• There from day one: Anniversary with Fritz von Opel’s track racing motorbike
• Motorsport pioneer: Opel Grand Prix racing car of 1913
• Emissions-free into motorsport future: Opel displays battery-electric Corsa-e Rally

Motorsport fans and friends of classic cars and motorbikes will have one destination the weekend after next – Nideggen in the Eifel mountains of Germany. Exactly 100 years ago, the first “Eifelrundfahrt” (Eifel Tour) took place there. On July 16 and 17, the Burgring Nideggen Eifel Classic Club will celebrate the anniversary with a big revival. Opel, as a participant from the very beginning, will be showing the legendary track racing motorbike from 1921 as well as the Grand Prix racing car from 1913. Spectators who travel to Nideggen will also see how Opel (this year celebrating its 160^th anniversary) is leading motorsport into the future with the battery-electric and emissions-free Opel Corsa-e Rally.

Most people know motorsport in the Eifel from the Nürburgring “Nordschleife”. At the “Green Hell”, drivers and teams have had to prove their skills over many decades up to the present day. But the first races, then known as the “Eifelrundfahrt”, took place on a 33-kilometre road course around Nideggen – and Opel was right there as the flag dropped for the very first time.

Fritz von Opel, the grandson of the company’s founder and later known as “Raketen-Fritz” (rocketman Fritz), took part in the competition with a machine developed for fast cement tracks. Its design was stripped down to reduce weight and was visionary for the time. Brakes, suspension, gearbox and clutch were completely absent; the crankcase and pistons were made of magnesium.

The water-cooled single-cylinder, four-stroke, four-valve racing engine with 198-cc displacement and dual ignition produced 5.5 hp at 4,000 rpm. The “red racer” weighed just 69.5 kilogrammes and had a top speed of almost 100 km/h. The fully restored racing machine will be one of the star attractions at the anniversary of the “Eifelrundfahrt” in the old town of Nideggen.

Also on show at the “Eifelrennen” revival is the Opel Grand Prix racing car of 1913. Even before the First World War, Opel developed a new generation of machines for the “Grand Prix de France”, a forerunner of today’s F1 races. Here, too, lightweight design was the top priority. In addition, with a four-cylinder, 16-valve engine, the most modern powertrain technology was used. With 110 hp, the 3,790-cc engine powered the racer to a maximum speed of 170 km/h!

Then as now: Opel is a pioneer in motorsport

Opel continues to play a pioneering role in motorsport today. Last year saw the launch of the ADAC Opel e-Rally Cup – the world’s first electric rally one-make cup – and with it the battery-electric Opel Corsa-e Rally. Like its serial production counterpart, the motorsport version of the Corsa-e has an electric motor with an output of 100 kW/136 hp and immediate torque of 260 Newton metres from a standing start.

During the development of the rally car, the focus was not only on performance but also on safety. The strict guidelines of the German Motor Sports Federation (DMSB) regarding safety in the operation and handling of electric competition cars are fully met by the Corsa-e Rally, and even exceeded in many areas. Those who want to experience the Corsa-e Rally in action this year still can do so during the remaining rounds of the German Rally Championship.