ERC
Remembering when… Croatia Rally last hosted the ERC
Croatia Rally returns to the FIA European Rally Championship calendar next week having last hosted a round of the all-action series in 2013. Here’s a reminder of what happened.
The winners: Jan Kopecký marked his first FIA European Rally Championship title triumph by making it six wins from eight starts with a dominant victory. Kopecký, whose Škoda Motorsport team celebrated his and co-driver Pavel Dresler’s standout title success at the completion of the opening leg after they banked seven bonus points, started day two with a commanding lead of 52.9 seconds. Following a near-faultless drive in his Michelin-equipped Fabia Super 2000 on the second leg’s seven stages, Kopecký came out on top by a margin 1m55.6s.
Dresler (left) and Kopecký celebrate ERC title gold
© ERC
Andreas Aigner got the better of Hermann Gassner Jr in a thrilling battle for second place and the ERC Production Car Cup spoils. Aleks Humar was the top ERC 2WD Championship finisher in a Renault Clio R3 as Molly Taylor wrapped up the inaugural ERC Ladies’ Trophy by finishing second to category winner Asja Zupanc. Napoca Rally Academy clinched the FIA ERC Production Car Cup for Teams thanks to the combined efforts of Romanian father-and-son Marco and Simone Tempestini.
Turning point: Despite going fastest on leg one’s final four stages to lead overnight, Kopecký spent much of the opening day playing catch up after ERC Production Car Cup contender Andreas Aigner shot into the overall lead by winning Friday’s opening stage in wet conditions in his near-standard-specification Subaru Impreza R4 STI.
While the bulk of the frontrunners opted for hard compound tyres in the belief it would be dry, heavy showers turned the leaderboard on its head with Aigner and Hermann Gassner Jr going first and second quickest through the rain-hit Boljun test, while Sebastian Barbu and Kornél Lukács also excelled in their front-wheel-drive cars in third and fourth respectively.
All four drivers had fitted tyres better suited to the wet weather and experienced much better grip as a result. And it would get better for Aigner when he went fastest again on stage three. Although Kopecký hit back on the day’s mainly dry third stage, it was Aigner who was in front at midday service in Poreč with a margin of 10.5s.
Aigner led initially in the wet condtions
© ERC
With the stages continuing to dry out in the afternoon, Kopecký made his Fabia’s performance advantage count to catch and pass Aigner for first place. Gassner Jr completed leg one in third, 5.2s behind Aigner.
The changeable weather continued on day two with a mixture of damp and dry conditions greeting the crews on the morning loop of three stages. And there was more rain for the afternoon runs with tyre compound selection during penultimate service proving decisive in the battle for second.
Believing the stages would be dry Gassner Jr bolted hard-compound rubber on his Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X. However, with stages 11 and 12 both featuring damp and muddy sections, the soft-compound tyres selected by Aigner gave the Austrian the grip he craved and he was able to pull clear of his underfunded German rival having started the loop 0.7s ahead. Aigner’s performance earned him the prestigious Colin McRae ERC Flat Out Trophy.
How did it feel? “It was a difficult rally for us because we expected dry weather on the first morning but it was raining and we had the hard compound tyre so this was a big challenge,” the then 31-year-old Kopecký said. “The challenge was then to stay on the road, we did this and finally things started to come better for us. But I must say this result is not just for me but also for Pavel and the whole team.”
Casier and Tsjoen shared driving duties and placed fourth
© ERC
Changing roles: Bernd Casier and Pieter Tsjoen shared driving and co-driving duties. Casier completed day one before the wheel before switching seats with Tsjoen for day two. They finished fourth. Meanwhile, Daniel Šaškin, who finished eighth overall, went on to take over the organisation of Croatia Rally, performing a key role when the event stepped up to the FIA World Rally Championship in 2021 and during the years that have followed.
Taylor became ERC Ladies' champion in Croatia
© ERC
Bouncing back: Molly Taylor won the ERC Ladies’ Trophy despite losing time on leg one’s final stage due to powersteering failure. The Australian and her British co-driver Seb Marshall had earlier fallen ill after being overcome by petrol fumes on stage four.
Shining through: South African Henk Lategan, then a teenager and now an FIA World Rally-Raid Championship event winner and title contender underlined his potential by taking fifth on his second start on asphalt.
South African Lategan is now a star in W2RC
© ERC
Early setback: Promising French driver Germain Bonnefis was first in class on third in the ERC Production Cup when a crash on stage three left the Team Renault Sport Technologies driver in hospital with a fractured vertebra. Robert Consani dedicated his eventual 12th-place finish to his team-mate.
Croatia Rally hosts the deciding round of the 2025 ERC from 3 - 5 October.
