Opel Corsa Rally Electric Driver Reiter Takes Victory in Styrian Heat

• Rallye Weiz: Fourth round of ADAC Opel Electric Rally Cup “powered by GSe”
• Weiz-winner Max Reiter leads Calle Carlberg by five points halfway through season
• Pröglhöf third again on home soil, strong drives from Rumeau, Baur and Mendoza

The teams contesting the ADAC Opel Electric Rally Cup “powered by GSe” in their 100 kW/136 hp Opel Corsa Rally Electric cars put on another thrilling show at the Rallye Weiz, despite scorching heat. In temperatures exceeding 35 degrees Celsius, another thrilling duel broke out between Max Reiter and Calle Carlberg. This time on the tarmac roads of Styria it was Reiter who held the upper hand, the young German taking his third win of the season to put himself five points clear of his Swedish rival in the standings.

“Last year at this difficult rally we did not have our best weekend,” said Reiter, who is assisted since the start of the season by co-driver Conny Nemenich. “This time we were well prepared and immediately found a good rhythm. The fight with Calle and Luca was great fun, I hope we put on a good show for the spectators.”

Vosges winner Carlberg, who set the best time in four special stages including the final “Power Stage”, applauded his opponent: “Max showed here how fast he is. I struggled a bit from the start. The roads here are incredibly tricky because the grip level is constantly changing. In the end I tried to keep the pressure on Max without risking the important points. I expect a tough fight for the title until the end of the season.”

Like last time at the Rallye Vosges Grand-Est, the Austrian Luca Pröglhöf delivered a flawless performance alongside Christina “Dina” Ettel and placed in the top three in all but one of the special stages. The reward was the second podium in a row – and again the driver only found out about it at the finish. “Since Dina stopped showing me times, I don’t worry anymore. I’m just relaxed and enjoy the rallying. I think it is great that my opponents also respect our approach and don’t tell me how things are going.”

Sarah Rumeau, Joe Baur and Armiche Mendoza also put on a strong performance. The fast Frenchwoman and her co-driver Julie Amblard finished fourth for the third time in a row, just ahead of Baur (with Fabian Peter at his side). Sarah made no secret of her disappointment at having missed the targeted podium once more: “We are sad – fourth again! But it was a little to be expected. Everyone else in front knew the rally from last year. Our best special stage here was the first – and that was new for everyone. But we are not giving up, the podium will come at some point!”

“We didn’t find a good rhythm last year, but things went well here from the start,” commented Baur. “Although it was difficult to estimate the level of grip and to guess where you can push and where you can’t.” With sixth place, Mendoza also proved that he has arrived in the ADAC Opel Electric Rally Cup. “After we missed the start of the season, it was important for us in the first three rallies to get used to the car and the Cup, especially as every rally so far has had different characteristics,” said the Spaniard, who is joined in the cockpit by co-driver Alejandro Falcon Caballero. “Confidence in the car grows with every kilometre, I feel good and I’m looking forward to the events to come.”

The ADAC Opel Electric Rally Cup “powered by GSe” will now take a short summer break. The second half of the season will begin on August 18-19 at the ADAC Saarland-Pfalz Rallye near St. Wendel.

Standings ADAC Opel Electric Rally Cup 2023 (after 4 of 8 rounds):

1. Reiter, 126 points.

2. Carlberg 121.

3. Pröglhöf 84.

4. Rumeau 78.

5. Lemke 55.

6. Van Hoof 42.

7. Tarta 39.

8. Baur 36.

9. Gudet 34.

10. Callea and Wittenbeck, 27 each.

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