Schulz Wins Sanremo and Takes Electric Rally Cup Lead
Archive photo: an Opel Mokka GSE Rally photographed October 3, 2026—not the Sanremo event or confirmation of the winning car’s livery. Photo: Turning67 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0. Resized for display.
Archive photo: an Opel Mokka GSE Rally photographed October 3, 2026—not the Sanremo event or confirmation of the winning car’s livery. Photo: Turning67 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0. Resized for display.
Timo Schulz and co-driver Maresa Lade won the ADAC Opel GSE Rally Cup’s Sanremo round, moving Schulz into the championship lead. The electric one-make series made its Italian debut at the October 16–18, 2026 event.
Opel’s October 19 race report confirms Schulz’s fourth win of the season. Tom Dufour and Alex Dubois finished second. Alex Español and Enrique Velasco took third, beating Ioan Lloyd and Sion Williams by just 0.9 seconds after the final special stage. Those positions refer to the Opel cup, not the entire multi-class Sanremo rally.
A ten-point swing against the previous leader
The comparison below uses Opel’s October 13 pre-event standings and its updated table after round five. It shows why the result matters beyond another winner’s trophy.
| Driver | Sanremo cup finish | Points before | Points after |
|---|---|---|---|
| Timo Schulz | 1st | 104 | 136 |
| Ioan Lloyd | 4th | 111 | 133 |
| Tom Dufour | 2nd | 101 | 131 |
Schulz arrived seven points behind Lloyd and leaves three ahead—a ten-point swing between the pair. Dufour is now five points off the lead. The leading trio is therefore more tightly grouped than before Sanremo, when ten points separated first from third. Two rounds remain; this result changes the leader rather than deciding the championship.
The competition car and its charging system
The cup uses the battery-electric Mokka GSE Rally. In its May 11 season announcement, Opel specified up to 207 kW and 345 Nm, replacing the earlier Corsa Rally Electric. That is background on the competition machinery, not a new road-car specification announced after Sanremo.
Opel also described mobile battery-storage systems delivered by electric trucks, allowing charging at different locations between stages. The purpose is to put charging where the rally needs it rather than depend solely on a fixed public-grid connection. This infrastructure is part of the series’ operating model; the Sanremo results do not by themselves establish road-going range, charging speed or efficiency.
The sporting takeaway is the change in points, while the technical context explains how a battery-electric field participates in stage rallying. Chiefs Review has not driven the cars or independently measured the charging equipment.
For the event’s original route and title-fight context, see our Sanremo preview. Opel’s separate single-seater programme is covered in our Formula E testing update.