ERC
New ERC season to begin with impressive 53-car entry
No fewer than 53 crews will chase FIA European Rally Championship points when the eagerly anticipated 74th ERC season gets under way in Spain next week.
As a further measure of the championship’s popularity and appeal, 30 ERC1 crews in Rally2 cars – an increase of one compared to 2025 – have registered for the season-opening 43rd Andalusia Rally - Sierra Morena - Córdoba World Heritage Site, which takes place on all-asphalt stages place from 17 - 19 April.
Marczyk defends his ERC title with a tweaked livery
© Miko Marczyk
In addition, a record 17 competitors – six more than last year – will be in contention for ERC3 honours in Rally3 machinery, while the ERC4 category for Rally4 and Rally5 cars is set to be contested by six crews.
Unlike last year, the event is not part of the FIA Junior ERC Championship schedule, which attracted 22 young talents in 2025 and begins on next month’s BAUHAUS Royal Rally of Scandinavia.
Lenzi and Mabellini get to fly the Lancia Corse HF flag for the first time
© Lancia
The ERC Fiesta Rally3 Trophy has received 10 entries after seven crews took part on the Spanish Tarmac event 12 months ago.
A total of 20 nationalities are represented on the entry list, which features a further nine non-priority competitors.
The ERC’s official tyre partners, Hankook, Michelin, MRF and Pirelli are each equipping multiple entries, while Rally2 cars from Citroën, Ford (M-Sport), Hyundai, Lancia, Škoda and Toyota will be in action.
Polish champions Syty (left) and Matulka have a new look for 2026
© Jakub Matulka
Champions out in force in Córdoba
National champions from Great Britain (William Creighton), Hungary (Gábor Német), Italy (Giandomenico Basso), Poland (Jakub Matulka), Romania (Simone Tempestini) and Spain (José Antonio Suárez) all feature on the 53-car entry list, which is headed by defending ERC champion Miko Marczyk in a Michelin-equipped Škoda Fabia RS Rally2.
Big adventures await
Ireland’s Callum Devine, Slovakian Róbert Kolčák, Finn Benjamin Korhola and Swede Isak Reiersen will use 43rd Andalusia Rally - Sierra Morena - Córdoba World Heritage Site to launch major ERC campaigns. Romanian Andrei Girtofanand Pierre Ragues, from France, are ERC newcomers, while Pole Piotr Krotoszyński made selected appearances in 2025.
Philip Allen has switched to a Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 for 2026
© Sports Racing Technology
Aiming for more
After impressing in 2025, Philip Allen has swapped Škoda for Toyota technology ahead of the 2026 season. Roberto Blach will also count on Toyota power, while Erik Cais has rejoined Team MRF Tyres after an impressive Croatia Rally outing last term. Italian Andrea Mabellini makes his debut for Pirelli-supplied Lancia Corse HF after finishing third in the 2025 ERC standings. Czech Dominik Stříteský is also back on ERC duty. Hungary’s András Hadik will be a contender for Master ERC points.
WRC stars for ERC action
Bolovian Marco Bulacia, Finn Teemu Suninen and Paraguay’s Fabrizio Zaldivar make their ERC moves having impressed in the FIA World Rally Championship.
Llarena Racing will oversee Carlberg's ERC1 graduation in Spain
© Calle Carlberg
Stepping up to the top table
Swedes Calle Carlberg and Adam Grahn, Frenchman Tristan Charpentier, Finn Tuukka Kauppinen and Poland’s Adrian Rzeźnik step up to ERC1 level. Carlberg, the winner of the ERC4 and Junior ERC titles in 2025, will compete in a Hankook-shod Citroën C3 Rally2 run by Llarena Racing, 2022 ERC champion Efrén Llarena’s eponymous team. Visit FIAERC.com soon for more on 19-year-old Rzeźnik’s 2026 plans.
Flying the flag
Iván Ares begins is in his second season with Toyota power, while fellow Spaniard Jorge Cagiao is the reigning Spanish Tarmac champion.
Sebastian Butyński is a contender for ERC3 honours
© ERC
Rally3 on the rise with strong ERC3 interest
After finishing runner-up in 2025, Hubert Kowalczk is going for title gold in 2026, reuniting with fellow Renault Clio Rally3-driving Poles Sebastian Butyński and Błażej Gazda at Chmielewski Motorsport.
Poland’s Former champion Igor Widłak returns to chase ERC3 and ERC Fiesta Rally Trophy success, as does Finn Ville Vatanen, who has switched from Renault to Ford power following his move to KMS Racing.
Casey Jay Coleman, a podium finisher in 2025, and category newcomers Cian Caldwell and Craig Rahill, will carry the colours of the Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy. Kalum Graffin is also travelling from Ireland to make his first ERC appearance.
Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy colours flank Coleman's Fiesta
© Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy
After making his ERC3 debut on the 2025 Croatia Rally finale, Jan Pokos is back in 2026, while ex-kart racer Petr Kačírek Jrand former British Junior champion Robert Proudlock embark on their first ERC adventures. Spaniard Joan Socías is another ERC newcomer.
Lucas Zielinski’s reward for winning the 2025 Clio Trophy France Asphalte title is an ERC3 debut in Spain although the Frenchman is aiming to make further appearances at the wheel of a Clio Rally3, the car of choice for Bulgarian Aleksandar Tomov and Austria’s Maximilian Lichtenegger, who both have Junior ERC experience.
Romanian Teenager Alexandra Teslovan will make history as the first female ERC3 contender since the category switched to Rally3-only rules in 2022.
Lancia-powered Fappani and Dei Ceci form a new partnership in ERC4
© Lancia
Rally4 to the fore in ERC4
Italian talents Francesco Dei Ceci and Tommaso Sandrin return to the Córdoba-based event in a pair of Lancia Ypsilon Rally4s. Their compatriot Valentino Ledda makes his ERC debut, as does Ludwig Zigliani, another Italian who will compete in a Rally5-specification Renault Clio. Finn Aatu Hakalehto is another ERC newcomer, as is Spaniard Petr Turkin.
The full entry list for 43rd Andalusia Rally - Sierra Morena - Córdoba World Heritage Site, the first of seven ERC rounds in 2026, is available HERE.
