Second round of the ADAC Opel Electric Rally Cup “powered by GSe” 2025 at the ELE Rally. Spaniard Alex Español travels to the Dutch cup guest event as the championship leader. With Christian Lemke and Kilian Nierenz, two Germans are waiting in the chasing positions.
After the thrilling season opener in Sulingen, the ADAC Opel Electric Rally Cup “powered by GSe” will start its third appearance at the ELE Rally in the Netherlands next weekend (May 23rd/24th). For the first time, the challenging rally around Eindhoven is also part of the German Rally Championship, so the proportion of German teams this season is larger than in previous years.
Buoyed by their opening victory, Spaniard Alex Español and his co-driver Borja Odriozola in the Corsa Rally Electric of Opel Spain go into the second of seven season rounds as championship leaders. Hot on the heels of the Iberians, with just one point behind, are the experienced duo Christian Lemke/Jan-Eric Bemmann, who want to benefit from their wealth of experience in their third ELE participation. Kilian Nierenz and co-driver Milena Raithel may not have this experience, but the German newcomers showed at the season opener that this did not stop them from confidently driving onto the podium.
Not entirely satisfied with 4th place in Sulingen, Belgian Tom Heindrichs and co-driver Jonas Schmitz travel to the neighboring country all the more motivated. The brother of rally world champion Thierry Neuville had already made it clear with his victory in last year’s cup season finale as part of the Central European Rally that nothing less than podium places is his ambition. For the protégé of the Dutch motorsport federation KNAF, Fabian Kamermans, and his co-driver Stefan Müller, it is already their second start in the Corsa Rally Electric at the ELE Rally, so many eyes will be on the locals. And when talking about disappointed teams at the opener, the names of the Frenchmen Anthony and Adrien Rott immediately come to mind. The two brothers from Alsace, vice-champions of the 2024 cup season, only finished eleventh in Sulingen due to a lot of bad luck and want to re-establish contact with the top of the table in the Netherlands.
Timo van der Marel is celebrating a unique return to the ADAC Opel Electric Rally Cup. The 35-year-old from Eindhoven knows the Corsa Rally Electric very well from the 2021 season, in which the world’s first electric rally one-make cup celebrated its much-noticed debut. Van der Marel’s co-driver is the experienced Erwin Berkhof.
The experience of the local heroes could play an important role, because the first two guest appearances of the ADAC Opel Electric Rally Cup in the Netherlands quickly revealed: whoever wants to be successful at the ELE Rally must first and foremost finish the ELE Rally. And here, it is important to take care of the equipment. The tracks around Eindhoven are rough, numerous crests, bumps, and impacts put a strain on the powertrain and chassis of the rally vehicles in particular.
The schedule of the ELE Rally is also demanding. The start on Friday is not until 6:20 PM. After four special stages, the Opel teams will not finish in the parc fermé until 11:20 PM. Saturday is packed, with eight special stages starting from 11:02 AM. The official finish is not scheduled until 10:08 PM. In total, the Corsa Rally Electric cars have to cover 449.9 kilometers, 124.8 kilometers of which are against the clock. Rally fans can follow the thrilling action in the Netherlands via live timing at www.opel-motorsport.com.
ADAC Opel Electric Rally Cup “powered by GSe” points standings after 1 of 7 races
- Español 30 points.
- Lemke 29
- Nierenz 27
- Heindrichs 22
- Kamermans 18
- Wittenbeck 14
- M. Neulinger 12
- Raftery 10
- Jungnickel 8.
- Rott 7
- Eertmans 5
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