The ERC season kicks off on Friday with Hungary’s new gravel event. Rally Hungary commenced with free practice and the qualifying stage during the day.
However, Østberg did not show up in his Citroen for the rally warm-up. Instead, the Norwegian veteran sent a message from his hospital bed via social media.
“I’ve been ill this week, and unfortunately, I’m still struggling. I’m currently at the hospital in Veszprém for the second time this week, to check the situation,” Østberg posted.
“The situation has gotten worse the last 24 hours, and I’m not sure I’m able to start Rally Hungary! But I’m not giving up just yet!”
Østberg needs to recover quickly as the rally’s opening super special stage is scheduled for Friday evening.
The fastest in the qualifying stage was Polish driver Mikolaj Marczyk, followed by Simone Tempestini and Mathieu Franceschi. Finnish driver Mikko Heikkilä came in fourth, 1.3 seconds behind Marczyk’s leading time.
Competitors will choose their starting positions for Saturday’s special stages based on the results of the qualifying in descending order.
The spectator stage of the Hungarian ERC round will start at 18:05 Central European Time.
Rally Hungary, results of the qualifying stage:
| Driver | Car | Time | |
| 1. | Mikolaj Marczyk | Skoda | 3:05.432 |
| 2. | Simone Tempestini | Skoda | 3:05.950 |
| 3. | Mathieu Franceschi | Skoda | 3:06.067 |
| 4. | Mikko Heikkilä | Toyota | 3:06.721 |
| 5. | Erik Cais | Skoda | 3:06759 |
| 6. | Efren Llarena | Skoda | 3:06.953 |
| 7. | Martins Sesks | Toyota | 3:07.076 |
| 8. | Miklos Csomos | Skoda | 3:07.304 |
| 9. | Andrea Mabellini | Skoda | 3:07.478 |
| 10. | Hayden Paddon | Hyundai | 3:07.662 |
