The European Rally Championship (officially FIA European Rally Championship) is an automobile rally competition held annually on the European continent and organized by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The championship has been organized since 1953 and has competed in different European countries, alternating between rallies on asphalt and gravel. It was the first supranational rally championship that was organized in the world and therefore the oldest one. In 2012 it had 60 editions and in 2013 it was renewed with the merger with the Intercontinental Rally Challenge.
 | |
| Category | R5 Super 2000 Group N |
|---|---|
| Country | Europe |
| Inaugural season | 1953 |
| Drivers | Varies |
| Teams | Varies |
| Drivers' champion |  Hayden Paddon |
| Teams' champion |  BRC Racing Team |
| Official website | fiaerc.com |
 Current season | |
History
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The European Rally Championship was first contested in 1953[1] and in the following year was one of the most prestigious rallying series. However, with the introduction of the World Rally Championship for manufacturers in 1973, and in particular with the drivers' World Championship being contested from 1979 on, the importance of the ERC began to decline.[2]
Over many years, a typical ERC season featured around 40 rallies, and from 1974 on, the rallies were assigned different coefficients (1, 2, 3 or 4) that were multiplied with the championship points. Changing the coefficients to 2, 5, 10 and 20 did also not improve the situation. Thus, the ERC was more a series for event organizers than an interesting championship for drivers.[2]
A first improvement was implemented for the 2004 season, where the number of events counting for the European Rally Championship were reduced to those with coefficient 20, while the other rallies became part of regional "European Rally Cups". An ERC season now featured around 10 to 12 events and thus had a clearer structure.[2]
Between 2007 and 2011, the driver had to register for the European championships and thus only registered drivers could score ERC points, keeping the local drivers from taking up all ERC points despite not participating in the championship. The registered drivers were also obligated to contest a minimal number of events.[2]
Between 2013 and 2021, French-based broadcaster Eurosport was the promoter of ERC. From 2022, it was taken over by Munich based WRC Promoter GmbH.[3]
Recent seasons
edit2010 season
editThe 2010 ERC season featured 11 rallies. Luca Rossetti was the winner of 4 events and won the championship.
2011 season
editThe 2011 ERC season started on 14 April 2011 and featured 11 rallies. It ended on 29 October with the Rallye International du Valais. Italian driver Luca Rossetti claimed his third European championship title after winning 5 of the events. In total, 28 registered drivers from 7 different countries competed in the championship.
2012 season
editThe 2012 season started in January with a new event, the "Jänner Rallye" in Austria. As an important change, drivers no longer had to register for the championship. Finnish driver Juho Hänninen won the championship.
2013 season
editThe 2013 season is the first after the merger between IRC and the old ERC, and also the first after Eurosport became the championship's promoter. The season started with the Jänner Rallye in Austria on 3 January 2013, and ended with the Rallye du Valais on 9 November. Czech driver Jan Kopecký won the championship.
2014 season
editThe 2014 season started with the Jänner Rallye in Austria on 3 January 2014, and ended with the Tour de Corse on 8 November. Finnish driver Esapekka Lappi won the championship and the new Asphalt Masters trophy, while Polish drivers Robert Kubica and Kajetan Kajetanowicz won the Ice Masters and Gravel Masters, respectively. French driver Stéphane Lefebvre won the ERC Junior championship.
2015 season
editThe season started with the Jänner Rallye in Austria on 4 January 2015, and ended with the Rallye International du Valais on 7 November. For this year the drivers had to register for the championship, and the categories have been renamed into ERC 1 (for S2000, R5 and RRC (last year) cars), ERC 2 (category for R4 production cars (previously titled N4)) and ERC 3 (for R1, R2 and R3 cars). Polish driver Kajetan Kajetanowicz won the championship.
