Tom Heindrichs triumphs at the electric rally in the Vosges!

Tom Heindrichs triumphs at the electric rally in the Vosges!

The ADAC Opel Electric Rally Cup 2025 thrilled rally fans with spectacular duels and electrifying drives at the Vosges Grand-Est Rally in northern France last weekend. Tom Heindrichs and his co-driver Jonas Schmitz prevailed in this third race and secured first place with an impressive performance.

Heindrichs and Schmitz were the fastest in seven of the eight special stages and clearly relegated the competition to the bottom places. Her lead over overall leader Alex “Sito” Español Jove was 52.8 seconds. Despite the defeat, Español remains at the top with a 17-point lead over Heindrichs in the overall standings.

Podium and other placements

Third place was secured by Kilian Dürrenz and Milena Raithel, who were able to achieve their second podium place in the Cup. Kidrenz praised the challenging routes and the excellent performance of the Opel Corsa Rally Electric. Despite an accident, Fabian Kamermans and Stefan Müller had to fall back to fifth place. The team NEUER/Winkler also showed a strong performance, missing the podium by just 3.2 seconds, but achieved the best time in the “Power Stage”.

The only women's team, Thyrsa Eertmans and Justine Demeestere, took sixth place and shone with two fifth-place special stage times. Opel took the opportunity to present the new Mokka GSE Rally as an advance vehicle that will be used in the coming season.

A look at the ADAC Opel Electric Rally Cup

The ADAC Opel Electric Rally Cup is the world's first electric one-make rally cup and was launched in 2021 with the Opel Corsa Rally Electric. This innovative format combines the tradition of rallying with the current trend of electrification by creating an efficient and sustainable competitive environment. The Corsa Rally Electric is equipped with an electric motor that produces 100 kW/136 hp and 260 Nm of torque. A central concept of the Cup is absolute equality of performance, which makes it easier for young drivers to get into rallying.

The event also demonstrated the collaboration between Opel and ADAC in rallying, which has already been recognized by winning five titles in the European Junior Rally Championship in the past. The cup not only focuses on exciting competitions, but also on promoting young talent.

Outlook for the summer break

As Opel Motorsport boss Jörg Schrott emphasized, the event was a complete success and the participants' performances were impressive. With the summer break now underway, the teams are waiting for the next race, which will take place on August 15th and 16th. In the meantime, intensive work is being done to further support and develop electric vehicles in order to increase the attractiveness of rallying.

For a further look at what's happening in rallying and the Cup as a whole, visit Opel Motorsport and [Motorsport XL].