Fifty-three teams representing 20 countries will compete for victory in the 74th FIA European Rally Championship season, which starts this week in Spain.
The world’s oldest international rally series, which kicks off with the 43rd Andalusia Rally – Sierra Morena – Córdoba World Heritage Site from 17 to 19 April, also includes stops in Sweden, Italy, Poland, Czechia, the United Kingdom and Portugal; here the title chase will end in October.
But first, there is an extremely challenging all-tarmac competition consisting of 13 stages over a competitive distance of 203.80 kilometers. And leading the way is reigning champion Miko Marczyk, competing in the Michelin-equipped Škoda Fabia RS Rally2, sharing this race with co-driver and Pole Szymon Gospodarczyk.
After last season’s championship victory, the 30-year-old plans to go even faster this year.
“Our plan is to continually increase our tempo,” Marczyk said. “We want to be faster and maintain reliability and a good strategy. If we achieve this, I believe it will be a very good year for us. We expect strong competition – including Andrea Mabellini and Virginia Lenzi, who will drive a different car this year. This will definitely make the race even more exciting.”
Italy’s Mabellini and Lenzi, who finished third overall in 2025, will be Lancia-powered for the first time this year as the legendary Italian manufacturer returns to the forefront of ERC racing for the first time since 1993.
“We only have one goal, of course we start to win, nothing else is possible,” said the Pirelli-equipped Mabellini, 26. “But we have to be a little more consistent and we need a little more luck, which will definitely come.”
At least 30 drivers are ready to race in the ERC season opener with Rally2’s lead cars. These include seven current national champions from Great Britain (William Creighton), Hungary (Gábor Német), Ireland (Callum Devine), Italy (Giandomenico Basso), Poland (Jakub Matulka), Romania (Simone Tempestini) and Spain (José Antonio Suárez). Basso is also a double ERC champion and was named the ERC Greatest Rider of All-time in 2023; Tempestini, on the other hand, will help Team MRF Tires chase its fourth ERC Team championship this season, together with Erik Cais.
Other prominent candidates include the Hankook-supplied Calle Carlberg, whose team Llarena Racing, named after 2022 European champion Efrén Llarena, has moved up to Rally2 level.
Marco Bulacia, Teemu Suninen and Fabrizio Zaldivar bring recent or current WRC2 experience to the ERC, while 19-year-old Alexandra Teslovan becomes the first woman to compete in the Rally3-based ERC3, which has been set up exclusively for Rally3 cars, in 2022.
Automobile Magazine – English
