From 10 September, ERC fans are being invited to take part in an online poll to
choose the driver producing the save of the year, the most improved driver of
the year, the mechanical feat of the year and the stage-end quote of the year from
a shortlist of award nominees.
Voting is available via the dedicated
section at FIAERC.com and will close on 17 September.
The first online vote to be launched is for
the Mechanical Feat of the Year and the nominees who carried out the most
impressive car fix – or got their team to do it for them – are as follows:
Chris Ingram’s Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 needed a
replacement gearbox after the original faltered during the opening super
special stage on last month’s ERC counter. With only 15 minutes of service time
to make the change, Ingram and co-driver Alex Kihurani appeared to be down and
out. That was until Rallytechnology’s mechanics stepped up and kept them in the
fight with some rapid work.
With Martin László’s Škoda Fabia Rally2 Evo looking rather
crumpled following his Qualifying Stage crash, the chances of Martin László and
co-driver Dávid Berendi making it from the Fiuggi service park to Rome, more
than one hour away, for the ceremonial start and spectacular Colosseum super
special looked highly unlikely. But despite having to wait for the car to be
retrieved from the stage in Fumone before they could get to work, the Topp-Cars’
mechanics delivered.
Hayden Paddon feared he and co-driver John
Kennard would be forced to retire from Rally di Roma Capitale after a dramatic
sixth stage. They were in fourth place when they ran wide on a high-speed
left-hander and broke the right-rear suspension of their BRC Racing Team Hyundai
i20 N Rally, forcing them to make rapid roadside repairs prior to SS7. The fix
worked and they eventually finished third.
On his first ERC since start since 2018,
Frank Tore Larsen credited his mechanics for allowing him to challenge for a
podium on the Swedish event – he was third after leg one alongside co-driver
Torstein Eriksen – after they worked until 02:30 on the opening morning of the
rally to fit a replacement fuel pump. The work involved a five-hour round trip
to “borrow” a spare from the GK Door Team Sweden.
Eurosol
Racing Team Hungary’s repair of Simon Wagner’s battered Škoda Fabia Rally2 Evo
following his Rally Islas Canarias crash in May 2022 pooled 67.2 per cent of
the vote to earn the squad the inaugural ERC Mechanical Feat of the Year Award
for last season.
Portugal
Sweden
France
