• Former Opel works driver: In F3 junior team and DTM Opel Astra
• Current world rallycross contender: Guest start on ADAC Rally Stemweder Berg
• TV star: SAT.1 plans report about ADAC Opel e-Rally Cup premiere

Celebrity guest appearance at the premiere of the ADAC Opel e-Rally Cup. Timo Scheider, DTM Champion in 2008 and 2009 as well as FIA GT1 runner-up in 2005, will contest his first rally at the ADAC Rally Stemweder Berg on June 11/12. In the cockpit of the Corsa-e Rally, the 42-year-old, who will again compete in the FIA Rallycross World Championship in the upcoming season, will be accompanied by co-driver Tobias Braun (26). “I’m hugely looking forward to my first outing in a rally”, said Timo Scheider. “Not because I presume to be able to do anything against the specialists at the front, because that definitely won’t be the case. Because I have always wanted to contest a rally one day, which is the pinnacle of driving for me. And because I find it exciting to be part of the premiere of the world’s first electric rally one-make cup.”

Timo Scheider and Opel share a long-standing partnership. In 1997, the then 18-year-old became an Opel works driver in the Benetton Junior Team in the German Formula 3 Championship and was runner-up in at the first attempt. At the “rebirth” of the DTM (German Touring Car Masters) in 2000, Scheider joined the circle of Opel works drivers and was also part of the overall winning trio in the Opel Astra V8 Coupé at the Nürburgring 24 Hours in 2003. “I started my professional motorsport career with Opel. A deep bond with the brand exists from this time,” said Scheider. “In a way, the guest start in the ADAC Opel e-Rally Cup brings us full circle.”

“Timo is part of the Opel family, and that hasn’t changed even after so many years”, said Opel Motorsport Director, Jörg Schrott. “Having him as a guest starter at the first round of the ADAC Opel e-Rally Cup makes me personally very happy and is a further incentive for the rest of the field. Competing against a double DTM champion is a great challenge for the other drivers. They will do everything they can to beat the big name, no question about that. Timo knows very well that rallying and circuit racing are completely different. We are very excited to see how he does in his first rally.”

German TV station SAT.1, for whom Scheider works as an expert during DTM broadcasts, is planning a report on Timo’s rally debut. The exact broadcast date has not yet been fixed.