Weiz, Austria, July 18th 2023 - The first three rounds of the 2023 season of the Opel Electric Rally Cup “powered by GSe” had hinted at it and in Austria, round four provided confirmation: this year’s title fight is set to be a duel to the death between the German Max Reiter and the Swede Calle Carlberg.
Winner last time out in France at the Rallye Vosges Grand Est, Carlberg was keen to confirm his good form at Rallye Weiz in Austria and make it two wins apiece. Indeed, he was first off the mark, topping the timesheets on stage one in very hot conditions. However, Reiter bounced back on stage two to take the lead, a position he would not be budged from despite Carlberg fighting hard and claiming a further three fastest times. The gap between the two never exceeded 11.4s, which reflected the close, intense battle between them throughout the rally. In the end, Reiter prevailed, finishing 9.1s ahead of Carlberg. He thus claimed his third win of the year ahead of the summer break, with Austrian driver Luca Pröglhöf once again taking the third podium spot.
“Last year, we didn't have a great weekend here, but this time we prepared very carefully for this tough rally and we tried to learn from our mistakes,” admitted Reiter at the finish. “We managed to stay cool this time and had very good pace from the word go. The battle with Calle was Luca really enjoyable again and I hope we put on a good show for the spectators. Even though Calle in particular was constantly putting me under pressure, I'm pleased that I managed to hold on and secure the win.” Meanwhile, Carlberg acknowledged his rival had got the better of him this weekend: “Max impressed with his speed here. The roads were incredibly difficult because the level of grip kept changing all the time. I’m expecting it to be a fiercely contested battle for the title until the end of the season.” French driver Sarah Rumeau and her co-driver Amblard finished in a very respectable fourth place again and will undoubtedly be pushing for a first podium finish at the next round at the ADAC Saarland-Pfalz Rallye (18-19 August).
With this, his third win this season, Max Reiter extends his lead over Calle Carlberg to five points, whilst Luca Pröglhöf moves into third place, a respectable distance behind the top two.
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