ERC
Opel names Junior ERC trio as opening round approaches
The ADAC Opel Rally Junior Team is going all out to win back-to-back FIA Junior ERC Championship titles with an exciting three-car line-up of German-speaking drivers.
Junior ERC’s most successful team, with six titles to its name, has recruited Claire Schönborn and re-signed Timo Schulz to compete alongside Tom Heindrichs, who steps up to the championship as his prize for winning the ADAC Opel GSE Rally Cup in 2025.
The trio will drive Hankook-equipped Opel Corsa Rally4 cars run by Opel Motorsport partner Stohl Racing.
Schönborn, Schulz and Heindrichs will be Opel-powered in Junior ERC
© Opel Motorsport
An Opel Motorsport communication read: “The consistency of Opel's talent promotion is evident in the line-up of the ADAC Opel Rally Junior Team for the Junior ERC 2026. With Tom Heindrichs, Timo Schulz and Claire Schönborn, three talents who have made a name for themselves in the ADAC Opel Electric Rally Cup, will be behind the wheel of the works Corsa Rally4.
“Tom Heindrichs, 22, was born and raised in the German-speaking part of Belgium. Last October, the brother of former World Rally champion Thierry Neuville secured the ADAC Opel Electric Rally Cup title in a dramatic season finale at the Central European Rally. As a reward for the strong performance, Heindrichs will try to follow in the footsteps of the reigning Junior ERC champion Calle Carlberg. The Swede won the title in the ADAC Opel Electric Rally Cup in 2023 and prevailed against the European junior elite in the Opel factory team last year.
“His predecessor as electric champion, Timo Schulz, 26, is entering his third season in the ADAC Opel Rally Junior Team this year. In 2023, he demonstrated his enormous potential in the Corsa Rally4 with class victories at Barum Czech Rally Zlín, part of the Junior ERC, as well as the Central European Rally.
“Claire Schönborn, 26, started her career in hillclimbing. As the first woman and youngest participant of all time, the German won the title in the KW Berg-Cup in 2024. In the same year, she made a guest appearance in the ADAC Opel Electric Rally Cup at the ADAC Rallye Stemweder Berg. The convincing debut was the starting signal for a meteoric rise. Against strong international competition, Schönborn won the Beyond Rally programme and thus secured a complete season in the Junior WRC. This season, she will take the next steps in her driving development in the ADAC Opel Rally Junior Team with the support of Manfred Stohl and his experienced crew.
Opel support provides a huge opportunity for talented trio
© Opel Motorsport
“Like Schulz, CSchönborn will also compete in the ADAC Opel GSE Rally Cup parallel to her Junior ERC appearances. The handling of the overlap between Cup and Junior ERC in August (ADAC Saarland-Palatinate Rally and Barum Czech Rally Zlín) will be determined by the course of the season.”
Opel Motorsport director Jörg Schrott said: “We are facing a rally season that has it all in many respects. The ADAC Opel GSE Rally Cup will set new standards in electric rallying with the Mokka GSE Rally, a revolutionary new charging infrastructure and an attractive calendar. And with our strong Junior ERC driver trio, the ADAC Opel Rally Junior Team will undoubtedly play a leading role in the Junior ERC again this season, in which Opel has dominated with six drivers' titles since 2015. We are all looking forward to an exciting season.”
The ADAC Opel Rally Junior Team will undoubtedly play a leading role in the Junior ERC again
BAUHAUS Royal Rally of Scandinavia forms round one of the 2026 Junior ERC Championship from 22 - 24 May with the 2026 ADAC Opel GSE Rally Cup getting under way with the ELE Rally in The Netherlands from 29 - 30 May. The winner of the ADAC Opel GSE Rally Cup will win a prize drive in the 2027 Junior ERC driving a Stohl Racing-run Opel Corsa Rally4 under the ADAC Opel Rally Junior Team banner.
Opel Corsa Rally4 was used by the last two Junior ERC champions
© Opel Motorsport
The ADAC Opel Rally Junior Team Junior ERC champions
2015: Emil Bergkvist (Sweden)
2016: Marijan Griebel (Germany)
2017: Chris Ingram (Great Britain)
2018: Mārtiņš Sesks (Latvia)
2022: Laurent Pellier (France)
2025: Calle Carlberg (Sweden)
