Lancia plots factory ERC drive for Italian Ypsilon champion

Lancia will hand an ERC prize drive in two seasons from now to the winner of the new-for-2025 one-make cup for the Ypsilon Rally4 model, which will be run within the Italian championship, the Campeonato Italiano Rally.

Not since the 1980s has there been a major Lancia participation in the ERC. But that will change with the advent of the Ypsilon Rally4, which former ERC champion Miki Biasion and two-time ERC event winner Andrea Crugnola have helped to develop.

Eugenio Franzetti, director of Lancia Corse HF, explained: “It’s a new Rally4, starting from this new [common modular] platform – different from the other two cars that we have in Rally4 from Stellantis Motorsport.

“The engine is 1.2 litres, three-cylinder with 212 horsepower, but another big message is that it’s a stock engine. We changed only the turbocharger and the exhaust system, but we arrived at 212 horsepower. The balance between the weight of the car and the power of the car is a perfect one, and it’s a perfect car for the young drivers that want to compete and to race. The important message is that, when you start with a stock engine, the cost per kilometre is low. It is very important to push the young drivers to rise and to drive with us.

“The gearbox is a Sadev five-speed sequential gearbox, and the shock absorbers are Öhlins three-way adjustable. The brake [discs] are big at 330mm because we need to stop the car, especially on the Italian rallies because we have a lot of up and downhill.

“I think that the main message is that we are opening a new era in Rally4 with the new platform, the engine is improving and we are testing the car a lot. This is very important for us.”

Franzetti continued: “The homologation will be from 1 January, 2025, but [from 25 October) we will open for orders. We have a long waiting list, we are very happy for this, and Stellantis Motorsport Racing Shop will be the seller of the car. It’s 74,500 Euros – and we are perfectly in the market of this kind of car considering the quality and performance of the car.

Trofeo Lancia the launchpad for ERC chance
The creation of the new Trofeo Lancia for 2025 will serve as a launchpad for an FIA European Rally Championship chance for one lucky driver.

Lancia is offering an ERC prize drive to the winner of the inaugural Trofeo Lancia, the one-make, arrive-and-drive series for the Ypsilon Rally4.

“For 2025, we are organising the Trofeo Lancia within the Italian championship,” Eugenio Franzetti. “We will start [the series] from April because we want to produce cars to give to the drivers and to the teams to be part of this new story that is the Trofeo Lancia. Starting from April, we will do six races in the Italian championship. The price is €2500 for the driver and co-pilot, and everything is included like the race suit, team kit and communication and visibility. There will be clear rules and a respect of the rules, which is very important for a [one-make] trophy.

“There will be big prizes because we want, as we said, to support the young drivers. We are talking about €300,000 [worth of] prizes, but the big prize is that the one who wins will be an official driver in 2026 with the Lancia team in the European Rally Championship with the Rally4. This is really a big opportunity that we want to give them.”

ERC championship manager Iain Campbell said: “Confirmation of Lancia’s return to the ERC with a factory team is fantastic news for the championship. Having such an iconic brand supporting a prize drive for the winner of its new Trofeo Lancia is another demonstration of the strength and appeal of the ERC. We’ll be following the Trofeo Lancia very closely and with great sense of anticipation.”