Discussions about bringing an ERC round to Rovaniemi and Kemijärvi were revealed late last year. Essentially, this would have meant granting ERC status to the Arctic Lapland Rally, which is currently part of Finnish Rally Championship.
The ERC is promoted by the same organisation that manages the World Rally Championship. Simon Larkin, WRC Promoter’s Event Director, previously hinted that a snow rally could be added to the ERC calendar as early as 2026.
However, for the time being, it appears that Arctic Lapland Rally will not be included as an ERC round. Rovaniemi’s mayor, Ulla-Kirsikka Vainio, has proposed to the city council that Rovaniemi does not enter into an agreement to host the ERC event.
The Finnish motorsport federation, AKK, had proposed that Rovaniemi and Kemijärvi host an ERC round from 2026 to 2028. For Rovaniemi, the main sticking point – unsurprisingly – is financial.
The city would have needed to pay €200,000 annually, totalling €600,000 over three years. According to the city’s assessment, the economic benefits from hosting an ERC round would not be significantly greater than those of the current SM-series event, making the cost unjustifiable.
Rovaniemi also prefers not to increase spending on winter season marketing, focusing instead on promoting year-round tourism.
The final decision on the matter will be made by Rovaniemi’s city council next Monday.
Arctic Lapland Rally was part of the ERC calendar until 2003. In 2021, Rovaniemi hosted a WRC round after the cancellation of Rally Sweden due to the COVID pandemic.
This year’s Arctic Lapland Rally takes place at the end of January and the start of February and will be the second round of the 2025 Finnish Rally Championship.
