European Rally Championship

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 have disputed 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.

European Rally Championship
CategoryR5
Super 2000
Group N
CountryEurope
Inaugural season1953
DriversVaries
TeamsVaries
Drivers' champion Chris Ingram
Official websitefiaerc.com
Current season

History
Timo Mäkinen and Rauno Aaltonen at the 1965 1000 Lakes Rally

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". An 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
Main article: 2010 European Rally Championship

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

2011 season
Main article: 2011 European Rally Championship

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
Main article: 2012 European Rally Championship

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
Main article: 2013 European Rally Championship

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
Main article: 2014 European Rally Championship

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
Main article: 2015 European Rally Championship

The 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
1965 champion Rauno Aaltonen, 1968 champion Pauli Toivonen and Timo Mäkinen
Season Driver Car
1953 Helmut Polensky Porsche 356 Coupé
Fiat 1100
1954 Walter Schlüter DKW 3=6 F91 Sonderklasse
1955 Werner Engel Mercedes-Benz 300 SL
1956 Walter Schock Mercedes-Benz 220
Mercedes-Benz 300 SL
1957 Ruprecht Hopfen Borgward Isabella
Saab 93
1958 Gunnar Andersson Volvo PV444
Volvo PV544
1959 Paul Coltelloni Alfa Romeo Giulietta TI
Citroën ID 19
1960 Walter Schock Mercedes-Benz 220 SE
1961 Hans-Joachim Walter Porsche 356 Carrera Coupé
1962 Eugen Böhringer Mercedes-Benz 220 SE
1963 Gunnar Andersson Volvo 122 S
Volvo PV544
1964 Tom Trana Volvo PV544 S
1965 Rauno Aaltonen BMC Mini Cooper S
1966 G1 Lillebror Nasenius Opel Rekord
G2 Sobiesław Zasada BMC Mini Cooper S
Steyr-Puch 650 TR
G3 Günter Klass Porsche 911
1967 G1 Sobiesław Zasada Porsche 911 S
Porsche 912
G2 Bengt Söderström Lotus Cortina
G3 Vic Elford Porsche 911 S
1968 Pauli Toivonen Porsche 911 T
1969 Harry Källström Lancia Fulvia Coupé 1.3 HF
Lancia Fulvia Coupé 1.6 HF
1970 Jean-Claude Andruet Alpine A110 1600
1971 Sobiesław Zasada BMW 2002 TI
1972 Raffaele Pinto Fiat 124 Sport Spider
1973 Sandro Munari Lancia Fulvia Coupé 1.6 HF
1974 Walter Röhrl Opel Ascona A
1975 Maurizio Verini Fiat Abarth 124 Rally
1976 Bernard Darniche Lancia Stratos HF
1977 Bernard Darniche Lancia Stratos HF
1978 Tony Carello Lancia Stratos HF
1979 Jochi Kleint Opel Ascona B
Opel Kadett GT/E
1980 Antonio Zanini Porsche 911 SC
Ford Escort RS1800
1981 Adartico Vudafieri Fiat 131 Abarth
1982 Antonio Fassina Opel Ascona 400
1983 Miki Biasion Lancia Rally 037
1984 Carlo Capone Lancia Rally 037
1985 Dario Cerrato Lancia Rally 037
1986 Fabrizio Tabaton Lancia Delta S4
1987 Dario Cerrato Lancia Delta HF 4WD
1988 Fabrizio Tabaton Lancia Delta HF 4WD
Lancia Delta Integrale
1989 Yves Loubet Lancia Delta Integrale
1990 Robert Droogmans Lancia Delta Integrale 16V
1991 Piero Liatti Lancia Delta Integrale 16V
1992 Erwin Weber Mitsubishi Galant VR-4
1993 Pierre-César Baroni Lancia Delta HF Integrale
Ford Escort RS Cosworth
1994 Patrick Snijers Ford Escort RS Cosworth
1995 Enrico Bertone Toyota Celica Turbo 4WD
1996 Armin Schwarz Toyota Celica GT-Four ST205
1997 Krzysztof Hołowczyc Subaru Impreza 555
1998 Andrea Navarra Subaru Impreza 555
1999 Enrico Bertone Renault Mégane Maxi
2000 Henrik Lundgaard Toyota Corolla WRC
2001 Armin Kremer Toyota Corolla WRC
2002 Renato Travaglia Peugeot 206 WRC
2003 Bruno Thiry Peugeot 206 WRC
2004 Simon Jean-Joseph Renault Clio S1600
2005 Renato Travaglia Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VII
Renault Clio S1600
2006 Giandomenico Basso Fiat Punto Abarth S2000
2007 Simon Jean-Joseph Citroën C2 S1600
Citroën C2 R2
2008 Luca Rossetti Peugeot 207 S2000
2009 Giandomenico Basso Abarth Grande Punto S2000
2010 Luca Rossetti Abarth Grande Punto S2000
2011 Luca Rossetti Abarth Grande Punto S2000
2012 Juho Hänninen Škoda Fabia S2000
2013 Jan Kopecký Škoda Fabia S2000
2014 Esapekka Lappi Škoda Fabia S2000
2015 Kajetan Kajetanowicz Ford Fiesta R5
2016 Kajetan Kajetanowicz Ford Fiesta R5
2017 Kajetan Kajetanowicz Ford Fiesta R5
2018 Alexey Lukyanuk Ford Fiesta R5
2019 Chris Ingram Skoda Fabia R5

