IOAN LLOYD SECURES PODIUM FINISH FOR VAUXHALL ON ITS RETURN TO MOTORSPORT

• Ioan Lloyd finishes in third place at the ELE Rally, Vauxhall’s first event back in motorsport
• The season opener of the ADAC GSE Rally Cup saw 16 highly competitive teams from nine different nations compete
• The Mokka GSE Rally showed impressive performance during its competitive debut, outperforming any Rally4 car
• The Mokka GSE Rally represents the next step in the development of all-electric one-make rallying and is based on the serial production Vauxhall Mokka GSE

Ioan Lloyd secured a podium finish on his debut in the Vauxhall Mokka GSE Rally, as the brand made its return to motorsport at the ELE Rally in the Netherlands.

The opening round of the 2026 ADAC GSE Rally Cup featured a strong international field, with 16 highly competitive teams from nine different nations taking part. Day one was a controlled start for Ioan Lloyd and co-driver Sion Williams, ending Friday in P7 overall. On Saturday, Ioan and Sion achieved P2 in the first stage and continued to show impressive performance with top three finishes in SS9 and SS10, and a first-place finish in SS11.

In the penultimate stage, Ioan clipped a high ledge, causing damage to the front right suspension. With no time to spare, the British pair set about making roadside repairs to their car. Thanks to their intervention, Ioan and Sion made it through the final stage to secure a P3 finish - a podium position for Vauxhall’s first event back in motorsport.

The Mokka GSE Rally performed well during its first rally on the challenging roads around Eindhoven. With up to 281hp and 345Nm of torque, the new electric racer outperformed any Rally4 car.

Ioan Lloyd, Vauxhall GSE Rally Driver, said: “It’s an honour to bring Vauxhall back to motorsport on the podium and a fantastic start to the season. After clipping a concrete step on a cut in the penultimate stage, we were lucky to be on the podium! The racing in this championship is really close and at a high level. Electric rallying was totally new to us, so there was a lot to learn. The car is fantastic to drive – it’s something else. This rally was about learning, and hopefully at Vosges we can be even faster.”

Jörg Schrott, Opel-Vauxhall Motorsport Director, said: “Vauxhall has a really strong history in racing, especially in rally, and it is great to have them racing with us at the ADAC GSE Rally Cup. It was a very professional performance from Ioan, and he is fully focused on going for the championship. We look forward to hopefully seeing him fight for the championship at the end of the season.”

The Mokka GSE Rally represents the next step in the development of all-electric one-make rallying. Based on the serial production Vauxhall Mokka GSE, the Mokka GSE Rally retains the same striking design and even employs the same 54kWh battery. However, through motorsport engineering and experience from the Corsa Rally Electric, the software tuning for the powertrain and battery management has been designed for maximum efficiency, driveability under competitive conditions, and performance. 

The 2026 ADAC GSE Rally Cup season features seven rounds across six European countries, including events in Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, Belgium, France, and Italy. The next event will be Rallye Vosges Grand Est in France on 13^th and 14^th June.

Results ELE Rally Eindhoven/NL

1. Timo Schulz/Maresa Lade (D)                                     1:20:12.2 h

2. Tom Dufour/Alex Dubois (F)                                      +31.8 sec

3. Ioan Lloyd/Sion Williams (GB)                                   +46.3 sec

4. Fabian Kamermans/Stefan Müller (NL)                  +1:12.4 min

5. Alex Español/Enrique Velasco (E)                             +1:22.1 min

6. Lars Stütz/Jana Schreiber (D)                                   +1:25.8 min

7. Johannes Wittenbeck/Maximilian Kugler (D)       +2:03.2 min

8. Dante Johansson/Theo Bergsten (S)                      +2:31.4 min

9. Thyrsa Eertmans/Els Ons (B)                                     +4:12.9 min

10. Luka Wlömer/Philipp Schmidt (D)                          +5:25.3 min

Standings ADAC GSE Rally Cup (after 1 of 7 rounds)

1. Schulz                                35 points

2. Dufour                              28

3. Lloyd                                 26

4. Kamermans                     21

5. Español                            16

6. Stütz                                14

7. Wittenbeck                     12

8. Johansson                       11

9. Eertmans                         8

10. Wlömer                          6

11. Luif                                   5

12. Schönborn                     4

ENDS

ABOUT VAUXHALL MOTORS

Vauxhall Motors started making cars in the UK in 1903. Today, as the oldest and most familiar of Britain’s automotive manufacturers, its philosophy is to build vehicles that are relevant to all and offer design, high levels of equipment and technology, and electrification at an attainable level. Vauxhall is one of few automotive brands to produce electric vehicles in Britain at its manufacturing plant in Ellesmere Port – the UK’s first electric-only manufacturing plant where the Combo Electric van is made.  Vauxhall’s Electric Streets of Britain campaign raises the profile of the need for more on-street electric vehicle charging so that everyone can benefit from the switch to electric.  Find out more at www.electricstreets.co.uk 

Vauxhall is proud to be the official automotive partner of Team GB. The partnership sees Britain's most loved sports team and one of Britain’s most recognisable automotive brands joining forces, with Vauxhall supporting athletes as they prepare for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.

Vauxhall is part of Stellantis NV, a global leader created for the new era of sustainable mobility as a result of the merger between Groupe PSA and FCA Group in January 2021. Vauxhall is a leader in electrification – as of 2021, it was one of the first manufacturers to offer fully electric versions of all its vans. Since the end of 2024, Vauxhall has offered a fully electric version of every model in its car and van line-up. Info: www.vauxhall.co.uk