Team Schluckspecht hopes to make it onto the podium with both cars

Despite the very different starting points for the S5 and S8 energy-efficient vehicles, the goal for the Shell Eco-marathon is the same.

19.06.2026 · Pressemitteilung – Schluckspecht · Editorial Office: jd

A group of young people is standing outside on a set of stairs behind two energy-efficient vehicles, cheering with their arms raised in the air
The new S8 (left) and the S5 (right) are just as ready to go as the team members.   

Exactly one month after the rollout of the new Prototype S8, the Schluckspecht team from Hochschule Offenburg will be packing their bags on Monday, June 22, for the Shell Eco-marathon Europe & Africa, taking place June 24–28 in Kamien Slaski, Poland. On Tuesday, June 23, they’ll first head to Wrocław, and after a short night’s rest, they’ll continue early Wednesday morning, June 24, to the Silesia Ring.

A tight schedule awaits the 30 team members traveling to the race track: In addition to setting up the paddock (their own workshop area in the pit lane) and the tent camp, the technical inspection of both vehicles is also on the agenda for Wednesday. “We hope to pass these inspections as early as Wednesday so that we can focus on the first practice runs on Thursday,” explains Sebastian Tebbe from the Schluckspecht media team.

After another practice run on Friday morning, the first of a total of five competition runs will begin in the afternoon. Following two more competition runs each on Saturday and Sunday, the three best runs will count toward the final score this time, as will the results of the off-track awards for telemetry, vehicle design, technical innovations, Shell Eco-marathon values, and safety concept. In the end, the top four teams will qualify for the Shell Eco-marathon Global Championship, which will be held in 2027 at the Lusail International Circuit in Doha, Qatar. “There’s no longer a final run, because Shell wanted to change the rules so that a team couldn’t win with just one really good run,” explains Sebastian Tebbe.

Nevertheless—or perhaps precisely because of this—the Schluckspecht team’s goal is to make it onto the podium in both classes, Prototype and Urban Concept. To that end, the team members have continued to optimize the new battery-electric Prototype S8 since its rollout and have fine-tuned various settings and endurance during two test runs at the Edeka parking lot and the airfield in Offenburg. With one kilowatt-hour, the two drivers, Ina Sommer and Leonie Beck, should now be able to drive 800 kilometers—a new record, and later even up to 1,000. For the ethanol-powered Urban Concept S5, the gasoline engine—which had caused problems at the 2025 Shell Eco-marathon—was completely disassembled over the course of the year, its weak points were eliminated, and it was reassembled. This should enable the new driver, Silvio Bohnert, and his teammate, Lukas Möller, to compete at the top as well. “Our goal is to finish on the podium with both vehicles in their respective classes and to qualify as one of the top four teams for the World Championship in Qatar,” summarizes team leader Prof. Claus Fleig. 

In addition to the competition, everyone is also looking forward to reuniting with their fellow teams, such as ProTRon from Trier or the DTU Roadrunners from Copenhagen, Denmark. The Schluckspecht team’s Endos Sports Bar is set to keep the mood lively at the tent camp once again; a Finnish team has already booked it for a birthday party. 

You can find the latest news from the Shell Eco-marathon every evening around 7:30 p.m. at Schluckspecht | Hochschule Offenburg.