ERC
ERC Greatest Graduate final voting is open!
It’s ERC Greatest Graduate of the Modern Era grand finale day with fans voting between Craig Breen and Kajetan Kajetanowicz, two FIA European Rally Championship legends.
Five-time ERC event winner Breen, who claimed nine podiums in the FIA World Rally Championship before his tragic passing in 2023, pooled more votes than Stéphane Lefebvre in Monday’s first semi-final. Kajetanowicz, meanwhile, defeated Adrien Fourmaux in the second semi-final on Wednesday to progress to the last two.
Kajetanowicz remains the only driver in ERC history to win the coveted European title on three consecutive occasions. He became WRC2 Challenger champion in 2023 and is currently contesting the WRC season-deciding Rally Saudi Arabia. Like Breen, he remains a fan favourite, which points to a hugely close battle for ERC Greatest Graduate success.
Brief career recaps for Breen and Lefebvre follow and don’t forget to vote via the ERC’s social media channels. Voting closes at 12:00 CET on Saturday 29 November.
Breen won five times in the ERC
© ERC
Craig Breen: After making his ERC debut in 2013, Breen claimed five wins and 15 podiums from 36 ERC starts. His performances in 2015, when he finished runner-up in the standings after a run of three straight victories, put him on course for a factory-supported Citroën WRC drive in 2016. It took him just four events to bank his breakthrough podium – on Rally Finland – such was his ability. Breen made his final ERC appearance on Rally Serras de Fafe, Felgueiras, Boticas, Vieira do Minho e Cabeceiras de Basto in March 2023, shortly after he finished second on Rally Sweden following a fine drive. He saved his best to last in the ERC by winning the Power Stage.
Kajetan Kajetanowicz: Having made FIA European Rally Championship history as the first driver to win an ERC round in an R5 car – a feat he achieved on Rally Poland in 2013 – and the only driver so far to win three outright ERC titles consecutively, Kajetanowicz has since become a regular fixture – and frontrunner – in WRC2. He became WRC2 Challenger champion in 2023 and was the category’s top finisher on EKO Acropolis Rally in June aged 46.
Kajetanowicz took the ERC title three times in a row
© ERC
ERC Greatest Graduate explained
Since the ERC was restructured in 2004 into the hugely successful format recognisable today, countless drivers have built experience competing at European level either at the start of or during their rise to the sport’s highest echelon, the FIA World Rally Championship.
Throughout November, FIAERC.com has been highlighting 16 drivers – selected by the ERC’s media team – who have done just that. And it has called on fans of the championship to help decide the best of the best graduate with the decisive pole opening on Friday 28 November.
Employing bracketology, voting is available through the ERC’s social media channels with a minimum 24-hour window to vote for each pairing. The winner will be announced on Saturday 29 November.
