ERC
Ten step-up stars who didn’t quite make the ERC Greatest Graduate shortlist
Sixteen drivers were shortlisted for the ERC Greatest Graduate of the Modern Era contest, which is currently in its quarter-final phase. Here are 10 drivers who were also considered.
Emil Bergkvist
Winning the 2014 ADAC Opel Rallye Cup handed Bergkvist a Junior ERC season with the ADAC Opel Rallye Junior Team in 2015. He capitalised on the opportunity by taking victory on the opening two rounds before adding a third win on the Barum Czech Rally Zlín finale. A career in WRC2 followed, while he also competed at Junior WRC level, winning the title in 2018. He’s since made his name as a navigator in the FIA World Rally-Raid Championship.
Alejandro Cachón
Spaniard Cachón was an unknown on the international stage when he got his chance to shine in Junior ERC during the 2021 season, a chance handed to him for his capture of the Beca Júnior R2 title in his homeland the previous season. He claimed his maiden WRC2 victory on FORUM8 Rally Japan earlier this month.
Roberto Daprà
Dapra spent two seasons building experience in the ERC, finishing fifth in ERC4 and Junior ERC in 2022 before claiming the ERC4 title the following season when he finished runner-up in Junior ERC. With support from the ACI Team Italia talent development initiative, Daprà graduated to WRC2 in 2024 and scored his maiden victory on Rally Italia Sardegna in May.
Jari Huttunen
Huttunen might not have won the Junior ERC title in 2017 – he lost out to Chris Ingram in a final-round showdown in Liepāja – but he impressed Hyundai Motorsport management to the extent he was recruited for its Hyundai Motorsport Driver development Program (HMDP) for 2018. The Finn became a regular on WRC events with the support of the South Korean manufacturer, winning what was then titled WRC3 in 2020 before he finished third in WRC2 the following season.
Huttunen was signed by Hyundai on the back of his ERC exploits
© ERC
Jan Kopecký
With six wins securing the ERC title in 2013, Škoda legend Kopecký won the Asia-Pacific crown in 2014 before embarking on a successful WRC2 stint that culminated in the Czech claiming top championship honours in 2018 following five victories.
Tom Kristensson
Swede Kristensson followed countryman Emil Bergkvist’s lead by moving up to Junior ERC level as his prize for banking the ADAC Opel Rallye Cup title in 2017. He finished runner-up in Junior in 2018 and then became Junior WRC champion in 2020. A WRC2 prize drive with the M-Sport Ford World Rally Team was his reward.
Pepe López
López didn’t disappoint when he got his ERC chance in 2017 after winning the Volant Peugeot crown one year earlier. He finished third on his debut in the Rally2 section of Junior ERC in fourth overall on the Azores Airlines Rallye before winning the class on Rally Islas Canarias, the next event. He subsequently claimed four WRC2 podiums.
Josh McErlean
McErlean utilised experience gained from nine ERC appearances – alongside multiple WRC2 outings – when he made his points-scoring Rally1 debut on Rallye Monte-Carlo in January. Of his ERC highlights, fourth place on Tet Rally Liepāja in 2023 stands out, the Irishman beaten only by Mārtiṇš Sesks, Hayden Paddon and Mads Østberg.
Laurent Pellier
Pellier became the third Junior ERC champion from France when he triumphed in 2022 and the first Opel-powered title-winner since Mārtiṇš Sesks in 2018 – the year when Pellier took part on seven ERC rounds in a Peugeot 208 T16. His return to ERC action was his prize for winning the ADAC Opel e-Rally Cup in 2021, while his Junior ERC title triumph was the result of five victories from six starts. He finished third in Junior WRC the following season.
Pellier became the third Frenchman to win Junior ERC gold in 2022
© ERC
Yohan Rossel
Rossel sampled ERC3 competition in 2019 as part of the Peugeot Rally Academy with third place in class on Rally Islas Canarias his best result. The Frenchman is widely recognised as a WRC2 powerhouse and is set to complete 2025 as the runner-up in the Rally2-based division.
Voting for the best ERC Greatest Graduate of the Modern Era continues tomorrow (Wednesday) with the third quarter-final between Kajetan Kajetanowicz and Mille Johansson. Go to the ERC social media channels to vote.
