ERC – Three drivers in competitors for the title at the season decider in Hungary

Since 1953, the FIA European Rally Championship has created heroes with names akin to Rauno Aaltonen, Miki Biasion, Vic Elford, Sandro Munari and Walter Röhrl, plus most trendy leading names esteem Giandomenico Basso, Kajetan Kajetanowicz, Jan Kopecký, Esapekka Lappi and Alexey Lukyanuk all lifting the crown.

And Russian Lukyanuk can take the title for a second yr in succession – providing he can overhaul the 2 drivers forward of him, Chris Ingram from Constructive Britain, and Poland’s Łukasz Habaj, who are bidding to clinch the FIA’s leading regional rally championship laurels for the first time.

Heading to Rally Hungary, a brand contemporary addition to the ERC roster for 2019, 25-yr-worn Ingram leads the standings by 19 aspects from Habaj with Lukyanuk lawful 9 aspects additional motivate. In step with these numbers by myself it would possibly maybe perchance appear that Ingram is within the ascendency, nonetheless it indubitably’s indubitably no longer that straight forward.

A most of 39 aspects are up for grabs in Hungary and with ERC drivers counting their handiest six rankings over the season, Habaj and Lukyanuk are very well-known within the hunt irrespective of the gap to Ingram.

While Habaj and Lukyanuk are set apart to descend four and three aspects respectively from their eventual totals, Ingram would possibly perchance additionally discontinue up discounting 12 aspects from his excellent salvage following the maintain in Nyíregyháza.

Despite the real fact that Habaj and Lukyanuk accept as true with taken a take apiece in 2019, Ingram has yet to register an total victory, as a substitute focusing his efforts on a hit the supporting ERC1 Junior title at some level of the first six occasions of the yr. While he sooner or later got right here up short to Filip Mareš in his divulge to take that accolade – and the 100,000 euros on offer to the champion – by a mere 0.3s on the deciding round in Czech Republic, aspects scored that weekend promoted him to the tip of the final table and gave him one other intention to inch.

While the ERC2* and ERC3* titles accept as true with been settled in favour of Juan Carlos Alonso and Efrén Llarena respectively, the FIA European Rally Championship for Groups is undecided earlier than Rally Hungary with three entrants (Saintéloc Junior Team, Toksport WRT and ACCR Czech Rally Team) likely winners.

Fourteen stages over a competitive distance of 211.52 kilometres end unsleeping for the ERC contenders, whereas organisers accept as true with attracted a 114-tough entry – in conjunction with 29 prime-of-the-differ R5 autos between the Worldwide, Nationwide and Historic fields, as basically the most trendy nice looking chapter within the history of Hungarian motorsport is written.

Rally Hungary at a undercover agent

Hungary returns to the ERC for the first time since 2003 with a brand contemporary sealed-ground tournament in Nyíregyháza, north-east Hungary, roughly 150 minutes by automobile from the capital Budapest. While the tournament used to be effectively trace contemporary for 2018 when it ran as the Nyíregyháza Rally and counted as the Hungarian championship finale, the city and surrounding location accept as true with been regulars on the national scene in old years. Four-time Hungarian champion and double ERC podium finisher Norbert Herczig talks of a “mixture of very fast and extremely narrow, nonetheless lawful high-quality stages”, whereas the tournament enjoys enthusiastic authorities and native authority reinforce.

*Subject to affirmation of the outcomes by the FIA.