St.Wendel, Germany, August 22th 2023 - Following a short summer break, the 2023 Opel Electric Rally Cup “powered by GSe” returned to action this weekend on the tarmac stages around St. Wendel, widely regarded as being some of the most demanding roads in Germany.
It proved to be an event where Calle Carlberg landed a telling blow in his head-to-head fight with title rival Max Reiter, who came into this round with three wins to his name compared with just one for Carlberg. The 23 year-old Swede, alongside his father and co-driver, produced an absolute masterclass, claiming nine stage wins (including one tied) out of the ten available to secure a resounding victory, his second of the year. Max Reiter, runner-up here at this fifth round, could do nothing about his rival’s superiority. “I'm absolutely delighted to win again,” admitted Carlberg at the finish. “We managed to set a good pace at the start, but it took me a while to relax behind the wheel because I was really determined to win here. It was only really on Saturday lunchtime, when we had managed to extend our lead a bit, that I felt truly relaxed. It’s good to move ahead in the standings but being top at the end of the season is when it counts.”
The final podium place went to Joe Baur and Fabian Peter, who managed a top-three result for the first time in their fledgling career. Sarah Rumeau, on the other hand, was short on luck this weekend. She suffered a mechanical issue when she was also in contention for a podium place, ending up down in eighth place as a result. There will be no respite for the 2023 Opel Electric Rally Cup “powered by GSe” field as the Cup is back in action on 1-2 September with round six, held on the highly demanding roads of the Rallye Mont-Blanc Morzine in the French Alps.
After coming into this round five points behind Max Reiter in the standings, Calle Carlberg turned the tables around in Germany with his second win of the season, as he now leads the championship his title rival by the same margin. Pröglhöf sits a respectable distance behind the top two in third place, followed by Rumeau and Lemke.
