Third round in the ADAC Opel Electric Rally Cup “powered by GSE” 2025. Spaniard Alex Espanol is the man to beat at the Rallye Vosges Grand-Est. The new Opel Mokka GSE Rally is presented to French rally fans.
For the third time, the ADAC Opel Electric Rally Cup “powered by GSE” entourage will travel to the Rallye Vosges Grand-Est this coming weekend. The asphalt rally in the Vosges mountains has proven to be challenging but also popular with participants in their 136 hp Opel Corsa Electric cars in recent years. And of course, the Opel Mokka GSE Rally, which celebrated its world premiere three weeks ago at the ELE Rally in the Netherlands, will also be on-site again. The 280 hp electric racer will take on the special stages as the lead car for the Cup participants and give French fans an impression of the next step in the electric rally future.
In sporting terms, the starting position is clear: the man to beat is Alex “Sito” Español Jove. Together with his co-driver Borja Odriozola, the Spaniard leads the overall standings after two wins this season. However, the man from Barcelona has no reason to rest on his laurels. Just eleven points behind is Christian Lemke from northern Germany, who will be riding in the Vosges with his regular co-driver Jan-Eric Bemmann at his side again. Also within striking distance of the leader and highly ambitious are the Dutch duo Fabian Kamermans/Stefan Müller and the Germans Kilian Nierenz/Milena Raithel, who celebrated their first podium finishes in the ADAC Opel Electric Rally Cup in the first two events of the season. In fifth place overall are last year’s season finale winners in the Central European Rally, Belgians Tom Heindrichs and Jonas Schmitz. The brother of rally world champion Thierry Neuville is 23 points behind the leader, which doesn’t mean much, as there are a total of 35 points up for grabs in a round of the ADAC Opel Electric Rally Cup.
Anthony and Adrien Rott are traveling to the Vosges with double motivation. On the one hand, the talented brothers are bringing up the rear in the overall standings after bad luck in the first two rallies. On the other hand, the Rallye Vosges Grand-Est is a real home game for the Alsatians, whose home town of Niederseebach is only around 150 kilometers from the service park.
For logistical reasons, the service park is not located at the rally headquarters in Gérardmer this time, but in Saint-Dié-des-Vosges, around 30 kilometers to the north. From there, the speedy electric cars will tackle nine special stages covering 118 kilometers. On Saturday, the Opel teams will have to complete five stages between 12:12 p.m. and around 9:00 p.m., before four more stages are scheduled for the following day from 10:42 a.m. The finish in Gérardmer is expected to be reached at around 6:00 p.m.
Opel Motorsport Director Jörg Schrott knows the pitfalls of the Rallye Vosges Grand-Est from the past two years and is urging his young teams to be cautious: “The asphalt tracks in the Vosges are rough and particularly hard on the tires. A puncture can happen quickly here. After 30 four-wheel driven cars have completed the stage, the tracks are often no longer in the same condition as when the pace notes were written. As is so often the case in rallying, a heavy right foot is one thing, but using your head is another.”
Rally fans can follow the electrifying action in the Vosges mountains via live timing at www.opel-motorsport.com and www.adac.de/motorsport.
Point 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.
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