ERC Expert View: Rali Ceredigion selected as Newcomer of the Year

They considered the merits of four nominees, Rally Silesia, Toyota’s GR Yaris Rally2, the ERC Ford Fiesta Rally3 Trophy and JDS Machinery Rali Ceredigion, but it was the Welsh Tarmac event that won the day.  

Becs Williams, Rally.tv’s lead ERC commentator (below), said: “As a Welsh woman, it brought great pride to see the event step up to ERC level. Super-fast Tarmac stages may have been a surprise to many who equate rallying in Wales to mud and gravel. Loved by the crews, the event delivered on many levels. Taking rallying to the people in the heart of Aberystwyth as well as delighting the army of bobble-hatters out on the mountain sides. Diolch Ceredigion!”

Niccolò Budoia, who travelled from his native Italy to cover the event for Rallyeslalom.com, said: “Apart from the effort put in to learn the correct pronunciation of the special stage names, it was great to welcome back a UK rally in the ERC. I’ve been to glorious Wales Rally GB in 2017 and I fell in love with those roads, those landscapes and those people. This year’s Rali Ceredigion brought us back to those memories: it’s been a very tough race in one of the most beautiful places in the world.” 

Rally.tv live stage-end reporter Peter MacKay, said: “When the 2024 ERC season kicked off in Veszprem, many in the service park were keen to take a closer look at the latest challenger in the highly competitive Rally2 class – Toyota’s brand-new GR Yaris Rally2. This highly anticipated machine is based on the desirable GR Yaris road car which many of the ERC stars use as their personal transportation, recce car, or both. Despite a lack of competitive mileage, the Toyota immediately hit the front with early adopters – Mikko Heikkilä and Mārtiṇš Sesks – battling for victory on the brutally rough V-Híd Rally Hungary. Although fate eventually delivered a cruel hand to the new Toyotas in Hungary, the Japanese machine scored a maiden ERC win in Estonia after a sensational Power Stage push from Georg Linnamäe. With a year of competition under the belt, expect the Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 to be a formidable competitor in 2025.”

What’s next? Visit FIAERC.com on 19 December to discover the Driver of the Year according to the panel of ERC media experts.