The ADAC Opel Electric Rally Cup "powered by GSe" delivered a brilliant showcase at its first guest appearance in Switzerland. The 136 hp Corsa Rally Electric also cut a fine figure in the Swiss Alpine foothills, impressing with high reliability and strong performance. And as always, the young teams gave each other no quarter in their nippy electric cars. Victory was not decided until the final special stage.
Initially, Terence Callea was the strongest performer. With two fastest times in the first two special stages, the Frenchman moved to the top of the field of 15 electric racers and held this place until the ninth stage. There, however, a damp patch on the narrow and fast track proved to be his undoing. Thanks to the high safety standards of the Corsa Rally Electric, Callea and his co-driver Enzo Mahinc were not injured.
As a result, a gripping duel broke out between the son-father team of Calle and Torbjörn Carlberg and Max Reiter/Cornelia Nemenich, in which Christian Lemke and co Stephan Schneeweiß also got involved after their best time in SS9. Only in the last two chases for the best time did Cup veteran Reiter really turn up the heat and caught his Swedish rival by 4.3 seconds. Third place went to Christian Lemke, who thus celebrated his first podium finish in the ADAC Opel Electric Rally Cup, ahead of the lady duo Sarah Rumeau and Julie Amblard, who again performed impressively.
"That was a tough one," said a delighted Reiter, who also extended his lead of the standings in the ADAC Opel Electric Rally Cup "powered by GSe" with his second win of the season. "In terms of characteristics and demands, this was the toughest rally I have ever driven in the Cup. The constantly changing conditions with sometimes dry and sometimes wet tracks didn't make it any easier. Choosing the right tires was a bit of a gamble. It was difficult to drive at the limit without exceeding it - see Callea. I'm really happy that it worked out."
Calle Carlberg expressed disappointment at the narrow defeat: "I've been close so many times, the first win is really starting to come due. The result is basically okay, the feeling in the cockpit was not here. The confidence was lacking right from the start. I've never experienced tracks like this before. I gave everything again in the last two stages, but unfortunately it wasn't quite enough."
Christian Lemke was all the more pleased with his podium finish: "The rally was extremely demanding - as tough as some of the sections of last year's Rally Mont Blanc, only over the full distance. The road surfaces were constantly changing, there were uphill and downhill sections, narrow, fast tracks, plus the changing weather - it was really super difficult and at times a real tire poker. I learned an incredible amount, not least when it came to writing things down. And I'm really happy about third place."
Sarah Rumeau was once again convincing, even though "I started the rally a bit too cautiously. On Friday afternoon it went super for it with 2nd place on slicks in the rain. But no matter which tires we put on, they were never perfect. Fourth place is okay, even though I think more would have been possible."
Strong rally debut for Cyndie Allemann
Local Cyndie Allemann also put in a flawless performance. In her first rally, the circuit specialist, who had already retired in 2015, improved from stage to stage alongside rally veteran Horst Rotter and brought her Corsa Rally Electric home in one piece at the end of a challenging rally debut. "I'm incredibly tired, I wouldn't have thought how exhausting a rally like this is," the 37-year-old admitted. "It was an incredible experience. Rally is so different from circuit racing. The cars have four wheels in both disciplines, and that's the only thing they have in common. Everything changes all the time, the cooperation with the co-driver is so extremely important if you want to drive fast. Horst was the perfect coach for me, I learned so much in such a short time. I was thrilled by the family atmosphere in the service park, there's nothing like it on the circuit. And even though the result was secondary, I'm pretty happy with our performance. I thank Opel Motorsport and Horst for the great opportunity and the trust."
The TV station n-tv will report on the Swiss premiere of the ADAC Opel Rally Electric Cup "powered by GSe" in its magazine "PS - Die Deutsche Rallye-Meisterschaft" on June 17 from 12.10 p.m. onwards. The next round of the world's first electric rally one-make cup will take place on the same weekend (June 17/18) at the Rally Vosges Grand-Est around Gérardmer.
Points standings ADAC Opel Electric Rally Cup 2023 (after 2 of 8 rounds):
1. Reiter 65 points. 2. Carlberg 56. 3. Lemke 45. 4. Rumeau 35. 5. Pröglhöf 33. 6. Callea 27. 7. Tarta 23. 8. Rott 22. 9. Van Hoof 22. 10. Gudet 16. 11. Wittenbeck 9. 12. Baur 8. 13. Oprea 8. 14. Mendoza 4.
