Morzine, France – The Rallye Mont Blanc, the sixth round of the ADAC Opel Electric Rally Cup 2024, once again challenged the teams and delivered spectacular action in the French Alps. The event kicked off on Friday morning at 8 a.m. and concluded on Saturday at 2 p.m., featuring a total of nine special stages covering 150 kilometers on demanding routes over the most scenic passes around the ski resort.
While the shakedown on Thursday took place in rainy conditions, the actual race days were blessed with glorious sunshine and perfect weather. Among the competitors in the main field with combustion engines, one name stood out: Sébastien Loeb, the nine-time World Rally Champion. Loeb competed in the Alpine A110 Rally GT+ and ultimately secured the overall victory, much to the delight of the fans.
Within the field of eleven Opel Corsa Rally Electrics in the Cup, the Infypower chargebyte e-Rally Team, consisting of regular driver Johannes Wittenbeck and co-driver Maximilian Kugler, faced an additional challenge. Co-driver Kugler had already arrived on Monday with a cold, and Wittenbeck was struck by a severe cold on Thursday. Despite their weakened health, the team started the rally. The first short special stages on Friday morning were tough, and Wittenbeck and Kugler initially found themselves towards the back of the pack. However, as the day progressed, the pair fought their way forward and temporarily secured fifth place in the overall standings.
One of the main challenges was the longest special stage in the entire calendar – and the longest of Wittenbeck’s career: 28 kilometers over the 1,500-meter-high plateau at Lac de Sommand. Wittenbeck was particularly impressed by the spectacular stages 5 and 9: “The most impressive special stage by far was the one over the Col de Joux Plane at 1,700 meters altitude, with a breathtaking view of Mont Blanc in the background.” In 2023, the 14th stage of the Tour de France also ran through this route and ended in the rally town of Morzine.
This stage was also the final special stage of the rally and, as usual, the Power Stage, where the top five drivers can earn extra championship points in addition to their overall standings points. It was a dramatic finish: Several competitors suffered tire damage in the last corners, leaving many car parts scattered on the track. Wittenbeck and Kugler lost their fifth overall position here and slipped to sixth place, finishing just 1.3 seconds behind the fifth-placed and championship leaders, Austrians Luca Pröglhöf and Christina Ettel.
Nevertheless, the two Germans managed to secure their first point in this special classification with a fifth-place finish on the Power Stage – an important success for the team. The podium battle for the overall rally victory also tightened up towards the end. French local heroes Chavanne Jérôme and Emilia Galleano won with only a 0.6-second lead over the German team Christian Lemke and Jan Bemmann. The French brothers Anthony and Adrien Rott completed the podium in third place.
Wittenbeck commented on their performance: “We didn’t quite make the step forward I had hoped for, but we fought hard despite our poor health and once again gained a lot of experience. At the moment, we just need to work on our corner speed. The line and cooperation in the car are already very good.”
The next rally in the Cup, the Rallye Coeur de France in Vendôme, will take place from September 27th to 29th.
