An epic entry will line up for the ERC finale
© ERC
ERC

Epic entry for 2026 ERC finale

The 2026 FIA European Rally Championship is all set for an action-packed finale on next week’s Rally 6 Cities North of Portugal with 31 Rally2 cars entered and 44 drivers chasing ERC points.
Written by ERC
6 min readPublished on
Marking the country’s return to the ERC for the first time since 2023, Rally 6 Cities North of Portugal will also be contested by four FIA ERC3 crews and nine in FIA ERC4, with eight of those eligible for the Hankook-equipped FIA Junior ERC Championship.
In addition, and to underline the ERC’s international appeal, the competing drivers and co-drivers will fly the flags of 25 countries.
Andrea Mabellini

Andrea Mabellini

© ERC

Runner-up rivals and Junior ERC title chasers take centre stage

While Pirelli-equipped Teemu Suninen sits out the final round having put the overall ERC title out of the reach of his rivals on JDS Machinery Rali Ceredigion last month, the battle to finish runner-up will rage on in Portugal with Andrea Mabellini and Miko Marczyk, Michelin’s 2025 ERC champion, six points apart.
In Junior ERC, ADAC Opel Rally Junior Team drivers Timo Schulz and Tom Heindrichs are separated by 14 points in their respective quests to be crowned champion for 2026.
Meanwhile, it’s an all-Lancia Corse HF battle to finish third in Junior ERC between Davide Pesavento and Francesco Dei Ceci, who are split by 16 points.
Tom Heindrichs

Tom Heindrichs

© ERC

Fighting it out for the top five

Jakub Matulka, Simone Tempestini and Kris Meeke – a two-time winner of the Fafe-based event – will start Rally 6 Cities North of Portugal in Guimarães next Friday evening (23 October) in contention to finish in the championship top five.

National pride at stake in ERC

Following its inaugural edition on July’s Rally di Roma Capitale, National Match Rally returns on Rally 6 Cities North of Portugal when France takes on the host nation looking to hit back from its defeat to Italy in the summer.
The Fédération Française du Sport Automobile (FFSA)-run Team France consists of WRC2 contenders Arthur Pelamourgues, Léo Rossel and Pablo Sarrazin, plus Sarah Rumeau, the recently crowned French Gravel champion for 2026.
Sarah Rumeau

Sarah Rumeau

© ERC

FFSA president Pierre Ragues won’t be eligible for National Match Rally points, but he will be competing on the event to round out his first full season of ERC competition.
Team Portugal, which is being overseen by the Federação Portuguesa de Automobilismo e Karting (FPAK), is made up Portuguese championship title contender Pedro Almeida, multiple national title winner Armindo Araújo, 2025 Portuguese Junior champion Guilherme Meireles and Luís Cidade, who has switched from cross-country to stage rallying this season.
Rúben Rodrigues

Rúben Rodrigues

© ERC

Home heroes out in force

It’s not just Pedro Almeida, Armindo Araújo, Luís Cidade and Guilherme Meireles who will be competing on their home round of the ERC as national championship leader and multiple Azores champion Rúben Rodrigues is also contesting Rally 6 Cities North of Portugal.

Stepping up in style

Several drivers with ERC3 experience will try the headlining ERC1 category for size for the first time on Rally 6 Cities North of Portugal. They are Tymek Abramowski and Ville Vatanen – who take up their prize drives for winning the ERC Fiesta Rally3 Trophy in 2025 and 2026 respectively – Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy-backed Casey Jay Coleman, new Team MRF Tyres recruit Patrick Enok and Nicolas Otto, who is partnered by local co-driving hero Hugo Magalhães. JC Raceteknik’s Adam Grahn, another ERC3 graduate, makes his return to ERC1 after contesting the opening two rounds in a Škoda Fabia RS Rally2.
Adam Grahn

Adam Grahn

© ERC

Winners in action

Lancia Corse HF’s Nikolay Gryazin and Team MRF Tyres pair Roope Korhonen and Mārtiņš Sesks have 10 ERC victories between them, Jan Solans triumphed in WRC2 on Vodafone Rally de Portugal in 2024, while Hungarian Gábor Német won his national title in 2025.
Brandon Semenuk, from Canada, has four American Rally Association championship wins to this name. Roberto Blach is being mentored by Efrén Llarena, who won the 2022 ERC title. Andrei Gîrtofan preparing to switch to gravel in the ERC for the first time having claimed the Romanian Tarmac title twice earlier in his career.
Roope Korhonen

Roope Korhonen

© ERC

ERC newcomer Sebastián Franco won Bolivia’s Rally2 championship in 2023. Cristian Baumgart from Brazil, a regular in the FIA World Rally-Raid Championship, will be a favourite to win Master ERC.

