One of the highlights of the FIA EHRC season, Lahti Historic Rally provides an opportunity for the championship regulars to fly high in iconic machines representing four decades on smooth gravel roads peppered with crests and high-speed sweeps.

Along with November’s Historic Acropolis Rally in Greece, Lahti Historic Rally is one of two gravel events on the nine-round FIA EHRC schedule for 2024 and the change of surface will provide added spectacle and intrigue.

Who’s in it to win it?
Jari-Matti Latvala, a winner of 18 FIA World Rally Championship events, returns to defend his Lahti Historic Rally crown in the Toyota Celica ST165 built by Toyota Team Europe in 1990 and prepared and maintained by his family team, Latvala Motorsport.

The Finn faces opposition from a host of Category 4 E3 class rivals including Hungarian Tibor Érdi Jr (Ford Sierra Cosworth 4x4, pictured below), Audi Quattro A2-powered Ville Silvasti and Jukka Jalonen and Flexifly Rally Team’s Ernie Graham, who is reverting back to the Group B-homologated Ford Escort RS1800 he used on Finland’s FIA EHRC qualifier last season (pictured bottom). Category 4 features two additional E2 class contenders, Piotr Gadomski (Toyota Corolla AE82) and Petter Fausko (Opel Kadett E GSI 16V).

Current overall FIA EHRC leader “Zippo” continues in Category 3. But with his regular Audi Quattro not available for Lahti Historic Rally, the Italian switches to a Ford Escort Mk2 for the first time. Christophe Jacob (Ford Escort RS), Maciej Lubiak (Porsche SC Carrera USA), Lukas Schindelegger (Ford Escort RS) and Siegfried Mayr, who swaps his Volvo 244 for a Saab 99, also appear on the Category 3 entry.

Category 1 contenders include James Potter (Ford Escort Twin Cam), the provisional FIA EHRC class champion for 2024, and Jesus Diez Villarroel, who will tackle Lahti Historic Rally in a Volvo 122 having piloted an Escort Mk1 earlier this season.

Piotr Gadomski and James Potter are eligible for the FIA EHRC Front Wheel Drive Trophy, while Gadomski will also chase FIA EHRC 1600cc Trophy points along with Petter Fausko and Siegfried Mayr. Flexifly Rally Team tops the FIA EHRC Team Trophy after five rounds. Click HERE for the Lahti Historic Rally entry list.

Lahti Historic Rally route in short
The 22nd edition of Lahti Historic Rally will test FIA EHRC crews on 12 hard-base smooth gravel stages over a competitive distance of 139.54 kilometres. The 68.60-kilometre leg one on Friday August 23 features three stages run either side of a central service halt in Lahti Harbour. Saturday’s second leg follows a similar format with two loops of three stages split by a midday visit to the Lahti Habour service park. Covering 70.94 kilometres, leg two on Saturday August 24 includes two passes of the 14.82 Miehola stage, the longest of the rally. Click HERE for the Lahti Historic Rally itinerary and route map.

Lahti Historic Rally organisers are streaming four stages live each day with commentary in Finnish, plus updates in English, and driver interviews. The leg one live stream is available HERE with the leg two live stream available at this LINK.

How they stand?
The provisional FIA European Historic Rally Championship standings after round five are available here: https://www.fia.com/events/european-historic-rally-championship/season-2024/classifications

FIA EHRC 2024: how it works?
The FIA EHRC is for historic rally cars built prior to 1969 and homologated up to 1990. It’s divided into four categories (1-4) based on year of manufacturer with sub-divisions in Categories 2-4 to allow for different levels of car performance. Further details on the categories are available HERE.

Competitors count their best six scores from nine rounds held on asphalt and gravel between March and November. Events typically run for one and a half days following reconnaissance with approximately 150 timed kilometres on offer.

The overall title is contested by all drivers and co-drivers regardless of their category with all rounds counting. The FIA Historic 1600cc Trophy is for cars up to 1600cc from Categories 1-4 with the six best scores counting. The rise in the number of front-wheel-drive cars competing has been recognised with the FIA European Historic Front Wheel Drive Trophy with crews also counting their best six scores.

In addition, the FIA EHRC Teams’ Trophy, which has attracted more than 25 entries for the 2024 season, features a new bonus points system with 10 additional points on offer on the Historic Rally of Asturias and the Historic Acropolis Rally.

Three new titles are up for grabs in the FIA EHRC this season. An overall FIA European Historic Rally Championship crown is being awarded for the first time, while the FIA European Historic 1600cc Trophy and FIA European Historic FWD Trophy titles have also been introduced for 2024.

Although the creation of the all-new titles is partly in response to competitor feedback, their introduction is in line with the FIA’s desire to raise the profile – and spectacle – of the FIA EHRC, while also providing an accessible point of entry to international-level historic rallying.