The second half of September delivered another thrilling chapter in the Regional Rally championship season, with plenty of action in Slovenia, Japan, Cyprus, Serbia and Ireland.

FIA EUROPEAN RALLY TROPHY CENTRAL – RALLY NOVA GORICA, SLOVENIA (ROUND 4/4)

Nicolay Gryazin, navigated by his codriver Yaroslav Fedorov, claimed a spectacular victory on Rally Nova Gorica, Slovenia, on his first outing with the Volkswagen Polo GTI R5.

The Russian won nine of the twelve classified stages, run over 151.86 kilometres of asphalt, to close the rally with an advantage of over 1 minute and 20 seconds ahead of their Slovenian rivals Rok Turk and Blanka Kacin in a Hyundai i20 R5.

Bisaha Ondřej and Petr Těšínský from Czech Republic completed the podium in a Ford Fiesta R5, another 1.09 seconds behind.

Rally Nova Gorica, which hosted round six out of 7 of the FIA European Rally Trophy’s Central series, was the last chance for competitors from the region including Czech Republic, Hungary, Austria, Poland, Slovenia and Germany to qualify for the FIA ERT Final at Rallye du Valais on October 17-19. The Swiss event will welcome winners from each of the seven regional trophies, with the top five crews in each category (ERT, ERT2, ERT3 and ERT Junior) eligible to enter.

Click on the links below for more information:
- Event gallery
- Rally Nova Gorica website
- FIA ERT standings
- Drivers qualified for the FIA ERT final

FIA ASIA-PACIFIC RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP – ASIA CUP - RALLY HOKKAIDO, JAPAN (RD 3/4)

New Zealand rally driver Mike Young, paired with Australian co-driver Glenn Macneall, won Rally Hokkaido convincingly on 20-22 September, on his debut with the Toyota C-HR.

Covering 16 special stages through the lush countryside of northern Japan, Young returned to the ceremonial finish with a winning margin of just over seven minutes.

Second was Japan’s Atsushi Masumura and co-driver Shizuka Takehara in a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X, while Eiichi Iwashita and Shoichi Amako secured third in a Subaru Impreza WRX STi.

On the penultimate round of the four-round Asia Cup, as part of the FIA Asia-Pacific Rally Championship, Young set the fastest time in every stage and now takes a commanding points lead into the season final.

Attention now turns to the final where all eligible teams will compete for the all-in winner takes all final – being held at Longyou, China, from 26 to 27 October.

For more information:
- Rally Hokkaido event website
- FIA APRC standings

FIA EUROPEAN RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP (ROUND 7/8) & FIA MIDDLE EAST RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP (ROUND 4/4) – RALLY CYPRUS

Last weekend, Rally Cyprus delivered double the excitement as it played host to the penultimate round of the FIA European Rally Championship as well as the fourth and final leg of the FIA Middle East Rally Championship. The event also featured a symbolic moment with a special stage run across the “Green Line” in the United Nations buffer zone between Cypriot and Turkish communities in Nicosia.

Nasser Al-Attiyah grabbed a record-extending sixth Cyprus Rally victory in his Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 on a pivotal day in the battle for FIA European Rally Championship glory.

Chris Ingram finished second in a Škoda Fabia R5 following the disqualification of Simos Galatariotis and Russia’s defending champion Alexey Lukyanuk retiring with technical issues. The Briton now holds a lead of 18 points to the season decider in Hungary from 8-10 November, while Łukasz Habaj will make it a three-way battle for the title as the Pole finished fourth and is back up to second in the standings.

Former FIA World Rally Championship star Mikko Hirvonen, making a one-time return to the ERC following a 17-year absence, secured a fine third overall.

While the repeat of overall ERC title remains firmly up for grabs, Juan Carlos Alonso and Juan Pablo Monasterolo put the ERC2 crown beyond doubt with a battling drive to fourth in class after brake problems caused the Argentines plenty of anguish in the sweltering Cyprus sunshine.

There was also title success for Efrén Llarena and Sara Fernández in ERC3, the Spanish federation pair making the most of the opportunity handed to them by the Peugeot Rally Academy to compete in Cyprus for the first time.

With the cancellation of the Kuwait Rally in October, Rally Cyprus hosted the final round of the FIA Middle East Championship. On the FIA European Rally Championship agenda, Hungary will return for the first time since 2003 with a new Tarmac event in Nyíregyháza, northeast Hungary, on 8-10 November.

For more information:
- FIA European Rally Championship website
- Event photo gallery
- FIA ERC standings

FIA EUROPEAN RALLY TROPHY BALKAN – RALLY SERBIA (ROUND 5/5)

On the same weekend, Dušan Borković and Igor Marković took a commanding victory on the Serbia Rally in Vrnjačka Banja.

The former WTCC driver set the fastest time on all fourteen stages of the asphalt rally to finish with a lead of over 5 minutes ahead of second-placed János Puskádi and Barnabás Gódor in a second Škoda Fabia R5 Evo. The Bulgarian pair of Miroslav Angelov and Georgi Gadzhev were third in a Škoda Fabia R5, a further 5 minutes behind.

The ERT Balkan winners will have the chance to battle it out against their counterparts from six other regions at the championship’s final on Rallye du Valais on 16-19 October.

Find more details on:
- Rally Serbia website
- FIA ERT standings
- Drivers qualified for the FIA ERT final

FIA EUROPEAN RALLY TROPHY CELTIC – CORK “20” INTERNATIONAL RALLY, IRELAND (ROUND 5/5)

Ireland’s southwestern province of Munster hosted the Cork “20” International Rally on 28-29 September – the final round of the FIA European Rally Trophy’s Celtic series.

Although the qualification for the Trophy’s final had already been sealed in Craig Breen’s favour after the previous round in Ulster, the final Celtic round in Cork wasn’t without excitement and drama.

Marty McCormack and Mitchell Barney took their first victory on a tarmac championship round and gave the Polo GTI R5 a maiden win on its Irish debut. The British duo won six of the 13 stages of the asphalt rally to grasp the top spot of the leaderboard, 18.5 seconds ahead of Meirion Evans and Jonathan Jackson, in second place with a Škoda Fabia R5.

Johnny Greer and Kirsty Riddick completed the all-British podium in a Ford Fiesta R5.

Ford Fiesta drivers Callum Devine & Daniel Cronin led at various stages but both slipped off the road in SS7 and retired, as did Cathan McCourt in SS9 who was lying in the top three.

The ultimate challenge in the FIA European Rally Trophy will see the qualified crews from the Celtic and six other regions battle it out for the crown at the final on Rallye du Valais, Switzerland, on October 17-19.

For more information:
- Event photo gallery
- Cork “20” International Rally event website
- FIA ERT standings
- Drivers qualified for the FIA ERT final

COMING NEXT

This weekend, the rally action is beating to the rhythm of Africa!

FIA AFRICAN RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP – RWANDA MOUNTAIN GORILLA RALLY (ROUND 7/7)

Rwanda hosts this weekend the curtain-closing round of the 2019 FIA African Rally Championship on 4-6 October.

Kenya’s Manvir Baryan, navigated by Drew Sturrock, may have sealed the championship’s title in August after clinching it in Uganda, the battle will be intense to snatch the Rwandan laurels.