- Central European Rally: Belgian guest driver Tom Heindrichs wins the 2024 Cup finale at World Rally Championship round
- Despite an “off” before the finish: Frenchman Anthony Rott secures Cup runner-up spot
What a debut for Tom Heindrichs with the Opel Corsa Rally Electric in the ADAC Opel Electric Rally Cup “powered by GSe”! At the grand season finale as part of the Central European Rally, the 20-year-old half-brother of World Rally Championship leader Thierry Neuville celebrated his first victory in the world’s first electric one-make rally cup alongside his co-driver Jonas Schmitz.
Even though he received neither points nor prize money as a guest driver in the 100 kW (136 hp) Opel electric car, the young Belgian was speechless at the finish in Passau: “I never expected that! We quickly got used to the car and improved continuously. We dedicate the victory to the team around Philipp Reich and Johannes Fürst, who made this possible and were just as motivated as we were. We learned a lot and had a lot of fun in this great atmosphere. I take my hat off to Opel and ADAC. They have built a super cup here, a perfect entry-level platform for professional rally sport.”
Christian Lemke and Jan-Eric Bemmann crossed the finish line just 4.7 seconds behind the Belgians, taking full points for the overall ranking for the third time this season. “It was a tough rally. We missed the start yesterday on Saturday a bit. Today we were able to work our way forward again and take full points at the end. All in all, we can be very satisfied. The finale as part of the World Championship round was a great event, superbly organized. The stages were great, everyone was in a good mood, it was really great fun.”
In the overall standings, Lemke thus consolidated fourth place and even moved closer to the Spaniard Alex Español. His ambitions to win had already been dampened by off and the subsequent repairs to his Corsa Rally Electric in the first special stage. At least the Opel Spain driver recovered by winning the final “Power Stage”. Third place went to the young Dutchman Fabian Kamermans, who thus put himself in an excellent position in the three-way battle for a regular cockpit in the ADAC Opel Electric Rally Cup 2025, sponsored by the Dutch association KNAF, against his compatriots Hank Melse and Esmee Den Hartigh.
The brothers Anthony and Adrien Rott were on course for victory until the last special stage, but then slipped off the road in the “Power Stage” and fell back to 10th place. Driver Anthony Rott was therefore anything but satisfied with the day’s result: “It was a very difficult rally that started well for us and went really well until three kilometers before the finish. Unfortunately, we then made a small mistake that cost us the win. What remains is a good performance over the entire season.” Despite the error, the Alsatians secured the runner-up title behind the Austrian Luca Pröglhöf, who was unable to take part in the season finale due to illness.
The Waldherr Motorsport team found an adequate replacement at short notice in Daniel Mayer. The 24-year-old Viennese took on the challenge without much preparation and finished fifth behind the German guest drivers René Noller/Stephan Schneeweiß. Positions 6 and 7 were secured by Johannes Wittenbeck and Maximilian Kugler as well as the French drivers Emma Chalvin and Amandine Borderie. In the year-end rankings, the 23-year-old FFSA Academy driver finished fifth as the best participant – level on points with Wittenbeck, who is ranked behind Chalvin due to poorer individual results.
Opel Motorsport boss Jörg Schrott drew a positive conclusion from the last Cup rally of the year: “The ADAC Opel Electric Rally Cup presented itself very well against the impressive World Championship backdrop here in Hauzenberg. The 16 Corsa Rally Electric cars put on a good show for the approximately 90,000 spectators. The battle for victory was just as exciting as in all rallies of the season. We had numerous fast guest drivers and more than 30 enthusiastic guests from the Opel dealer organizations in Germany and Austria as well as our sponsor Total Energies on site. The atmosphere was very special. I am very happy with the finale and the entire season. Electric rallying works, it is fun and offers a perfect platform for a junior one-make cup.”
Final results ADAC Opel Electric Rally Cup “powered by GSe” after eight rounds
1. Pröglhöf 216 points.
2. Rott 188.
3. Español 170.
4. Lemke 154.
5. Chalvin 113.
6. Wittenbeck 113.
7. Pottier 77.
8. Hangodi 66.
9. Baudet 65.
10. Kamermans 61.
11. Melse 37.
12. Bayer 36.
13. Den Hartigh 36.
14. Felke 13.
