AOIFE RAFTERY Makes Irish Rally History in ADAC Opel Electric Rally Cup Debut

August 18, 2025

• AOIFE RAFTERY made Irish motorsports history as the first Irish driver to compete in the ADAC Opel Electric Rally Cup, taking on the Saarland-Pfalz Rally in Germany with co-driver HANNAH MCKILLOP. Despite this being only her second rally in the championship and first time on former WRC stages, she delivered an impressive eighth place overall finish that had the Belgian competition looking in their mirrors.
• The Craughwell driver didn’t just show up – she showed out, claiming sixth in the junior category and notably finishing ahead of experienced Belgian rivals THRYSA EERTMANS and JUSTINE DEMEESTERE, who could only manage 12th place. Raftery praised the Opel Corsa-e Rally Car’s grip levels and planted feel, calling it “fantastic” despite being vastly different from the combustion engines she typically drives in the Junior FIA European Rally Championship.
• With Opel Ireland’s backing, Raftery tackled the world’s first electric one-make rally series head-on, emphasizing how the equal equipment creates genuine competition where talent rises to the top. Her performance proves that when given proper support and opportunity, drivers can step up to international level and immediately compete with Europe’s established electric rally field – exactly the kind of breakthrough moment that opens doors for future Irish talent.

adac opel electric rally cup, adac saarland-pfalz rally, junior fia european rally championship, opel corsa-e rally