WRC Rally Italia Sardegna
Italy
Starts: Thursday, May 30, 2024 at 7:00:00 AM
ERC Bauhaus Royal Rally of Scandinavia
Sweden
Starts: Thursday, June 13, 2024 at 7:00:00 AM
Euro RX of France
France
Starts: Saturday, June 8, 2024 at 6:00:00 AM

Thu 16 Nov 2023

ERC Greatest Driver quarter-final line-up nearing completion

Today’s head-to-head contest between Alexey Lukyanuk and Fabrizio Tabaton will complete the round of 16 voting to decide the ERC Greatest Driver as they chase the final spot in next week’s quarter-finals.

From Thursday morning, fans of the FIA European Rally Championship can vote on who out of Lukyanuk and Tabaton should progress to the next round when a battle with Renato Travaglia awaits.


Travaglia defeated his fellow two-time ERC champion Walter Schock in Wednesday’s vote to secure the penultimate spot in the next knockout stage.


Part of the European championship’s ongoing 70th anniversary celebrations, the ERC Greatest Driver voting is nearing the end of its second week.


After Dario Cerrato beat Gunnar Andersson to a place in the quarter-finals on Monday, Giandomenico Basso was a convincing winner over Simon Jean-Joseph in Tuesday’s head-to-head contest before Travaglia defeated Schock on Wednesday.


Luca Rossetti, Kajetan Kajetanowicz, Sobiesław Zasada and Patrick Snijers all made it through to the quarter-finals during the first week of voting.


FIAERC.com used a data-based approach to pick out 12 drivers who have won the European Rally Championship at least two times. Four wildcards, based on their impact during a certain ERC era, were also selected for the voting process. The ERC Greatest Driver, according to your votes, will be revealed on 1 December.


The vote between Lukyanuk and Tabaton closes at 11:00 CET on Friday.


Flat-out style made Lukyanuk an ERC star
Ranked as one of the fastest drivers in the history of the FIA European Rally Championship, Alexey Lukyanuk’s flat-out driving style made him one to watch – and a two-time champion. His determination to go as fast as possible perhaps prevented more titles coming his way, although funding issues were also a barrier to his standout success rate.


S4-tamer Tabaton was a double European champion
Fabrizio Tabaton tamed a mighty Lancia Delta S4 to win his first FIA European Rally Championship crown in 1986 courtesy of six victories. When he became champion for the second time two years later, he was armed with a Delta Integrale. Although he triumphed just once in 1988, his consistency was key to his repeated championship success. He subsequently enjoyed a career in team management.