Opel Shakes Up Young Rally Driver Scene

• ADAC Opel Rally Cup remains strongest brand rally series in Europe
• Swede Tom Kristensson takes title in exciting final round
• Kristensson contests 2018 European Junior Rally Championship in works ADAM R2

Rüsselsheim. Now in its fifth season the ADAC Opel Rally Cup remains the strongest brand rally series in Europe. The popularity of the concept for rookie drivers, which is promoted by the ADAC and Opel, was confirmed by the biggest and most international field of starters in the history of the competition. With their 140-hp Opel ADAM Cup cars as many as 24 young teams from 13 nations thrilled the spectators with their exciting driving and closely fought competition.

The 26 year-old Swede Tom Kristensson seized the championsip title in a dramatic final round, the ADAC 3-Städte Rally in Bavaria. The fifth victory of the season was not enough for Kristensson ’s main rival, Dane Jacob Lund Madsen (22), who missed two rounds of the series due to injury. The 16 points for second place were enough for Kristensson to claim the title. Third was Calvin Beattie (Northern Ireland) followed by Tim Novak (Slovenia) and the best-placed German, Nico Knacker in fifth.

To crown a successful season, Kristensson was then selected as the new driver for the ADAC Opel Rally Junior Team in 2018 by a four-strong jury from the ADAC and Opel. Next season, the Scandinavian will contest the tough European Junior Rally Championship (FIA ERC Junior U27) at the wheel of a works Opel ADAM R2. He follows in the successful footsteps of Opel works drivers Emil Bergkvist (2015), Marijan Griebel (2016) and Christopher Ingram (2017) who brought the Junior championship to Rüsselsheim in the last three years.

Opel Motorsport Director Jörg Schrott is highly satisfied with this season: “Once again the ADAC Opel Rally Cup was a guarantee for exciting rookie rallysport. The rising number of foreign competitors shows that the ADAC and Opel have created a platform that is unrivalled internationally. The fact that five top drivers from the series – Marijan Griebel, Fabian Kreim, Emil Bergkvist, Julius Tannert and Jari Huttunen – have already made it into international rallying shows that we not only talk about effective rookie promotion, we practice it too.”

Contact

Axel Seegers
Manager Brand and Motor Sports Communication
Tel.: +49 6142/ 77 54 96
Mobile: +49 151/16 41 95 70
Fax: +49 6142/7-78 409
axel.seegers@opel.com

Marcus Lacroix
Tel.: +49 (0) 7531 9228106
Mobile: 0172-7404562
ml@opel-motorsport.com