• 2026 FIA European Rally Championship (ERC) season finale on Portuguese gravel
• Infamous Fafe jump included, with plenty of WRC heritage in the European finale
• Quick switch from asphalt to gravel and from the electric Opel Mokka GSE to the Opel Corsa Rally4

Claire Schönborn and Michael Wenzel return to gravel at the season finale of the FIA European Rally Championship (ERC) next weekend (23 to 25 October). Of all places, it happens in Portugal, where the 27-year-old made her debut on the loose surface. Her first season with the ADAC Opel Junior Rally Team also ends the way it began. The finale is the first gravel event since the season opener in Sweden, and only Schönborn’s second outing on this surface in the Opel Corsa Rally4. The route takes in famous and at times notorious roads, not least the much-quoted jump at Fafe. On top of that comes a double switch within a matter of days. Last weekend Schönborn was still on the asphalt of the venerable Rallye Sanremo, which she finished in sixth place. Now the equally storied gravel of Portugal awaits. And instead of the all-electric Opel Mokka GSE Rally she drove in the ADAC Opel GSE Rally Cup, she is back behind the wheel of the front-wheel-drive Corsa built to Rally4 regulations.

“I’m really looking forward to starting in Portugal again. This is where my gravel journey began last year, first with a small warm-up event and then straight afterwards at the WRC classic. Things didn’t go entirely to plan back then, and a little roll is part of that story too. Even so, I learnt an enormous amount about driving on gravel, and that’s exactly what I want to build on now. I know three of the stages from last year, including the one with the famous Fafe jump. What’s new for me is the front-wheel-drive Opel Corsa Rally4, which is a completely different world from the four-wheel-drive car I had last year. The stages look really promising. I hope we can round off the season with one more little highlight.”
CLAIRE SCHÖNBORN

Saving the best till last: demanding stages are a Portuguese tradition

The Rally Six Cities North of Portugal features 17 special stages totalling 181.10 kilometres. Proceedings get under way on Friday evening at the Campo de São Mamede in Guimarães, below the castle that Portugal regards as its birthplace. Shortly afterwards comes Monte da Penha, the only asphalt stage of the rally. It climbs 2.92 kilometres up the twisting road of the Rampa da Penha hillclimb and starts at 7.05pm local time, just as the light fades. Nobody will win the rally there, but plenty could lose it. Saturday is when things get serious. Two loops take the crews through Cabeceiras de Basto, Ribeira de Pena and Boticas. At 18.24 kilometres, Ribeira de Pena is the longest stage of the event, and it is run twice. There is little time for adjustments, as the teams get just 15 minutes at the remote service in Boticas between the loops. Sunday brings roads familiar from the World Championship, with Montim, Seixoso and Santa Quitéria all having featured on Rally de Portugal. Whoever finds their rhythm here in the morning will carry a cushion into the closing Power Stage.