At the second round of the ADAC Opel GSE Rally Cup—the Rallye Vosges Grand-Est around Gérardmer, France—Claire Schönborn reached the podium for the first time. Together with her co-driver Michael Wenzel, the 26-year-old from Hunsrück finished third overall in the Opel Mokka GSE Rally. This makes her the second woman to stand on the podium in the electric one-make cup. “The rally was a real roller coaster,” says Claire. “Yesterday I had a hard time finding my rhythm, but today we were able to do a lot better.”

The season opener at the ELE Rally in the Netherlands had gotten off to a difficult start: Claire lined up at the start slightly injured and without having tested the new Mokka beforehand. She also struggled at first on Saturday in the Vosges, especially with braking late on downhill sections. “You don’t immediately feel when the wheels lock up—that was really hard to gauge,” she explains. Overnight, the team analyzed and addressed the weak points. On Sunday, the results were immediately evident in the stage times: The duo was among the fastest two or three crews on multiple occasions, missing a best time by only about two seconds. “The times on the last special stages were exactly what I’d hoped for,” said Claire.

In the overall standings of the ADAC Opel GSE Rally Cup, Claire is in sixth place after two of seven rounds. She’s taking away further insights from the analysis. “I’ve found a few more areas where we can improve,” she says. “The car handles well once you understand how to manage the brakes and weight distribution.” The next round—the Rallye Weiz in Austria—will thus provide the next opportunity to put the insights gained in the Vosges into practice.