Motorsport: These are the best of the 2015 OPC Challenge

The numbers speak for themselves: 108 participants from 26 teams plus five individuals took part in the OPC Challenge organized by the Association of Swiss General Motors Dealers (VSGMH) since 2006 last season. Extrapolated to the nine slaloms held, this adds up to the impressive total of 391 drivers including guest starters. No wonder that coordinator Christian Mettler and his colleagues from the Opel Sports Commission not only look back on the anniversary year with swollen chests, but also turn their eyes to the 2016 season. Then, after just one year, the Adam S will make way for the somewhat larger and more powerful Corsa OPC.

Pure racing fun with a valid driving license
Not that the little one disappointed in terms of sportiness, quite the contrary. But it is the desire and the goal to always present the Swiss public with new sporty products from the Opel range in competition. And the beauty of it is that any holder of a driving license can take part in the OPC Challenge on a whim without any prior knowledge and compete with the specialists in this discipline.

Marcel Muzzarelli winner in the individual classification
The best was once again Marcel Muzzarelli in 2015. After winning the Team Cup for Metropol-Garage Amriswil, whose successor is the Flammer Speed Team from Glarus, the Grisons native secured the title in the individual classification, as he did in 2009. The sixth in a one-make cup. Once again, Thierry Kilchenmann was narrowly beaten in the Bernese Belwag AG car. Like the first two, Patrick Lenzin, who drives for his employer Auto Germann from Hunzenschwil, recorded two race wins as overall third. The decisions about victory and defeat in the individual races were sometimes in the range of hundredths. But those who were beaten often had to contend with a feature of the Adam S that is ideal in everyday traffic but undesirable in racing.

New Opel Corsa OPC launches with 207 hp
"You had to feel the car extremely well so that the ESP didn't intervene when there was too much lateral acceleration, and that's what Muzzarelli did best," says Thierry Kilchenmann, praising the master. Like many of his colleagues, he is all the more looking forward to the new Corsa OPC. With differential lock, lowered suspension and ESP that can be completely switched off, the 207-hp production sports car is closer to a race touring car. Combined with production sports tires from Yokohama, it will give the drivers even more driving pleasure and provide the spectators with good entertainment. Not only the defending champion is convinced of this: "Now the Challenge starts from scratch for everyone. I'm looking forward to new challenges with the Corsa OPC." All results can be found in detail on the Internet.

www.opc-challenge.ch
www.yokohama.ch
Photos: Peter Wyss