Thu 21 Mar 2024

Német shows he's Hungary for ERC

Hungarian Gábor Német has shown off the Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 he’ll use on his home round of the FIA European Rally Championship next month – and his team boss is tipping him for a career lift-off.

Armed with a Hyundai i20 N Rally2, Német placed seventh on Rally Hungary last season – when the event ran on Tarmac stages around the city of Nyíregyháza – and was classified fourth in the final 2023 Hungarian championship standings.

For what will be his third ERC appearance on the fifth running of Rally Hungary, now a gravel event based in Veszprém, 35-year-old Német has switched to a Fabia RS Rally2 prepared by Eurosol Racing Team Hungary and co-driven by Gergely Németh.

“They are a talented duo and although we have not competed at home in recent years, we felt we had to say, ‘yes’ to their request,” Eurosol Racing Team Hungary boss János Puskádi said. “Their progress has been visible in the last period, and I think that last year they were able to reach the top in some places. I see potential in them, and they are also very humble people, so we are happy to help them to continue to improve and to achieve better results. We are not putting any pressure on them, the goal is to have a successful season.”

Német tried his Fabia RS Rally2 for the first time on Euroinvestmetal Kft. Mikulás Rallye last December, finishing third behind winner Kristóf Klausz and ERC star Erik Cais.

“We went to Mikulás Rallye, a preparation event for Rally Hungary with similar stages, with this car primarily because we wanted to try it out and it felt so comfortable in the difficult conditions that we liked it immediately,” said Német.

“The Hyundai was also a relatively good choice last year, but we feel that with this car we might be able to go even further in 2024. In addition, the fact that Eurosol allows us to work with a team with a huge amount of experience and proven track record at international level, both in the world championship and the European championship, was also an important consideration. Their work and involvement guarantees that there will be no problem with the background. The rest is up to us.”

V Rally Hungary opens the 2024 ERC season from 12 - 14 April. Ticket information is available here: https://rallyhungary.com/en/2024/02/21/tickets-for-rally-hungary-are-on-sale-now/