ERC
ERC Expert View: Driver of the Year
Throughout this week at FIAERC.com, five members of the FIA European Rally Championship broadcast team are offering their opinions on a range of topics during the annual ERC Expert View.
Analysist Eyvind Brynildsen, presenters Hayley Edmonds and Julian Porter, commentator Becs Williams and stage-end reporter Peter MacKay were asked to select their Driver of the Year, Event of the Year, Unsung Hero of the Year, Personal Moment of the Year and Wild Prediction for 2026.
Up first is the Driver of the Year and this is who FIAERC.com’s five experts chose:
Eyvind Brynildsen: Miko Marczyk. A season marked by speed, consistency and a real championship winner.
Hayley Edmonds: Jon Armstrong
M-Sport star scored a late-season ERC double
© ERC
Peter MacKay: Calle Carlberg. Choosing a driver of the year from the ERC crop of 2025 is more challenging than ever before. The overall top three can all make a strong case. Miko Marczyk for his relentless consistency, which ultimately crowned him champion. Unmatched pace in the last three rallies vaulted Jon Armstrong into a new echelon. Alongside his blistering speed on both surfaces, Andrea Mabellini’s Power Stage charges made for thrilling viewing on Rally.TV. However, Calle Carlberg’s total dominance of the FIA Junior ERC Championship gets my vote. Like many drivers climbing the ranks, a championship win and resulting prize drive in the FIA Junior WRC was the only result that would keep the affable young Swede’s career moving. Four event wins and 38 stage wins from six events confirm Carlberg’s supremacy on both surfaces. The ERC service park will be proudly watching the 25-year old’s progress on the world stage in 2026. His combination of speed, professionalism and personality epitomise exactly what the ERC is all about.
Julian Porter: Jon Armstrong. This was a good year for Jon and Shane [Byrne, co-driver]. Jon showed that two-year plans can work out with two rally wins and two podiums brought him within a whisker of winning the championship.
Rali Ceredigion win was an ERC first for Armstrong
© ERC
Becs Williams: Jon Armstrong. His performance in the second half of the season was a tour de force. From sealing his first ERC win, to pushing the very limits on the final round of the season – chasing a championship title to the very last kilometre. Total commitment, blinding bravery and huge smiles at stage ends cements him as my driver of the year
Results:
Jon Armstrong: 3 votes
Calle Carlberg: 1 vote
Miko Marczyk: 1 vote
ERC EXPERT VIEW DRIVER OF THE YEAR: Jon Armstrong
