European Rally Championship: Claire Schönborn to compete in the Rome Capitale Rally

The third round of the European Rally Championship (ERC) is seen as a sort of dress rehearsal ahead of hosting the Italian round of the World Rally Championship in 2027.

The event is likely to prove a battle against the heat, with temperatures expected to hover around 35 degrees Celsius. Tyre management will therefore be a key focus at this tarmac event.

Claire Schönborn will be competing alongside her co-driver Michael Wenzel in an Opel Corsa Rally4. At the Royal Rally of Scandinavia in Sweden in May, the pair made a successful start to the Junior European Championship with a top-ten finish. The Rally of Rome now represents completely uncharted territory for the pair.

The former top-level hillclimb driver describes their next outing: “I’m really looking forward to the Rally of Rome! However, the expected scorcher will make it anything but easy – not just for the drivers, but also for the cars. With 42 Rally4 cars, the competition is fierce. We’re also expecting a wide variety of stage profiles: with tight, technical sections, but also medium-speed and fast sections.”

“Especially where it gets tight, the pace notes have to be spot on – you can’t afford to make any mistakes there. I’m looking forward to this challenge,” says the 27-year-old from the Hunsrück.

This year’s Rally di Roma Capitale 2026 features a completely revamped route. This is due not least to its promotion to a World Championship round next year.

Bei der Rallye Vosges im Opel Mokka auf dem Podium: Claire Schönborn

Foto: RK-Media

A total of 197.02 kilometres and eleven special stages await the competitors. The event kicks off on Friday evening with a spectacular city stage at the Colosseum, before the action moves into the Reatino mountains.

Saturday, the heart of the rally, consists of the Vallecupola stage – at just under 28 km, the longest and most demanding – between Lake Turano and the Reatino mountains; the fast Piana di Rascino plateau stage; and the short, varied Colle di Tora – Poggio Moiano. Finally, on Sunday, the stages will be the Monastero – Monte Livata, with its tunnels carved into the rock, and the short, technically demanding Canterano–Gerano, featuring numerous downhill hairpin bends, which will be run as the concluding Power Stage. The finale will once again take place in Rome, on the Via della Conciliazione, not far from the Vatican.

Most recently, Schönborn and Wetzel competed successfully in the Rallye Vosges Grand-Est, centred on the French Vosges town of Gérardmer.

In the second round of the ADAC Opel GSE Rally Cup, Claire Schönborn finished third in the electrified Opel Mokka GSE Rally. This made her the second woman to stand on the podium in the electric car manufacturers’ cup.