Morzine, France, September 13th - Round six of the Opel e-Rally Cup saw the series head to France for the first time at one of the country’s finest events, Rallye Mont-Blanc Morzine.
A chance for local driver Laurent Pellier, winner of the formula last year and recently crowned Junior ERC Champion, to provide a few high-profile special guests, including Opel CEO Florian Hüttl, with a high-speed introduction to the demanding roads of his region. The weekend’s schedule featured no fewer than eight timed stages over a total distance of 129.13km. Although Calle Calberg was the first into his stride on the opening two stages, Timo Schulz then began a series of six stage wins on SS3 to seal victory, finishing some 29.7s ahead of his Swedish team-mates at Schmack Motorsport, Calle and Torbjörn Carlberg. Max Reiter, alongside co-driver Lina Meter, took the final podium place in third. Timo Schulz thus claimed his first one-brand formula title in the world of rallying at just 23 years old.
“It's incredible, I'm really pleased!”, admitted the German at the finish. “We started this demanding rally a little cautiously in order to find the right rhythm. On Saturday, everything went perfectly. We were able to push without taking too many risks. At the start of the season, I was dreaming about winning the title. And now that I have won it, the dream has come true!” Behind Calle Carlberg, Max Reiter’s podium finish left him feeling slightly frustrated: “At a tough rally like this one, you could certainly see it as a good result, but on the other hand, we would have loved to keep fighting for the title until the final round. Congratulations to Timo, who was very strong once again and who is definitely a worthy champion”. Lastly, it is worth noting that Marijan Griebel made a solid ‘debut’ in the ADAC Opel e-Rally Cup, finishing fourth on his guest appearance in the TotalEnergies VIP car. As a test and development driver for Opel Motorsport, the 33-year-old from Hahnweiler obviously has a lot of experience in the Corsa-e Rally but he was able to see just how high the standard is in the Opel e-Rally Cup!
With the title now secured by Schulz, the only remaining uncertainty regards who will fill the final podium places. Carlberg and Reiter, with just two points between them, will fight it out next month at the final round of the season to see who finishes as runner-up in the 2022 ADAC Opel e-Rally Cup.
