Strong reaction of the ADAC Opel Rally Junior Team

• Opel driver Laurent Pellier wins Junior European Championship round at Rally di Roma Capitale
• With his third win of the season, the Frenchman regains the JERC lead in the standings
• The only Opel Corsa Rally4 leaves no chance to the strong international competition

Rüsselsheim/Munich. The ADAC Opel Rally Junior Team has made an impressive statement in the fight for the title in the European Junior Rally Championship (JERC). With a commanding victory at the Rally di Roma Capitale, Laurent Pellier (27, Bonneville) in the Opel Corsa Rally4 regained the JERC championship lead that bad luck at the last European Championship round in Latvia had temporarily cost him. In the overall standings of the Junior European Championship, the Frenchman with 97 points now has a six-point lead over Spaniard Oscar Palomo in the Peugeot 208 Rally4 after four of six rounds. This gives the ADAC Opel Rally Junior Team its first match point at the penultimate round of the season at the Barum Czech Rally Zlín in the Czech Republic at the end of August.

Pellier and his co-driver Marine Pelamourgues (24, Sébazac-Concourès) initially took a somewhat cautious approach to the demanding asphalt chase in and outside the Italian capital. "The most important thing for us was to find a good rhythm and maintain contact with the front runners without taking too many risks at the start," explained the first champion of the ADAC Opel e-Rally Cup.

But from Saturday afternoon on, the Opel junior left no doubt as to who would be in command of the Italian JERC event and took the lead for the first time after the sixth special stage. Especially in the two "royal stages" (SS9 and SS11), each covering 32.3 kilometers, the French duo took more than ten seconds from the closest pursuers and finally set their ninth best stage time in the final "Power Stage" (SS13). In the end, Pellier/Pelamourgues in the only Opel Corsa Rally4 in the field won by 42.0 seconds ahead of the Renault crew Mabellini/Lenzi and 1:44.5 min ahead of Daprà/Guglielmetti in another Clio Rally4. The previous JERC leaders Palomo/Moreno were fourth.

"Actually, there's not much I can say about this rally - everything just went perfectly," commented Pellier, who also won the ERC4 classification on the side. "The team once again gave us a perfectly running Corsa Rally4 and Marine did a zero-fault job in the right seat as usual. To be able to drive this great rally in front of the enthusiastic Italian fans and then even win was a pure pleasure. The fact that we reclaimed the JERC championship lead puts us in a good position for the last two rounds. However, we won't make the mistake of only thinking about winning the title early on at the Barum Rally."

Opel Motorsport Director Jörg Schrott also attested an "impressive reaction to the mishap in Latvia" to his French driver duo: "Laurent and Marine proved that they don't let something like that upset them. They were in control right from the start, started cautiously and then attacked so confidently from Saturday afternoon onwards that the competition didn't stand a chance in the end. And, of course, I'm very pleased that they once again demonstrated the outstanding qualities of the Corsa Rally4. It was the perfect reward for the Stohl squad, who completely rebuilt the car after the crash in Latvia and brought it to Italy in top condition. Thick praise to the whole team! Our direction of travel for the last two JERC rounds in the Czech Republic and Cyprus is clear."

Press contact

Opel Motorsport                                                                   

Marcus Lacroix, T +49 7531 92 28 106, e-mail ml@opel-motorsport.com

ADAC e.V.                                                                                 

Oliver Runschke, T +49 89 76 69 65, e-mail oliver.runschke@adac.de

Kay-Oliver Langendorff, T +49 89 76 69 36, e-mail kay.langendorff@adac.de

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