WELCOME TO THE 2020 ERC
Welcome to the 2020 FIA European Rally Championship, the ultimate training ground for young hopefuls aiming for the top. Providing a clear path of progression from national level to the world stage, the oldest international rally series in existence is also open to all-comers, meaning age is no barrier to competing.

The ERC in short
*International rallying at an accessible price spread over nine months
*Opportunity to win rallies outright and benefit from resulting publicity
*Platform of progression: from national level to the WRC via the ERC
*Proven track record of developing future WRC factory drivers
*Chance for drivers to build experience on gravel and Tarmac
*Rallies between 200-220 kilometres in length, some night stages
*Entry fees capped for ERC1 Junior and ERC3 Junior competitors
*Cars run by independent teams and privateers, not factory squads
*Expert organisation and promotion (including TV) from Eurosport Events
*Administration and management by the FIA Rally Department
*Testing organised ahead of each round

What’s in store in 2020?
*Eight events from March to November
*Four rallies on gravel, four on Tarmac
*Logistical support for island events
*Points awarded to top 15 finishers in each category (previously top 10)
*Career progression prizes in ERC1 Junior and ERC3 Junior
*Daily highlights from each rally on TV and online
*Live stage action on Facebook and YouTube, ERC Radio from all events
*ERC Rally Centre provides service park hub
*ERC1, ERC2, ERC3, plus Abarth Rally Cup one-make series
*FIA European Rally Championship for Teams
*P1 Racing Fuels Podium Challenge

Where and when in 2020?
The 2020 ERC calendar is as follows:

Round 1: Azores Rallye (gravel), 26-28 March
Round 2: Rally Islas Canarias (asphalt), 7-9 May
Round 3: Rally Liepāja (Latvia, gravel), 29-31 May
Round 4: 77th Rally Poland (gravel), 26-28 June
Round 5: Rally di Roma Capitale (asphalt), 24-26 July
Round 6: Barum Czech Rally Zlín (asphalt), 28-30 August
Round 7: Cyprus Rally (gravel), 9-11 October
Round 8: Rally Hungary (asphalt), 6-8 November

Established in 2014 as a joint initiative from ERC promoter Eurosport Events and the FIA, motorsport’s world governing body, ERC Junior provides a highly competitive platform for drivers stepping up from national level aiming for the sport’s highest echelon. Since 2017, ERC Junior has been split into two divisions based on driver age and car performance.

ERC1 Junior is for drivers born on or after 1 January 1992 using Rally2 cars. ERC3 Junior is for drivers born on or after 1 January 1993 competing in Rally4 and Rally5 cars on Pirelli tyres. Details of the prize package for 2020 will be announced soon.

The 2020 ERC1 and ERC3 Junior calendars are as follows:

Round 1: Azores Rallye (gravel), 26-28 March
Round 2: Rally Islas Canarias (asphalt), 7-9 May
Round 3: Rally Liepāja (Latvia, gravel), 29-31 May
Round 4: 77th Rally Poland (gravel), 26-28 June
Round 5: Rally di Roma Capitale (asphalt), 24-26 July
Round 6: Barum Czech Rally Zlín (asphalt), 28-30 August

The Abarth Rally Cup will be contested over six rounds of the FIA European Rally Championship in 2020** with a prize fund totalling €210,000 up for grabs. Featuring four events on asphalt and two on gravel, the 2020 Abarth Rally Cup is exclusively for the Abarth 124 rally.

On each round, the following prize money will be awarded:
First position: €12,000
Second position: €10,000
Third position: €8,000

The winning driver receives an additional €30,000.

All six rounds count, while Abarth Rally Cup competitors will be eligible for the ERC2 production category.

The 2020 Abarth Rally Cup calendar is as follows**:

Round 1: Rally Islas Canarias (asphalt), 7-9 May
Round 2: Rally Liepāja (Latvia, gravel), 29-31 May
Round 3: 77th Rally Poland (gravel), 26-28 June
Round 4: Rally di Roma Capitale (asphalt), 24-26 July
Round 5: Barum Czech Rally Zlín (asphalt), 28-30 August
Round 6: Rally Hungary (asphalt), 6-8 November

**Subject to FIA World Motor Sport Council approval

More information:
Abarth website: https://www.abarth.com
Dedicated media section (registration required): https://www.fiaerc.com/media/abarth-rally-cup

P1 Racing Fuels
P1 Racing Fuels is the ERC’s Official Fuels Partner under a new three-year agreement. The specialist in high-performance fuels will offer high-quality fuels and service from its dedicated area within the refuel zone at all ERC rounds from 2020 through to 2022.

