With his second victory of the season, Spaniard Alex Español has extended his overall lead in the ADAC Opel Electric Rally Cup “powered by GSE” at the ELE Rally in the Netherlands. After a thrilling battle, the Spaniard and his co-driver Borja Odriozola prevailed against the Dutch crew of Fabian Kamermans and Stefan Müller by 13.6 seconds in adverse conditions with rain and slippery tracks. German driver Christian Lemke and his co-driver Pascal Raabe, who stood in for the injured Jan-Eric Bemmann, finished third. “That was hard work,” commented Español. "I was under enormous pressure the whole time. The rally was really tough, and I'm delighted with my second win of the season. I hope it continues like this. But I know that the other fast guys will have something to say about that."
However, the secret star of the ELE Rally was someone else: the brand-new Opel Mokka GSE Rally celebrated a highly acclaimed world premiere in front of a large audience, including more than 50 guests from Opel Belgium and Opel Netherlands, during the asphalt race around Eindhoven. Opel motorsport legend Volker Strycek drove the 280 hp electric racer from Rüsselsheim with its beefy torque of 345 Newton meters courageously through the treacherous special stages, giving a taste of what to expect in the 2026 season. That's when the first rally car developed under the FIA's new eRally5 regulations will be homologated for worldwide use. Rebecca Reinermann, Vice President Marketing at Opel Automobile GmbH, was also impressed by the new electric powerhouse from Rüsselsheim as a co-driver in the Mokka GSE Rally at the ELE Rally.
The Opel Corsa Rally Electric cup field also saw some exciting action. With two stage wins, Alex Español took the lead on Friday and never relinquished it until the finish late on Saturday evening, despite Christian Lemke in particular breathing down the leader's neck. After the eleventh stage, only two tenths of a second separated the two leaders. Just one stage later, Lemke lost around half a minute on the fastest time, but attacked again in the last two stages and finally pushed guest driver Timo van der Marel off the podium. “It was great fun,” said the North German. "Despite the difficult conditions, it was a nice rally, though not an easy one. The car ran superbly, we were able to keep up with the pace at the front over the two days and are very satisfied overall."
Van der Marel had fought a tough battle with Fabian Kamermans for the title of best local driver throughout the rally. “I have to admit that I'm a little disappointed to have lost the podium place in the last stage,” confessed the guest driver. “On the other hand, I wasn't under any pressure here. Maybe the focus is different when it comes to points and the championship. And we had a lot of fun. Many thanks to Opel Motorsport and Opel Netherlands for making our guest appearance possible.”
Kamermans, who like Español, van der Marel, Lemke and Belgian driver Tom Heindrichs, who finished fifth, set at least one stage best time, was delighted with the best Cup result of his career: "It's a great feeling to be on the podium at my home rally. Of course, I would have liked to win, but Sito was incredibly fast. The battle in the top six was crazy. Sometimes one was in front, sometimes the other. With the fastest time and five bonus points in the Power Stage, we got almost the maximum out of it, are now in third place in the Cup standings and are really happy. It couldn't have gone much better."
Kilian Nierenz and Milena Raithel, who had finished on the podium at the season opener in Sulingen, took sixth place overall. The runners-up in last season's Cup, brothers Anthony and Adrien Rott from France, were once again unlucky, having to retire their Corsa Rally Electric with a transmission problem in SS3 after a strong start.
“This was a very special event for Opel,” said Opel Motorsport Director Jörg Schrott. "Our new Mokka GSE Rally caused quite a stir at the ELE Rally. The car made a strong impression in terms of looks, sound and performance, and gave a good preview of what fans can expect on Europe's rally tracks from 2026 onwards. The battle for the top spot in the cup standings was once again extremely exciting. Five drivers set at least one stage best time, which speaks for the high level of competitiveness in the field. Opel has made a strong statement for electric rallying here in the Netherlands."
The third round of the ADAC Opel Electric Rally Cup “powered by GSE” will take place on June 14-15 at the Rallye Vosges Grand-Est. The speedy electric cars will set up their service park in St.-Dié-des-Vosges for their first outing in France this season.
Standings ADAC Opel Electric Rally Cup “powered by GSe” after 2 of 7 rounds:
1. Español 64 points. 2. Lemke 53. 3. Kamermans 48. 4. Nierenz 46. 5. Heindrichs 41. 6. Wittenbeck 25. 7. Jungnickel 20. 8. M. Neulinger and Steitz, 18 each. 10. Eertmans 13. 11. Raftery 10. 12. Rott 7.
