ERC
Lappi and Johanson in latest ERC Greatest Graduate contest
Two FIA European Rally Championship title winners will lock horns for a place in the ERC Greatest Graduate quarter-finals as voting continues to decide the best step-up superstar of the modern era.
Since the ERC was restructured in 2004 into the hugely successful format recognisable today, an endless stream of 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 is highlighting 16 drivers – selected by the ERC’s media team – who have done just that. And it’s calling on fans of the championship to help decide the best of the best graduates through an online poll that opened last week and closes following the grand finale 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.
Lappi v Johansson: Different eras and categories, same big impact
Esapekka Lappi: The Finn had only competed outside homeland on two occasions prior to making his winning ERC debut on the all-gravel Rally Poland in 2012 after he went fastest on 12 out of 13 stages on his first outing in a Škoda Fabia S2000. One week after winning the 2013 FIA Asia-Pacific Rally China Longyou, Lappi was a winner again in the ERC, this time on the testing mountainous asphalt stages of Rallye International du Valais. Having won in the ERC on gravel and asphalt, Lappi added snow and ice to the list following a battling victory on Rally Liepāja in 2014 the year of his ERC title triumph. Lappi’s subsequent achievements included two outright WRC wins – as a factory Toyota and then Hyundai driver – and the 2016 WRC2 title.
Mille Johansson: A class act in two-wheel-drive machinery, Johansson landed an ERC4/Junior ERC title double at his second attempt in 2024. He then showcased his ability with several strong displays on his step up to Rally2 level for the 2025 season. More notable, however, was his capture of the Junior WRC title on last month’s Central European Rally finale. Competing in the series as his prize for lifting the Junior ERC crown the previous year, Johansson belied his lack of experience by taking the title ahead of second-term competitor Taylor Gill following an epic final-round decider.
Votes can be lodged through the ERC social media channels with the next two contestants revealed tomorrow (Wednesday).
