Opel and ADAC continue their effective talent promotion

The ADAC Opel Rally Junior Team will again compete in the Junior European Championship in 2025. Opel Motorsport enters two Corsa Rally4 for Luca Pröglhöf and Calle Carlberg. The two ex-champions of the ADAC Opel Electric Rally Cup want to fight for the title.

ADAC and Opel are continuing their successful promotion of young talent in rallying. As in the previous year, the ADAC Opel Rally Junior Team will enter two Corsa Rally4 in the Junior European Rally Championship (JERC). The 212 hp customer sports cars from Rüsselsheim will be driven by the champions of the ADAC Opel Electric Rally Cup 2024 and 2023, Luca Pröglhöf (Austria) and Calle Carlberg (Sweden). The factory Opels will once again be run by the experienced team led by Austrian rally legend Manfred Stohl. The ADAC Opel Rally Junior Team has left an impressive mark in the Junior European Championship: Emil Bergkvist (Sweden, 2015), Marijan Griebel (Germany, 2016), Chris Ingram (Great Britain, 2017), Martins Sesks (Latvia, 2018) and Laurent Pellier (France, 2022) have won five drivers’ titles in eight years.

The motivation of the Opel juniors is correspondingly high. Last year’s dominator of the world’s first electric one-make rally cup, Luca Pröglhöf, enters the international rally stage with a mixture of ambition and respect. “I’m proud to be able to call myself a works driver now,” says the 25-year-old from Sittendorf near Vienna, who listens to the instructions of his experienced co-driver Christina Ettel (38) also in the JERC. “You can already feel a certain amount of pressure as well as great anticipation. I’m lucky to be in the best of hands with Manfred and his team. Dina and I are preparing meticulously for the season, including intensive onboard studies. I’m doing a lot of sport and have already put on five kilograms of muscle mass. I was delighted that Calle will be my teammate. As a rookie in the JERC, I will benefit enormously from his experience. I think we have a strong package and can hardly wait for the start in Spain.”

Together with his Norwegian co-driver Jørgen Eriksen (31), 24-year-old Calle Carlberg is entering his second JERC season with the ADAC Opel Rally Junior Team. After finishing runner-up in the 2024 European Championship and winning the season finale in Poland, the young Swede’s objective is clear: “We want to set our sights on winning the title. In my debut season, I learned what it takes to be successful in the JERC. Of course, we know exactly how high the stakes are in the JERC, but we have the right car and the right team to stand up to the strong competition. I’m really happy to get a second opportunity from Opel to prove myself in the JERC – and this with my former rival from the ADAC Opel Electric Rally Cup 2023 as a teammate. Luca is a great guy, I’m sure we’ll work very well together.”

Two new events in the 2025 JERC calendar

Once again this year, the Junior European Rally Championship calendar offers an exciting mix of challenging events in six nations. Based on a rotating system in the Junior European Championship, the Rally di Roma Capitale, the Rally Poland and the Barum Czech Rally Zlín return to the JERC calendar after a one-year break in each case. The young teams will enter new territory at the guest appearances in Spain, where the Rally Sierra Morena around Córdoba replaces the Rally Islas Canarias, and in Croatia, where the season finale will take place in October around the capital Zagreb. Only the Rally Hungary was already on the program for the European rally talents last year. The ratio between gravel and asphalt events has changed slightly: Only the JERC rounds in Hungary and Poland take place on loose surfaces.

“The joint promotion of young talent by Opel and the ADAC offers young drivers plenty of prospects. We look forward to continuing the project with Opel in the European championship and giving another talent from the ADAC Opel Electric Rally Cup an opportunity to compete on the international stage,” says ADAC Head of Motorsport Thomas Voss.

“The Junior European Championship enjoys a high status in Opel’s motorsport program,” emphasizes Opel Head of Motorsport Jörg Schrott. “As five-time title winners, we are going into the season with high expectations. Calle already proved his ability to win last year, so the goals are set. The JERC represents a new challenge for Luca, and the experience of both Calle and the Stohl team will be a great support for him. We are proud to have him as the tenth title winner and twelfth driver overall from an ADAC and Opel one-make rally cup in the European Championship and are looking forward to the season.”

Schedule Junior European Rally Championship 2025

04.-06.04.                       Rally Sierra Morena, Córdoba (asphalt)                                         E

09.-11.05.                       Rally Hungary, Veszprém (gravel)                                                   H

13.-15.06.                       Rally Poland, Mikolajki (gravel)                                                       PL

04.-06.07.                       Rally di Roma Capitale, Fiuggi (asphalt)                                         I

15.-17.08.                       Barum Czech Rally Zlín (asphalt)                                                    CZ

03.-05.10.                       Croatia Rally, Zagreb (asphalt)                                                        HR