For the second time, the city of Veszprém will host a gravel round in the ERC calendar. Last year, the event was won by Romania’s Simone Tempestini, ahead of Frenchman Mathieu Franceschi and Hungary’s Miklós Csomos.
This year’s entry list includes nearly 100 crews, 65 of whom will compete for ERC points. Making his ERC debut is Finnish driver Roope Korhonen, who is among the favourites on the Hungarian gravel.
Korhonen usually competes in the WRC2 category of the World Rally Championship with a Toyota Rally2 car, but this season he is also tackling gravel rounds in the ERC, supported by tyre manufacturer MRF. In addition to Hungary, he will take part in the ERC rallies in Sweden and Poland.
The entry list for Hungary includes a number of big names. Korhonen will go up against the likes of Poland’s Mikołaj Marczyk, Norwegian veteran Mads Østberg, Northern Ireland’s Jon Armstrong, last year’s winner Simone Tempestini, and local hero Miklós Csomos, who is aiming for a strong home result.
In the ERC3 category, another promising Finnish debutant will take to the stages. Ville Vatanen, who has found success in domestic events, is aiming for a breakthrough on the international stage this year in a Renault Clio Rally3. Vatanen is certainly one of the favourites in the class for the Hungarian round.
Finnish drivers will also be pushing to challenge the front-runners in the ERC Junior category. In the opening round in Spain, the podium was taken by Sergi Perez, Sweden’s Calle Carlberg, and Estonia’s Jaspar Vaher. In Hungary’s gravel event, Finland’s Tuukka Kauppinen and Leevi Lassila will be in their element.
Kauppinen will be making his second appearance in Lancia’s new Rally4 car. Estonia’s Vaher will also be behind the wheel of a Lancia.
The Hungarian ERC rally kicks off on Friday evening with a short spectator stage. The main competition gets underway on Saturday and concludes on Sunday after 13 special stages.
