The Opel juniors want to go on the attack in Wales

Fifth round of the Junior European Rally Championship season at the “Rali Ceredigion”.

Opel Junior Calle Carlberg wants to keep his title chances alive at the new rally in Wales. German Timo Schulz travels to Great Britain with visual contact to the top of the standings.

The “ERC JDS Machinery Rali Ceredigion” heralds the hot phase of the Junior European Rally Championship (JERC) next weekend. The fifth of six rounds in the Junior European Rally Championship is completely new territory for the ADAC Opel Rally Junior Team and the rest of the European junior elite. The asphalt rally on the west coast of Wales is part of the ERC for the first time this year. The excitement is all the greater ahead of the debut, which could already bring a preliminary decision in the title fight.

The conditions for the two Opel juniors Calle Carlberg (24, Sweden) and Timo Schulz (25, Germany) in their Corsa Rally4 entered by Stohl Racing and Waldherr Motorsport are certainly positive. Although Carlberg is second in the standings, 30 points behind brand colleague and compatriot Mille Johansson, the gap shrinks to 9 points if a scratch result is taken into account. However, Carlberg already has one zero as a scratch result to his name, so two good results in the last two races of the season are a must.

Last year’s champion of the ADAC Opel Electric Rally Cup “powered by GSe”, who as always listens to the instructions of his Norwegian co-driver Jørgen Eriksen, is of course aware of this: “The title fight between Mille and me is entering the hot phase, and if we don’t do a good job, the European Championship could already be decided in Wales. My aim must be to win the Rali Ceredigion and postpone the decision until the final in Poland. We approached our debut season in the JERC with minimal risk and have gained confidence with three second places in a row. Now it’s time to attack a little more. I’m expecting rainy weather and muddy tracks for the weekend – similar conditions to last year at the Central European Rally, where I won the ADAC Opel Electric Rally Cup championship and learned a lot. We feel well prepared for Wales.”

His Saarland team-mate Timo Schulz, who is 17 points behind Carlberg in fifth place overall and also already has a scratch result, has his sights set on the top positions in the JERC as well. With veteran Michael Wenzel in the hot seat of the Corsa Rally4, the 2022 ADAC Opel Electric Rally Cup champion wants to go on the offensive in Wales: “I’m really looking forward to this new rally. The scenery and the routes look really cool. The special stages are super-fast and extremely demanding, with lots of small crests and changing road surfaces, which will be particularly tricky in the wet. The Rali Ceredigion will be a great challenge. We’re looking forward to it, feel well prepared and hope for a top result that will move us up a bit in the overall standings.”

The starting point of the Rali Ceredigion is the coastal town of Aberystwyth on Cardigan Bay in the county of Ceredigion, around 160 kilometers northwest of the Welsh capital Cardiff. The show start and the first two of the 14 special stages over 193 kilometers will also take place in Aberystwyth on Friday from 16:30 local time (CEST minus one hour). The action then gets down to business on Saturday, with eight stages on the program between 7.00 am and 8.00 pm. The finale will take place on Sunday with four special stages from 7.35 am to 3.30 pm local time. A total of 17 Rally4 cars will be on the grid, ten of which are registered for the Junior European Championship.

Rally fans can follow the thrilling action in Wales via live timing on www.opel-motorsport.com