ERC
Top talents assemble for ERC’s Welsh wonder rally
Leading FIA European Rally Championship stars are revving up to contest JDS Machinery Rali Ceredigion following the issuing of the provisional entry list for the asphalt-only contest.
Twenty-nine crews have signed up to score ERC points as JDS Machinery Rali Ceredigion prepares to host the all-action series for the third time from 4 - 6 September in Aberystwyth and the surrounding spectacular Welsh countryside.
And it’s an entry list full of quality as well as quantity, topped by provisional ERC points leader Teemu Suninen from Finland and Poland’s defending European champion Miko Marczyk.
It also features five-time FIA World Rally Championship event winner Kris Meeke (Northern Ireland), Colin McRae’s nephew Max McRae (Scotland) and Welsh hero Osian Pryce – who is vying for a third Ceredigion victory – amongst several other notable names.
They include Italian star Andrea Mabellini, who competes in a Pirelli-equipped Lancia Ypsilon Rally2 HF Integrale for the legendary manufacturer’s factory team, Michelin-supplied Polish champion Jakub Matulka, Northern Ireland’s Philip Allen, Welshman Meirion Evans and Pierre Ragues, the president of the French motorsport federation, the FFSA.
ERC champion Marczyk is a Ceredigion podium finisher
© ERC
Bidding to win the FIA European Rally Championship for Teams for a fourth time, Team MRF Tyres will count on Czech duo Erik Cais and Martin Vlček – the reigning Master ERC champion – and Simone Tempestini, whose impressive career CV includes 10 Romanian titles and the 2016 Junior WRC crown.
Meanwhile, Jersey’s Sam Touzel, the Protyre Motorsport UK Asphalt champion from 2025, is set to make his ERC debut in Wales.
ERC3 title contenders to take on Ceredigion stages
Ville Vatanen had been due to contest JDS Machinery Rali Ceredigion in a Ford Fiesta Rally2 as his prize for winning the ERC Fiesta Rally3 Trophy on Barum Czech Rally Zlín earlier this month. But with the FIA ERC3 Championship still up for grabs, the 19-year-old Finn continues in his Ford Fiesta Rally3 intent on adding to his title silverware, having put his Rally2 graduation on hold. Irish Fiesta-powered pair Casey Jay Coleman and Kalum Graffin, plus Czech Fiesta driver Petr Kačírek remain in ERC3 title-winning contention. English teenager Charlie Tuthill completes the ERC3 line-up.
Homegrown hero Ioan Lloyd is back on ERC duty
© ERC
Heindrichs in front as Junior ERC returns to Wales
The Hankook-supplied FIA Junior ERC Championship returns to JDS Machinery Rali Ceredigion after a one-year break with Belgian Tom Heindrichs, WRC star Thierry Neuville’s younger brother, ahead in the provisional standings after back-to-back wins. Partnering him in the ADAC Opel Rally Junior Team attack are Claire Schönborn, Timo Schulz and local ace Ioan Lloyd, who makes his first ERC start of 2026 after finishing runner-up in the 2025 Junior ERC ranking. Lancia Corse HF duo Francesco Dei Ceci and Davide Pesavento are also heading to Wales along with German privateer Colin Dünker, Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy-backed Kyle McBride and Italian prospect Sebastian Dallapiccola. Valentino Ledda, also from Italy, will chase FIA ERC4 Championship points only.
