ERC
Opel revisits the past as it looks to the future in ERC
Opel Motorsport will hand another rising star driver the opportunity of a lifetime later this season with its Junior ERC prize drive going to the winner of the 2026 ADAC Opel GSE Rally Cup.
Described by the manufacturer as the “benchmark for effective youth development in rallying since 2013”, the one-make series has produced six Junior ERC champions with Tom Heindrichs next in line to challenge for the Hankook-supported crown after he won the ADAC Opel GSE Rally Cup in 2025.
Tom Heindrichs is the latest recipient of the Junior ERC prize drive
© Opel Motorsport
“The principle is as simple as it is effective: the champions of the all-electric one-make cup automatically join the ADAC Opel Rally Junior Team, where they get the chance to compete in the Junior ERC,” an Opel Motorsport communication read. “This unique development platform is a success story: Emil Bergkvist (2015), Marijan Griebel (2016), Chris Ingram (2017), Mārtiṇš Sesks (2018), Laurent Pellier (2022) and Calle Carlberg (2025) have won six Junior ERC titles in nine seasons for the ADAC Opel Rally Junior Team – up to 2019 with the Opel ADAM R2, and from 2022 with the Opel Corsa Rally4.
“Furthermore, former Opel junior drivers have won titles in the Junior WRC (Bergkvist, Tom Kristensson), the European Rally Championship (Ingram, Griebel) and the Deutsche Rallye Meisterschaft (Fabian Kreim and Griebel)”.
Welshman Lloyd will be an official Vauxhall driver in 2026
© Stellantis
Junior ERC stars up for the ADAC Opel GSE Rally Cup
Former Junior ERC frontrunners Ioan Lloyd and Timo Schulz are among the drivers contesting the seven-event ADAC Opel GSE Rally Cup in 2026. The one-make series switches to the battery-electric Opel Mokka GSE Rally for the upcoming season, which gets under way with the ELE Rally in The Netherlands from 29 - 30 May and concludes on the Spa Rally in Belgium from 28 - 29 November.
The ADAC Opel Rally Junior Team Junior ERC champions
Emil Bergkvist: 2015 champion with three wins
© ERC
Marijan Griebel: 2016 champion with two wins
© ERC
Chris Ingram: 2017 champion with three wins
© ERC
Mārtiṇš Sesks: 2018 champion with two wins
© ERC
Laurent Pellier: 2022 champion with five wins
© ERC
Calle Carlberg: 2025 champion with four wins
© ERC
