Matchball for the ADAC Opel Rally Junior Team

• Emil Bergkvist secured the European Junior Championship title early on in his Opel ADAM R2
• An extremely fast gravel track will be in place for the penultimate ERC Junior race in Estonia
• Marijan Griebel will travel to the Baltic in top form on the back of some excellent recent performances  

Rüsselsheim/ Munich. The ADAC Opel Rallye Junior Team are looking forward to an exciting auto24 Rally Estonia from the 17th to the 19th of July. The event takes place around Tartu, about 180 kilometres southeast of the Estonian capital Tallinn, and it is one of the fastest gravel courses in Europe. This fifth and penultimate race of the European Junior Championship (FIA ERC Junior) seems to suit the Swede Emil Bergkvist (Torsåker) in his Opel ADAM R2 perfectly. The leader of the European Junior Championship and his copilot Joakim Sjöberg (Ösmo) are highly motivated. "These are the conditions I love most for rally driving", says Bergkvist."The extremely fast Estonian gravel track is going to be great fun! I am confident that it will suit my driving style. The ADAM R2 has proved its competitive abilities in every kind of terrain, so I think we will again be up there fighting for the podium places."
 
Not in focus, but ultimately possible is winning the title before all of the season's races are run in the FIA ERC Junior, for which only the best four of six results are counted. The best-placed ten drivers accrue points as is done in the FIA Formula 1 system. In addition, seven bonus points are awarded in every race. A pilot can collect 39 points per race in the Junior FIA ERC, something that Bergkvist has succeeded in doing in Latvia and Ireland twice already. Emil, the only driver that could take the title in Estonia, categorically rejects arithmetical suppositions: "I am aware that Estonia could decide the title. But I'm not going to waste time thinking about that. The competition in the Junior FIA ERC is too hard, and it's important now to concentrate on the next task, which is the next special stage, and then to count up the points afterwards."
 
Among six other drivers from the ADAC Opel Rallye Junior Team who still have a mathematical chance of the FIA ERC Junior 2015 title is Bergkvist's team colleague Marijan Griebel. The 26 year-old from Hahnweiler and his front seat passenger Stefan Clemens (Thailen) have got over the bad luck they had in Ypern/B when being caught flat footed cost them the race in the last test, and they're confidently awaiting the adventure in Estonia. Griebel: "I am looking forward to being able to drive on a very fast gravel surface which will have a different character than the other races. This is what makes the FIA ERC Junior so challenging and thrilling. What do I expect? Lots of guys, mostly from Scandinavia and the Baltic States who will be stretching themselves to the limit from the first metre on. But I think the ADAC Opel Rallye Junior Team and the ADAM R2 are well positioned to be able to make life difficult for all of them."
 
The auto24 Rally Estonia has a total distance of 656.38 kilometres with 16 evaluation tests of over 204.86 kilometres. The first stage begins on Friday (17th of July) at 8pm local time (7pm CET) with the City Stage in Tartu. The rest of the first stage, which includes nine evaluation tests, takes place on Saturday between 8.52 am and 7.52 pm local time. The second stage, with its six evaluation tests begins on Sunday at 7.30 am, with participants crossing the finish line in Tartu from 4pm local time. Eurosport will report with summaries from the auto24 Rally Estonia daily. Fans can find a live timing at www.opel-motorsport.com

Image: ADAC Motorsport

 
The Estonian rally on TV: