2017 News and results

[RS]

New step in ERC Junior format
https://www.fiaerc.com/new-step-in-e...r-progression/

Good move, although I think the 100,000 Euro prize would only buy one or two ERC events with an R5 car?

[RICARDO75]

Grzegorz Grzyb on ERC 2017. Azores not included because is to early for him
http://rajdy.autoklub.pl/news/grzyb-...em-w-erc,72437

[RICARDO75]

FIA European Rally Championship

A second title has been created within the ERC Junior Championship for drivers under the age of 28 competing in R5 cars. The winner will be awarded a drive in a WRC car by the Promoter for one FIA World Rally Championship event the following season.

The 2017 FIA European Rally Championship calendar is:

31 March – 2 April Rallye Açores*

4-6 May Rally Islas Canarias*

2-4 June Acropolis Rally */***

16-18 June Cyprus Rally

3-5 August Rally Rzeszow, Poland

25-27 August Barum Czech Rally Zlin

15-17 September Rally di Roma Capitale

6-8 October Liepaja* (same date for WRC Rally Spain)

*Subject to ASN confirmation

***Subject to Event Promotion Agreement

[RS]

Some good changes for next year, including the smaller calendar with a proper 50/50 surface split.

The teams championship should be attractive to teams like SRT and Castrol Ford Turkey and the new prizes for the Junior Championships are a step forward too.

Now let's hope the drivers come..

[PLuto]

Calendar is not bad. I should only switch one (or two) island event for mainland rally.

[the sniper]

The winner will be awarded a drive in a WRC car by the Promoter for one FIA World Rally Championship event the following season.

Will that be in a pre-2017 WRC[ar] or...?

[RS]

Will that be in a pre-2017 WRC[ar] or...?

2016.

[RS]

So according to news in the R5 thread, Gemini have bought themselves a Fiesta R5.

Let's hope we see them in ERC 2017 with Bouffier again. They already did three rounds together this year so three more and they can mount a championship challenge..

[Jarek Z]

I don't know if it was posted here already or not. I found an interview with Alain Penasse, one of th organizers of Ypres Rally, in which he explains why they don't want to be in the ERC anymore.

Some important fragments:
"(...) there are too many rallies on the islands which make it very difficult for a privateer team to cope with because of the huge cost and workload of that."
(...)
“We have to get more centralised rallies, maybe one in England, one in France, one in Belgium and maybe one in Greece or one in Eastern Europe, but not like it is now."

“The championship is too much spread out. It is more complicated logistically to do European championship than to do European rounds in the World Championship, in fact. You have to go to Azores, to Grand Canarias, you have to go to Cyprus, as well as going to Greece.”

More details at http://www.rallysportmag.com.au/home...happy-with-erc

[Jack4688`]

Is that why for so many years the ERC was 11,000 rounds per season with different coefficients so that competitors could pick and choose the events that suited them?

Feel free to shoot me down as being ridiculous and unrealistic but would a dividing the ERC regionally - a la the European Rally Trophy but not with 8 different divisions, maybe 2 or 3?