen Anthony Rott and Hervé Faucher, at the finish on Saturday evening. Third place went to the Spanish duo Alex Español Jove/Patricia Sáiz Ruiloba.

"Mission accomplished," said a jubilant Pröglhöf, who increased his lead in the overall standings to 31 points at the halfway point of the season. "We had prepared ourselves in the best possible way, studied a lot of the onboards from last year and drew up a perfect plan. We quickly got into the rhythm and were able to set a fast pace without having to take too many risks." Particularly noteworthy: In the ninth special stage, the Austrian set the tenth-fastest time in the overall field in his Corsa Rally Electric, which only has 136 hp but a maximum torque of 260 Newton meters. Pröglhöf/Ettel left some four-wheel drive vehicles twice as strong behind them! "Downhill, it's simply a case of letting things go," laughs Pröglhöf. "The balance of the Corsa Rally Electric is simply fantastic, and after three years I trust myself and the car so much that I can push myself to the limit in these sections. It was great fun again."

Rott was also satisfied with his performance again - but the Alsatian wants more: "We had prepared very well for the Rally Weiz after things didn't go so well here last year. I benefited a lot from Hervé's experience. We got a good feel for the changing grip conditions and felt comfortable in the car. Now we hope that we can do a bit better in Stemwede and put more pressure on our friend Luca." Sito Español moved up to third place in the overall standings with the podium finish: "It was a difficult rally, we struggled to find our rhythm on the first day. The last rallies at home weren't easy, but things got better with every stage. Congratulations to Luca, he was unbeatable here. But all in all, I'm also satisfied with my performance."

Meanwhile, Bendegúz Hangodi suffered a severe setback in the standings. The Hungarian slid off the track so badly in the shakedown, that the Corsa Rally Electric was irreparably damaged. Despite the hard impact, the 216-cell production battery of the electric racer remained intact and can be reused in a new vehicle. Once again fast but unlucky were Christian Lemke and Jan-Eric Bemmann, who were in second place for a long time and were the only ones besides Pröglhöf/Ettel to set a best time, but did not finish due to a problem with the air conditioning compressor.

The fastest lady in the field of speedy electric cars this time was Belgian Lyssia Baudet, who competed for the first time with Frenchwoman Lea Sam-Caw-Frève in the hot seat. Baudet, who is supported by the Belgian automobile association RACB, finished fourth ahead of the French FFSA sponsored drivers Emma Chalvin/Emy Ailloud-Perraud, who thus retained their fourth place in the intermediate classification. "The first rally with Lea went really well," said a delighted Lyssia Baudet. "The rally was very demanding due to the constantly changing grip conditions, but we got on better and better. I'm very pleased that we were able to finish a rally without any problems and show our speed. Fourth place is great, but I'll only be really happy if we can move a little further forward."

Austrian Matthias Walkner also made a great impression. Still on crutches seven months after his serious training crash in California, the winner of the motorcycle classification of the 2018 Dakar Rally put in a dazzling performance alongside co-driver Thomas Haider in what was only his second car rally and was very fast as the pilot of the lead vehicle. "It was a pure pleasure to be able to compete in this fantastic rally for the first time since my accident," said Walkner. "I have to say that this electric rally one-make cup with all its trappings works very well. We felt we were in perfect hands and had a lot of fun. I was pleasantly surprised at how well balanced the Corsa Rally Electric is. With every kilometer we got more comfortable in the car and built up more and more confidence. I'm looking forward to hopefully more!"

Journalist Reiner Kuhn and co-driver Ilka Minor also got on well in their first outing in the Corsa Rally Electric - at least after a small wall kiss in the very first special stage. "After that, we took it a little easier," smiled the experienced rally writer. "As I got used to the car and became more confident, the fun also grew. I achieved my goal and brought the car home safely. The rally should really be starting for me now."

The fifth round of the ADAC Opel Electric Rally Cup "powered by GSe" will take place on August 9/10 as part of the ADAC Rallye Stemweder Berg around Lübbecke. A report from both the Weiz Rally and the Stemweder Berg Rally will be shown on TV station n-tv on Sunday, August 11, at 11:15 am and 7:15 pm.
 

Points standings ADAC Opel Electric Rally Cup "powered by GSe" after 4 of 8 runs

1. Pröglhöf 130 points. 2. Rott 99. 3. Español 74. 4. Chalvin 68. 5. Hangodi 64. 6. Baudet 48. 7. Lemke 42. 8. Pottier 38. 9. Melse and Wittenbeck, 37 each. 11. Kamermans 16. 12. Bayer 14.