P1 Racing Fuels Podium Challenge
The P1 Racing Fuels Podium Challenge, run for the first time during the 2019 ERC season finale in Hungary, will reward the top three finishes on every ERC1 and ERC2 round with fuel vouchers that can be exchanged for P1 XR5 race fuel at subsequent events, helping competitors to further reduce the cost of competing. Across both categories, winning drivers will be entitled to 150 litres of fuel, while second and third placed drivers will receive 100L and 50L of the product respectively. Full challenge details are available here: P1 Racing Fuels Podium Challenge rules.

More drivers rewarded in ERC from 2020
More drivers will be able to score points on each round of the FIA European Rally Championship from 2020 following confirmation that the top 15 classified finishers – rather than the current 10 – will score.

As a consequence, bonus points will be handed out to the top five finishers at the end of each leg rather than to the top seven, as per the current rules. This change has been made to cap the amount of points scored on each event in the interests of helping to maintain a highly competitive championship until the end of the season.

The modifications will apply to all FIA Regional Rally Championships from 2020.

On all rounds of the ERC from next season, points will be allocated to the top 15 classified finishers as follows:

Bonus points, which are rewarded in part to encourage drivers who fail to finish a leg to restart on the subsequent leg, will be allocated to the top five finishers at the end of each leg as follows:

First: 5 points
Second: 4 points
Third: 3 points
Fourth: 2 points
Fifth: 1 point

Rallying’s talent factory
As the established training ground for future world championship stars, the ERC has a long history of producing top talents for the future. Here are some of the graduates.

Craig Breen: ERC runner-up 2015 > factory Hyundai WRC driver 2019
Jari Huttunen: ERC Junior U27 runner-up 2017 > Hyundai WRC2 driver 2018
Nikolay Gryazin: ERC1 Junior champion 2018 > WRC2 event winner 2019
Kajetan Kajetanowicz: ERC champion 2015, 2016, 2017 > WRC2 runner-up 2019
Tom Kristensson: ERC3 Junior runner-up 2018 > Junior WRC runner-up 2019
Jan Kopecký: ERC champion 2013 > APRC champion 2014 > WRC2 champion 2018
Esapekka Lappi: ERC champion 2014 > factory Citroën WRC driver 2019
Stéphane Lefebvre: ERC Junior champion 2014 > Citroën WRC2 driver 2018
Sébastien Loeb: ERC event winner 2000, 2001 > factory Hyundai WRC 2019
Pierre-Louis Loubet: ERC1 Junior points-scorer 2019 > WRC2 champion 2019
Kris Meeke: ERC event winner 2009 > factory Toyota WRC driver 2019
Andreas Mikkelsen: ERC event winner 2012 > factory Hyundai WRC driver 2019
Thierry Neuville: ERC event winner 2011 > factory Hyundai WRC driver 2019
Ott Tänak: ERC event winner 2014 > WRC champion 2019

FIA European Rally Championship for Teams
Registered teams can nominate a maximum of three cars from ERC-registered drivers, in either four- or two-wheel drive configuration or a combination of both, to score points on each event. The results of the two highest-placed cars from a team count, with teams tallying their best six scores from a possible eight. And with points distributed according to the ERC1/ERC2 and ERC3 classifications of the rally, a team could score a maximum of 50 points per event with 25 on offer in 4WD and 25 also up for grabs in 2WD. There’s a prestigious FIA title up for grabs for the winning team.

National pride
In 2019, the following ASNs/automobile associations supported drivers competing in the ERC:
*Autoclub of Czech Republic
*ADAC (Germany)
*Estonian Autosport Union
*FPAK (Portugal)
*Motorsport Ireland
*Norges Motorsportforbund (Norway)
*RFEDA (Spain)
*Svensk Bilsport (SBF, Sweden)

Recognition for female drivers
Female drivers competing in the FIA European Rally Championship will once again be recognised for their achievements in 2020 with more details to be announced soon.