Champions
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European Rally Championship for Drivers
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Multiple wins by car manufacturer
edit| Name | Titles | Winning Years | |
|---|---|---|---|
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Lancia | 15 | 1969, 1973, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1993 |
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Ford | 8 | 1967, 1980, 1993, 1994, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 |
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Fiat | 1953, 1972, 1975, 1981, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2011 | |
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Porsche | 7 | 1953, 1961, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1980 |
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Škoda | 6 | 2012, 2013, 2014, 2019, 2021, 2022 |
|
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Mercedes-Benz | 4 | 1955, 1956, 1960, 1962 |
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Opel | 1966, 1974, 1979, 1982 |
Support categories
editSupport championships
editEuropean Rally Championship has three support categories, ERC3, ERC4 and ERC Junior. These championships are contested on the same events and stages as the WRC calendar and have tighter restrictions on eligible car criteria.
| Season | 2WD / ERC-3 | ERC-4 | ERC Junior U28 / ERC1 Junior / ERC Junior | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Driver | Car | Driver | Car | Driver | Car | |||
| 2013 |  Zoltán Bessenyey
|
Honda Civic Type-R R3 | Not contested | Not contested | ||||
| 2014 | Zoltán Bessenyey
|
Honda Civic Type-R R3 | ||||||
| 2015 |  Emil Bergkvist
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Opel Adam R2 | ||||||
| 2016 |  Chris Ingram
|
Opel Adam R2 | ||||||
| 2017 | Chris Ingram
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Opel Adam R2 | Marijan Griebel
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Škoda Fabia R5 | ||||
| 2018 |  Mārtiņš Sesks
|
Opel Adam R2 |  Nikolay Gryazin
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Škoda Fabia R5 | ||||
| 2019 |  Efrén Llarena
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Peugeot 208 R2 | Filip Mareš
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Škoda Fabia R5 | ||||
| 2020 |  Ken Torn
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Ford Fiesta Rally4 | Oliver Solberg
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Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 Škoda Fabia R5 evo | ||||
| 2021 |  Jean-Baptiste Franceschi
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Renault Clio Rally4 | Ken Torn
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Ford Fiesta Rally3 | ||||
| 2022 |  Igor Widlak
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Ford Fiesta Rally3 | Oscar Palomo
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Peugeot 208 Rally4 | Laurent Pellier
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Opel Corsa Rally4 | ||
| 2023 | Jon Armstrong
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Ford Fiesta Rally3 | Roberto Daprà
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Peugeot 208 Rally4 |  Norbert Maior
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Peugeot 208 Rally4 | ||
| 2024 | Filip Kohn
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Ford Fiesta Rally3 | Mille Johansson
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Opel Corsa Rally4 | Mille Johansson
|
Opel Corsa Rally4 | ||
Former support categories
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Ladies champions
edit| Season | Driver | Car |
|---|---|---|
| 1958 |  Pat Moss
|
Austin-Healey 100/4 Morris Minor 1000 |
| 1960 | Pat Moss
|
|
| 1962 | Pat Moss
|
|
| 1964 | Pat Moss
|
|
| 1965 | Pat Moss
|
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| 1989 | Louise Aitken-Walker
|
|
| 2013 |  Molly Taylor
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Citroën DS3 R3T |
| 2014 |  Ekaterina Stratieva
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Subaru Impreza |
| 2015 | Ekaterina Stratieva
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Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX |
| 2016 | Catie Munnings
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Peugeot 208 R2 |
| 2017 | Tamara Molinaro
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Opel Adam R2 |
| 2018 | Emma Falcón
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Peugeot 208 R2 |
| 2019 | Ekaterina Stratieva
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Peugeot 208 R2 |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b "ERC @ 70: A brief history". fiaerc.com. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
- ^ a b c d "The history of the European Rally Championship". European Rally Championship. Retrieved 20 April 2011.
- ^ "WRC Promoter announced as new ERC promoter". dirtfish.com. 8 July 2021.
- ^ Shacki. "Top stats - eWRC-results". eWRC-results.com. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
- ^ "motorsport-archive.com :: European Rally Championship :: Overview". www.motorsport-archive.com. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
- ^ "Mercedes-Benz 220 SE rally car (W 111), 1960 - 1961". The Digital Archives of Mercedes-Benz Classic. Mercedes-Benz. Retrieved 31 December 2021.