Opel works team is “ready to rumble” in 2015 junior ERC
The Opel works team is ready to join the 2015 Junior European Rally Championship battle. Two crews and two Opel Adam R2 190 hp cars are scheduled to compete in every round of said championship, starting in Latvia this week end for Rallye Lieapaja. Marijan Griebel with co-driver Stefan Clemens will man one Adam R2 while the second car will be driven by Emil Bergkvist and Joakim Sjöberg. Opel’s programme does not only include Junior ERC rounds as crews will also get a chance of gaining WRC experience and exposure by competing at the Rallye Deutshcland in August. Full release follows with more details.
ADAC Opel Rallye Junior Team Ready to Rumble
From Latvia’s snow over Northern Ireland’s asphalt to the Azore’s gravel roads – the junior European Rallye Championship (FIA ERC Junior) 2015 calendar covers the entire spectrum of challenging racing surfaces. The best rallye drivers born in 1988 or later are set to prove themselves in Europe’s toughest young talent league in vehicles from the RC4 category, also known as R2. The ADAC Opel Rallye Junior Team with two Opel ADAM R2 cars driven by Marijan Griebel and Emil Bergkvist are ready for the action to start.
The competition is fully aware of the enormous potential of the 190-hp ADAM R2, and not just since Griebel’s outstanding second-place finish at the Barum Rallye in the Czech Republic last year. Griebel is accordingly optimistic before the season starts in Latvia: “In spite of the early start, we are going into the second season of the ADAC Opel Rallye Junior Team well prepared. Last year’s results show that we can hold our own against the competition in the ERC Junior. In the last months, we further developed not only the ADAM R2, but also ourselves as a team.”
Emil Bergkvist, who advanced to the ADAC Opel Rallye Junior Team following his title win in the ADAC Opel Rallye Cup 2014, is also raring to go: “I learned so much in the ADAC Opel Rallye Cup. I’ll benefit from that in the ERC Junior. And as a Swede, I’m of course especially looking forward to the hopefully snowy races in Latvia.”
A special season highlight next to the six FIA ERC Junior races is participation in the ADAC Rallye Deutschland, where Marijan Griebel celebrated an overwhelming class victory last August. His new co-driver is Stefan Clemens. Bergkvist’s co-driver this season is again the Swede Joakim Sjöberg. The Opel works drivers will encounter two other ADAM R2 cars in the EC. German Julius Tannert and his Luxembourgish co-driver Jennifer Thielen will be in four of six races, including the Rallye Liepāja. Pole Aleks Zawada and his French co-driver Cathy Derousseaux are taking part the whole season. However, their car is being run privately, while the works ADAM R2 is, as usual, in the capable hands of Holzer Motorsport.
Calendar ADAC Opel Rallye Junior Team 2015
February 6 – 8 Rallye Liepāja, Liepāja/Latvia (gravel/ice/snow) *
April 2 – 4 Circuit of Ireland Rally, Belfast/Northern Ireland (asphalt) *
June 4 – 6 SATA Rallye Açores, Ponta Delgada/Azores/Portugal (gravel) *
June 25 – 27 Geko Ypres Rally, Ypern/Belgium (asphalt) *
July 17 -19 auto24 Rally Estonia, Otepää/Estonia (gravel) *
August 20 – 23 ADAC Rallye Deutschland, Trier (asphalt)
August 28 – 30 Barum Czech Rally, Zlín/Czech Republic (asphalt) *
* Race in FIA ERC Junior
