Meet Claire Schönborn, Germany’s fast-rising junior star
Germany’s Claire Schönborn enters this weekend’s BAUHAUS Royal Rally of Scandinavia in Sweden ready to make her mark on the international stage. Driving an Opel Corsa Rally4 for the official ADAC Opel Rally Junior Team alongside co-driver Michael Wenzel, the 26-year-old is making her absolute debut in the FIA Junior ERC and ERC4 categories.
What makes Schönborn one of the most compelling stories in the service park this weekend is the sheer speed of her ascent. While many of her junior rivals have spent a decade climbing the karting and loose-surface ranks, Schönborn’s professional rallying career is a whirlwind that only ignited a couple of years ago.
A lightning-fast transition to rallying
Motorsport has always been in Schönborn’s blood, but her initial passion lay in a completely different discipline. Inspired by her parents, she began her competitive life in hillclimbing, where she quickly rewrote the history books by becoming the first-ever woman to win the overall title in Germany’s prestigious KW Berg Cup.
Rallying remained a distant dream until August 2024, when Opel Motorsport invited her to compete as a guest driver in the ADAC Opel Electric Rally Cup.
“The rally went surprisingly well and we were already able to set some top-five stage times,” Schönborn recalls. “Those were my very first experiences in rallying and also my first connection with Opel. That’s why I’m very happy to now take the next step together with Opel.”
Her raw natural talent caught the eye of the WRC Promoter, earning her a spot in the Beyond Rally Women’s Driver Development Programme. She won the shootout, securing a fully-funded prize drive in the Junior WRC last season, where she gained invaluable experience on top-tier world events.
“I always dreamed about rallying, but I never actually imagined I would one day try it myself,” she says. “Without any previous rally experience, I went from zero to competing in the World Rally Championship in a very short time. I’m extremely ambitious and never fully satisfied with myself – but I think that mindset is exactly what brought me to where I am today.”
Navigating the European learning curve
With only 11 rallies under her belt, Schönborn arrives in Sweden acknowledging that she is still very much a beginner in this discipline. However, she views the hyper-competitive Junior ERC as the ultimate training ground to sharpen her skills.
“The ERC is a great platform for young drivers,” Schönborn explains. “The championship includes many very demanding rallies and the level of international competition is extremely high. For me, it’s the perfect environment to continue developing as a driver and gain more experience at the international level.”
Despite her relative lack of experience compared to the rest of the 16-crew junior field, her objectives for the weekend and the season ahead are perfectly balanced between learning and outright pace.
“My main goal this season is to gain as many kilometres and as much experience as possible. At the same time, I definitely want to show that we can be competitive, just like we proved at the WRC events in Finland and Central European Rally last year. We want to build on those performances and achieve strong results throughout the season.”
She anticipates that the tight margins in the Hankook-supported junior category will extract the absolute best from her behind the wheel. “The level of competition in Junior ERC is extremely high. I’m expecting close battles where you learn a lot about strategy, bravery and teamwork. Competing against such strong drivers is the best way to improve yourself.”
Engineering a career in motorsport
When Schönborn talks about teamwork and strategy, she isn’t just reciting standard driver talking points. Off the stages, her entire life revolves around the mechanical and analytical side of the sport. She holds a full-time position as a systems engineer for a major automotive supplier, and she fills her weekends working as a freelance race engineer in circuit racing.
“If I weren’t a rally driver, I would definitely still be involved in motorsport, probably as an engineer or mechanic within a rally team,” she admits. “For me, there is nothing more fascinating than motorsport. No other sport comes close. My life is completely centred around motorsport, either inside the cockpit or on the pit wall. I definitely never get bored.”
It is no surprise then that her ultimate sporting role model is a woman who similarly combined technical understanding with legendary, fearless driving style.
“Of course, my biggest role model is Michèle Mouton,” Schönborn says. “During her time, it was far from easy to succeed as a woman in motorsport, and she proved that gender does not matter when it comes to performance and determination.”
Looking at the road ahead, Schönborn is determined to keep making strides toward the top flight of the sport, keeping a practical but ambitious eye on the next five years.
“I try to stay realistic. Of course, I dream about one day driving a Rally1 car, but I know that’s still a long way away. In five years, I hope we will have established a strong name for ourselves in WRC2 and be competing consistently at the front of the field.”
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