Graffin, Kačírek aiming to be second best

Second place is at stake in the final FIA ERC3 standings and with Casey Jay Coleman, the incumbent, stepping up to ERC1, Kalum Graffin and Petr Kačírek can make some notable gains. Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT NG drivers Rio Ogata and Kanta Yanaguida complete the ERC3 entry.
Petr Kačírek

Petr Kačírek

© ERC

Junior ERC duo back in the battle

After missing out on JDS Machinery Rali Cerdigion experience, Karl Peder Nordstrand and Reis Suliman are back for the final round. Sebastian Dallapiccola and Claire Schönborn continue their experience-building missions on Rally 6 Cities North of Portugal. Valentino Ledda isn’t eligible for Junior ERC points but will be one to watch in ERC4.
Rally 6 Cities North of Portugal takes place from 22 - 25 October. Click HERE for the latest event information and see below for the draft entry list or click HERE.

Order

Start Nr

Competitor

Driver

Co-driver

Car

1

1

MIKO MARCZYK

Miko MARCZYK (POL)

Szymon GOSPODARCZY (POL)

SKODA Fabia RS

2

2

TEAM MRF TYRES

Martins SESKS (LAT)

Renars FRANCIS (LAT)

SKODA Fabia RS

3

3

TEAM MRF TYRES

Roope KORHONEN (FIN)

Anssi VIINIKKA (FIN)

TOYOTA GR Yaris

4

4

LANCIA CORSE HF

Andrea MABELLINI (ITA)

Virginia LENZI (ITA)

LANCIA Ypsilon HF

5

5

JAKUB MATULKA

Jakub MATULKA (POL)

Damian SYTY (POL)

SKODA Fabia RS

6

6

TEAM MRF TYRES

Simone TEMPESTINI (ROU)

Francesca MAIOR (ROU)

SKODA Fabia RS

7

7

TOYOTA GAZOO RACING CAETANO PORTU

Kris MEEKE (AND)

Stuart LOUDON (GBR)

TOYOTA GR Yaris

8

8

VILLE VATANEN

Ville VATANEN (FIN)

Joonas OJALA (FIN)

FORD Fiesta Mk II

9

9

EQUIPE DE FRANCE ESPOIR FFSA

Pablo SARRAZIN (FRA)

Yannick ROCHE (FRA)

LANCIA Ypsilon HF

10

10

BRANDON SEMENUK

Brandon SEMENUK (CAN)

Keaton WILLIAMS (GBR)

SKODA Fabia RS

11

11

ROBERTO BLACH

Roberto BLACH (ESP)

Daniel SOSA OJEDA (ESP)

TOYOTA GR Yaris

12

12

MOTORSPORT IRELAND RALLY ACADEMY

Casey Jay COLEMAN (IRL)

Killian MCARDLE (IRL)

SKODA Fabia RS

13

14

PSZA MOTORSPORT SPORT EGYESÜLET

Gábor NÉMET (HUN)

Gergely NÉMETH (HUN)

SKODA Fabia RS

14

15

PIERRE RAGUES

Pierre RAGUES (FRA)

Julien PESENTI (FRA)

SKODA Fabia RS

15

16

TEAM MRF TYRES

Andrei GIRTOFAN (ROU)

Dorin PULPEA (ROU)

SKODA Fabia RS

16

17

JC RACETEKNIK

Adam GRAHN (SWE)

Christoffer BÄCK (SWE)

SKODA Fabia RS

17

18

LANCIA CORSE HF

Nikolay GRYAZIN (BUL)

Konstantin ALEKSANDROV (BUL)

LANCIA Ypsilon HF

18

19

EQUIPE DE FRANCE ESPOIR FFSA

Arthur PELAMOURGUE (FRA)

Bastien POUGET (FRA)

HYUNDAI i20 N

19

20

KIQ RALLY TEAM

Sebastian FRANCO (BOL)

Lucas HURTADO (BOL)

SKODA Fabia RS

20

21

NICOLAS OTTO

Nicolas OTTO (ESP)

