The Blitz Shines at ADAC Rallye Deutschland

• Opel again strong at German WRC event
• Double victory and fourth consecutive success for Opel ADAM R2 in its class
• Young drivers from ADAC Opel Rallye Cup put on spectacular show

Rüsselsheim.  After moving to Saarland, the ADAC Rallye Deutschland, the German round of the FIA WRC, remains one of the major highlights in the German rally season. According to official numbers, around 220,000 spectators lined the 21 special stages around the service park at the picturesque Bostalsee on the four event days, immersing themselves in the world of rallying. The world elite with their 380 hp World Rally Cars thanked them with spectacular motor sports at the absolute limit.

Opel once again played a major role in the success of this international event. Almost every third car in the field of 85 rally vehicles carried the Opel logo with the Blitz. As in the past years, this made the ADAM by far the most used model in the field of participants at the ADAC Rallye Deutschland.

The lion’s share was made up by young talent in the ADAC Opel Rallye Cup, which consisted of two rounds within the German WRC event, each with full points and prize money allocation. So the young participants from 13 countries tackled the rally wholeheartedly in their 140 hp ADAM cars in Cup specification. After the victories of Dane Jacob Lund Madsen and Austrian guest driver Julian Wagner, the leaders in overall ratings are even closer now. With a maximum of 100 points to still be granted, Swede Tom Kristensson is in the lead, 19 points ahead of Irishman Calvin Beattie and 45 ahead of Madsen.

The drivers of the more powerful ADAM R2 in the RC4 ratings group with 16 vehicles were again quick off the mark. For the fourth consecutive time, the class victory at the German WRC event went to an Opel driver. This time it was Finn Jari Huttunen from the ADAC Opel Rallye Junior Team, who set the tone for the R2 vehicles and won no less than 16 of the 21 special stages. Ultimately the 23 year-old Opel works driver came in 3:15 minutes ahead of Timo van der Marel, who made the double victory for the Rüsselsheim brand perfect in a customer ADAM R2 from Opel Netherlands. “Aside from a puncture we had a completely problem-free rally. The ADAM R2 once again ran like clockwork,” said Huttunen.

In contrast, the young Italian Tamara Molinaro experienced a turbulent rally. A problem with the power transmission on Friday was followed by two separate incidents of tire damage on Saturday on the legendary Panzerplatte in Baumholder. In the end she missed capturing eleventh place by just six-tenths of a second. “After the problem on Friday, the standings were no longer top priority. Then it was just about continuing to gather experience, to learn and enjoy the fantastic atmosphere of a WRC event. It was loads of fun,” raved the 19 year-old from Moltrasio on Lake Como.

The intense rally season continues for Huttunen and Molinaro without a break. This coming weekend, the Barum Czech Rallye Zlín in the Czech Republic ushers in the second half of the ERC Junior season. After two consecutive ERC titles, Opel again leads this year’s mid-season rankings with the junior works drivers Chris Ingram and Jari Huttunen. Pole Aleks Zawada is in third place with another ADAM R2.

Further information about official fuel consumption, official specific CO2 emissions and consumption of electric energy can be found in the “guideline about fuel consumption, CO2 Emissions and electric energy consumption of new passenger cars” ('Leitfaden über den Kraftstoffverbrauch, die CO2-Emissionen und den Stromverbrauch neuer Personenkraftwagen') in German language, which is available free of charge at any point of sales and at DAT Deutsche Automobil Treuhand GmbH, Helmuth-Hirth-Straße 1, D-73760 Ostfildern.

Contact

Axel Seegers
Manager Marken- und Motorsport-Kommunikation
Tel.: +49 6142/7-75 496
Mobile: +49 151/16 41 95 70
axel.seegers@opel.com

Marcus Lacroix
Tel.: +49 (0) 7531 9228106
Mobile: 0172-7404562
ml@opel-motorsport.com