European Rally Championship

European Rally Championship
Category R5
Super 2000
Group N
Country Europe
Inaugural season 1953
Drivers Varies
Teams Varies
Drivers' champion Poland Kajetan Kajetanowicz
Official website fiaerc.com
Current season

The European Rally Championship is the European continental championship series in rallying. It is organised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA).

History

The European Rally Championship was first contested in 1953 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.[1]

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. This made it very tedious to follow the championship and keep an overview. 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.[1]

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". A ERC season now featured around 10 to 12 events and thus had a clearer structure.[1]

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.[1]

Since 2013, French-based broadcaster Eurosport is the promoter of ERC, and the Intercontinental Rally Challenge (IRC), previously organized and promoted by Eurosport, was discontinued.

Recent seasons

2010 season

The 2011 ERC season featured 11 rallies. Luca Rossetti was the winner of 4 events and won the championship.

2011 season

The 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

The 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

The 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

The 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

The season started with the Jänner Rallye in Austria on 4 January 2015, and will end with the Rallye International du Valais on 7 November. For this year the drivers have 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).

Champions

1965 champion Rauno Aaltonen, 1968 champion Pauli Toivonen and Timo Mäkinen
Season Driver Car
1953 Germany Helmut Polensky Porsche 356 Coupé
Fiat 1100
1954 Germany Walter Schlüter DKW 3=6 F91 Sonderklasse
1955 Germany Werner Engel Mercedes-Benz 300 SL
1956 Germany Walter Schock Mercedes-Benz 220
Mercedes-Benz 300 SL
1957 Germany Ruprecht Hopfen Borgward Isabella
Saab 93
1958 Sweden Gunnar Andersson Volvo PV444
Volvo PV544
1959 France Paul Coltelloni Alfa Romeo Giulietta TI
Citroën ID 19
1960 Germany Walter Schock Mercedes-Benz 220 SE
1961 Germany Hans-Joachim Walter Porsche 356 Carrera Coupé
1962 Germany Eugen Böhringer Mercedes-Benz 220 SE
1963 Sweden Gunnar Andersson Volvo 122 S
Volvo PV544
1964 Sweden Tom Trana Volvo PV544 S
1965 Finland Rauno Aaltonen BMC Mini Cooper S
1966 G1 Sweden Lillebror Nasenius Opel Rekord
G2 Poland Sobiesław Zasada BMC Mini Cooper S
Steyr-Puch 650 TR
G3 Germany Günter Klass Porsche 911
1967 G1 Poland Sobiesław Zasada Porsche 911 S
Porsche 912
G2 Sweden Bengt Söderström Lotus Cortina
G3 United Kingdom Vic Elford Porsche 911 S
1968 Finland Pauli Toivonen Porsche 911 T
1969 Sweden Harry Källström Lancia Fulvia Coupé 1.3 HF
Lancia Fulvia Coupé 1.6 HF
1970 France Jean-Claude Andruet Alpine A110 1600
1971 Poland Sobiesław Zasada BMW 2002 TI
1972 Italy Raffaele Pinto Fiat 124 Sport Spider
1973 Italy Sandro Munari Lancia Fulvia Coupé 1.6 HF
1974 Germany Walter Röhrl Opel Ascona A
1975 Italy Maurizio Verini Fiat Abarth 124 Rally
1976 France Bernard Darniche Lancia Stratos HF
1977 France Bernard Darniche Lancia Stratos HF
1978 Italy Tony Carello Lancia Stratos HF
1979 Germany Jochi Kleint Opel Ascona B
Opel Kadett GT/E
1980 Spain Antonio Zanini Porsche 911 SC
Ford Escort RS1800
1981 Italy Adartico Vudafieri Fiat 131 Abarth
1982 Italy Antonio Fassina Opel Ascona 400
1983 Italy Miki Biasion Lancia Rally 037
1984 Italy Carlo Capone Lancia Rally 037
1985 Italy Dario Cerrato Lancia Rally 037
1986 Italy Fabrizio Tabaton Lancia Delta S4
1987 Italy Dario Cerrato Lancia Delta HF 4WD
1988 Italy Fabrizio Tabaton Lancia Delta HF 4WD
Lancia Delta Integrale
1989 France Yves Loubet Lancia Delta Integrale
1990 Belgium Robert Droogmans Lancia Delta Integrale 16V
1991 Italy Piero Liatti Lancia Delta Integrale 16V
1992 Germany Erwin Weber Mitsubishi Galant VR-4
1993 France Pierre-César Baroni Lancia Delta HF Integrale
Ford Escort RS Cosworth
1994 Belgium Patrick Snijers Ford Escort RS Cosworth
1995 Italy Enrico Bertone Toyota Celica Turbo 4WD
1996 Germany Armin Schwarz Toyota Celica GT-Four ST205
1997 Poland Krzysztof Hołowczyc Subaru Impreza 555
1998 Italy Andrea Navarra Subaru Impreza 555
1999 Italy Enrico Bertone Renault Mégane Maxi
2000 Denmark Henrik Lundgaard Toyota Corolla WRC
2001 Germany Armin Kremer Toyota Corolla WRC
2002 Italy Renato Travaglia Peugeot 206 WRC
2003 Belgium Bruno Thiry Peugeot 206 WRC
2004 France Simon Jean-Joseph Renault Clio S1600
2005 Italy Renato Travaglia Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VII
Renault Clio S1600
2006 Italy Giandomenico Basso Fiat Punto Abarth S2000
2007 France Simon Jean-Joseph Citroën C2 S1600
Citroën C2 R2
2008 Italy Luca Rossetti Peugeot 207 S2000
2009 Italy Giandomenico Basso Abarth Grande Punto S2000
2010 Italy Luca Rossetti Abarth Grande Punto S2000
2011 Italy Luca Rossetti Abarth Grande Punto S2000
2012 Finland Juho Hänninen Škoda Fabia S2000
2013 Czech Republic Jan Kopecký Škoda Fabia S2000
2014 Finland Esapekka Lappi Škoda Fabia S2000
2015 Poland Kajetan Kajetanowicz Ford Fiesta R5
2016 Poland Kajetan Kajetanowicz Ford Fiesta R5

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "The history of the European Rally Championship". European Rally Championship. Retrieved 20 April 2011.

See also

External links

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