Hugo MAGALHAES (POR)

SKODA Fabia RS

21

22

TYMEK ABRAMOWSKI

Tymek ABRAMOWSKI (POL)

Jakub WRÓBEL (POL)

FORD Fiesta Mk II

22

23

EQUIPE DE FRANCE ESPOIR FFSA

Sarah RUMEAU (FRA)

Julie AMBLARD (FRA)

SKODA Fabia RS

23

24

RUBEN RODRIGUES

Ruben RODRIGUES (POR)

Rui RAIMUNDO (POR)

TOYOTA GR Yaris

28

25

TOYOTA GAZOO RACING CAETANO PORTU

Pedro ALMEIDA (POR)

António COSTA (POR)

TOYOTA GR Yaris

25

26

ARMINDO ARAUJO

Armindo ARAÚJO (POR)

Luis RAMALHO (POR)

SKODA Fabia RS

24

27

PH.PH

Jan SOLANS (ESP)

Rodrigo SANJUAN (ESP)

SKODA Fabia RS

26

28

CRISTIAN BAUMGART

Cristian BAUMGART (BRA)

Luis Felipe ECKEL (BRA)

SKODA Fabia RS

29

29

EQUIPE DE FRANCE ESPOIR FFSA

Leo ROSSEL (FRA)

Florian BARRAL (FRA)

LANCIA Ypsilon HF

31

30

GUILHERME MEIRELES

Guilherme MEIRELES (POR)

Pedro ALVES (POR)

SKODA Fabia Evo

30

31

TEAM MRF TYRES

Patrick ENOK (EST)

Silver SIMM (EST)

SKODA Fabia RS

27

32

LUIS CIDADE

Luis CIDADE (POR)

Jorge CARVALHO (POR)

TOYOTA GR Yaris

32

33

KALUM GRAFFIN

Kalum GRAFFIN (IRL)

Rhodri EVANS (GBR)

FORD Fiesta Rally3

33

34

DUCK RACING AUTOKLUB V AČR

Petr KAČÍREK (CZE)

Ladislav KUČERA (CZE)

FORD Fiesta Rally3

34

35

TOYOTA GAZOO RACING WRT NG

Kanta YANAGUIDA (JPN)

Ville MANNISENMÄKI (FIN)

RENAULT Clio Rally3

35

36

TOYOTA GAZOO RACING WRT NG

Rio OGATA (JPN)

Mikael KORHONEN (FIN)

RENAULT Clio Rally3

36

37

ADAC OPEL RALLY JUNIOR TEAM IM ADAC

ETimo SCHULZ (GER)

Maresa LADE (GER)

OPEL Corsa Rally4

37

38

ADAC OPEL RALLY JUNIOR TEAM IM ADAC

ETom HEINDRICHS (BEL)

Jonas SCHMITZ (LUX)

OPEL Corsa Rally4

38

39

LANCIA CORSE HF

Davide PESAVENTO (ITA)

Alessio ANGELI (ITA)

LANCIA Ypsilon Rally4

39

40

LANCIA CORSE HF

Francesco DEI CECI (ITA)

Daiana DARDERI (SMR)

LANCIA Ypsilon Rally4

40

41

IK SPORT RACING

Karl Peder NORDSTRAND (NOR)

Jonas ANDERSSON (SWE)

OPEL Corsa Rally4

41

42

SEBASTIAN DALLAPICCOLA

Sebastian DALLAPICCOLA (ITA)

Lorenzo MATTUCCI (ITA)

LANCIA Ypsilon Rally4

42

43

ADAC OPEL RALLY JUNIOR TEAM IM ADAC

EClaire SCHÖNBORN (GER)

Michael WENZEL (GER)

OPEL Corsa Rally4

43

44

REIS SULIMAN

Reis SULIMAN (ROU)

Lorcan MOORE (IRL)

PEUGEOT 208 Rally4

44

45

VALENTINO LEDDA

Valentino LEDDA (ITA)

Claudio MELE (ITA)

OPEL Corsa Rally4

45

46

CRISTIAN DOLOFAN

Cristian DOLOFAN (ROU)

Traian PAVEL (ROU)

CITROEN C3

46

47

ROOPE HIRVONEN

Roope HIRVONEN (FIN)

Aleksi MARTTILA (FIN)

PEUGEOT 208 Rally4

Enok will join the Team MRF Tyres attack in Portugal
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