2WD champions
Season Driver Car
2013 Zoltàn Bessenyey Honda Civic Type-R R3
2014 Zoltàn Bessenyey Honda Civic Type-R R3
2015 Emil Bergkvist Opel Adam R2
2016 Chris Ingram Opel Adam R2
2017 Chris Ingram Opel Adam R2
2018 Mārtiņš Sesks Opel Adam R2
2019 Efrén Llarena Peugeot 208 R2
Sources:[2][3][4][5][6][7][8]

Production Cup
Season Driver Car
2013 Andreas Aigner Subaru Impreza WRX STI R4
2014 Vitaliy Pushkar Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X R4
2015 Dávid Botka Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX
2016 Wojciech Chuchała Subaru Impreza WRX STI N15
2017 Tibor Érdi Jr. Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X
2018 Tibor Érdi Jr. Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X
2019 Juan Carlos Alonso Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X
Sources:[9][10][11][12][13][14][15]

Ladies champions
Season Driver Car
1958 Pat Moss
1960 Pat Moss
1962 Pat Moss
1964 Pat Moss
1965 Pat Moss
1989 Louise Aitken-Walker

See also

References
  1. "The history of the European Rally Championship". European Rally Championship. Retrieved 20 April 2011.
  2. eWRC-results.com. "2013 Season rally". eWRC-results.com. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
  3. eWRC-results.com. "2014 Season rally". eWRC-results.com. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
  4. eWRC-results.com. "2015 Season rally". eWRC-results.com. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
  5. eWRC-results.com. "2016 Season rally". eWRC-results.com. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
  6. eWRC-results.com. "2017 Season rally". eWRC-results.com. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
  7. eWRC-results.com. "2018 Season rally". eWRC-results.com. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
  8. eWRC-results.com. "2019 Season rally". eWRC-results.com. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
  9. eWRC-results.com. "2013 Season rally". eWRC-results.com. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
  10. eWRC-results.com. "2014 Season rally". eWRC-results.com. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
  11. eWRC-results.com. "2015 Season rally". eWRC-results.com. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
  12. eWRC-results.com. "2016 Season rally". eWRC-results.com. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
  13. eWRC-results.com. "2017 Season rally". eWRC-results.com. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
  14. eWRC-results.com. "2018 Season rally". eWRC-results.com. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
  15. eWRC-results.com. "2019 Season rally". eWRC-results.com. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
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