ERC
Team-mates set for the ultimate Junior ERC title tussle
ADAC Opel Rally Junior Team drivers Timo Schulz and Tom Heindrichs will face off for the FIA Junior ERC Championship title – and a life-changing FIA Junior WRC prize drive – in Portugal this week.
Schulz and Heindrichs are split by 14 points with the gravel-based Rally 6 Cities North of Portugal remaining.
Whoever comes out on top between the Hankook-equipped pair will win a season competing in the FIA Junior WRC Championship in addition to landing the coveted Junior ERC crown.
Co-driver Maresa Lade and Schulz hope for more success
© ERC
German driver Schulz holds the initiative after winning the last round, JDS Machinery Rali Ceredigion, a result that brought to an end Heindrichs’ back-to-back run of victories, which began on 82nd Rally Poland and included Barum Czech Rally Zlín.
“It will be a more tougher rally for us with the Rally4 cars on gravel, for the gravel it’s quite a rough rally,” 27-year-old Schulz said. “I’ve not been there before but I’m really looking forward to it. The stages are really cool in the WRC and I’m really happy to go there in ERC. It’s an historical rally. Our goal is to go for the title.”
Our goal is to go for the title
Schulz won the gravel-based Junior ERC season opener in Sweden and plans to use that result – and performance – as a confidence boost for the Fafe-based showdown from 23 - 25 October.
“For sure [it gives me a confidence boost] and gravel in Portugal is a bit slower than the Scandinavian gravel, which is a lot better for us, I think,” continued Schulz, who heads to Portugal fresh from winning the ADAC Opel GSE Rally Cup on Rallye Sanremo in Italy last weekend. “We’ve always struggled just a bit on the fast gravel we had in Sweden but we showed our pace was there in Sweden so I think for Portugal everything should be fine.”
Heindrichs has ground to make up in Junior ERC
© ERC
Heindrichs, the 22-year-old younger brother of FIA World Rally Championship star Thierry Neuville, is in his first year of Junior ERC competition, securing his drive by winning the ADAC Opel GSE Rally Cup in 2025.
Of his misfortune on the penultimate round, Heindrichs said. “It was a small mistake that happened quickly on incredibly demanding stages. Everything had been going well up to that point; we’d been enjoying the battle with Timo and were back on the pace. We want to take that momentum into the final, everything is still to play for in the title race.”
While it’s an all-Opel fight to be champion, third place in Junior ERC is between Lancia Corse HF drivers Davide Pesavento and Francesco Dei Ceci, who are split by 16 points.
Pesavento heads the Lancia Corse HF challenge in third
© ERC
After missing JDS Machinery Rali Cerdigion, Karl Peder Nordstrand and Reis Suliman are back for the final round, while Sebastian Dallapiccola and Claire Schönborn will continue their experience-building missions on Rally 6 Cities North of Portugal.
Valentino Ledda isn’t eligible for Junior ERC points but will be one to watch in ERC4.
How to watch?
Fans across the globe can experience the excitement and drama of the ERC with every stage of every rally broadcast Rally.TV platform. In addition, the ERC is broadcast in a number of countries around the world and fans are advised to check local listings for details.
Rally 6 Cities North of Portugal: the key numbers
Stages: 17
Competitive distance: 181.10 kilometres
Total distance: 733.73 kilometres
