Start Hungary – lots of new things in the European Championship / ERC

The ERC is all about new things with new events, new drivers, new teams, new cars and new rules. And it all starts this week when the city of Veszprém hosts the V-Híd Rally Hungary from April 12 to 14.

The V-Híd Rally Hungary will now take place exclusively on gravel, after the Hungarian ERC round was previously held on asphalt tracks. It forms the first round of the eight-event ERC season, which will also visit Spain (Gran Canaria), Sweden, Estonia, Italy and the Czech Republic, England (Wales) and Poland, among other events. The V-Híd Rally Hungary not only counts towards the overall ERC points, but is also part of the FIA ​​ERC3, FIA ERC4, FIA Junior ERC and the new 2024 Fiesta Rally3 Championship.

To underline the ever-increasing popularity of the ERC, the feeder series established for the FIA ​​World Rally Championship, 52 teams from 24 countries are registered, including 28 in the best Rally2 machines and 17 in the Junior ERC Championship.

The four ERC tire partners, Hankook, Michelin, MRF and Pirelli, will be the tire suppliers for the first round of the FIA ​​European Rally Championship. Eight manufacturers are registered: Citroën, Hyundai, M-Sport-Ford, Opel, Peugeot, Skoda, Toyota and Volkswagen are represented.

ERC’s top three return

The top three ERC 2023 winners, Hayden Paddon, Mārtiņš Sesks and Mads Østberg, are all back in search of further success in the European Championship. Defending champion Paddon, who enters his 19th season with co-driver John Kennard, has re-signed for the Pirelli-equipped BRC team to drive the Hyundai i20 N Rally2.

New Zealander Paddon said: “John and I have a target on our backs with other competitors trying to beat us. We’re expecting a tougher fight this year, but John and I will be looking to improve on some of the events we’ve now experienced – it’s going to be a year of exciting.”

As Latvian Seks (pictured above) continues his partnership with MRF Tyres, he moves from the Skoda Fabia RS Rally2, which he won twice in 2023, to the all-new Toyota GR Yaris Rally2. “There will be a learning curve as the team gets used to the new car and we expect more challenges, such as more asphalt tracks as the season progresses,” Sesks said. “However, we are committed to extensive preparation and hard work to ensure a successful season, continuing to learn and develop along the way.”

The TRT Racing Team from Østberg, Norway will fit Michelin tires to their Citroën C3 Rally2. After winning the season-ending Rally Hungary in 2023, the former winner of the WRC event will be hoping to continue that momentum in 2024. “I liked the ERC last year, it’s a good championship, but the competition is very strong,” explained Østberg. “It’s not just two or three drivers fighting for the win, but there can also be ten drivers fighting for the win. So it’s a good race and good TV coverage. I’m really looking forward to being there again.”

But Paddon, Sesks and Østberg aren’t the only ones chasing ERC success. Jon Armstrong, Hungarian hero Miklós Csomós, Mathieu Franceschi, Mikko Heikkilä, Efrén Llarena, Andrea Mabellini, Miko Marczyk, Filip Mareš, Simone Temestini and Simon Wagner are among the other riders expected to ride in front of the V-Híd -Rally.

The brand new Rally Hungary is ready to start

According to Kornél Őry, chairman of the event’s organizing committee, the stages of the V-Híd Rally Hungary “will provide very exciting competition”. He emphasized: “Our new location is north of Lake Balaton in the town of Veszprém with special stages all around, especially in military areas. We will have hard gravel roads, but at least three different types of gravel, and that will be a very exciting race and a very good test for the tire manufacturers. The military roads we will use are in open fields and this gives us the opportunity to prepare large spectator areas. Some stages go through forests with narrow roads, which give a completely different feeling. We definitely think it will be a great challenge for the drivers and people will really like the city of Veszprém.”

Step: 13
Race distance: 192.43 km
Total distance: 794.74 km