Rally Hungary: A very open round in Hungary

After the opulence seen in Spain, the second round of the 2 ERC features a less flamboyant starting list. On gravel, however, this very fast event promises to be a close contest between locals who know the terrain and competitors aiming for the title. The battles in ERC Junior and Rally2025 are also expected to be fierce.

Published 07/05/2025 à 07:19

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Rally Hungary: A very open round in Hungary

Who will be able to succeed Simone Tempestini during the Rally Hungary, round 2 of the 2025 ERC? (Photo: Red Bull)

Marking the opening of the championship ERC In 2025, the Rally Sierra Morena in April offered a sumptuous field. This led us to believe it would be the same all year long. There was therefore inevitably some disappointment in not finding Yoann Bonato, Simon Wagner, Nikolay Gryazin, or Robert Virves among the list of contenders in Hungary (May 9-11). This doesn't necessarily mean the race will be boring, as several competitors could aim for victory.

The last driver to have added his name to the list of winners of this event, will the Romanian Simone Tempestini (Skoda Fabia RS) manage to double the score? Boys like the Norwegian Mads Ostberg (Citroën C3), the Pole Mikolaj Marczyk (Skoda Fabia RS) or the Czech Dominik Stritesky (Skoda Fabia RS) have already won in the ERC in the past. On these fast roads, they should perform well. They will have to keep an eye on the Finnish Roope Korkonen (Toyota Yaris) who will have the disadvantage of discovering the Englishman Jon Armstrong (Ford Fiesta Rally2) who will want to redeem himself from his Spanish mistakes or Andrea Mabellini (Skoda Fabia RS). Before this event, the Italian is the one who occupies the best place in the championship (3^e behind Nikolay Gryazin and Yoann Bonato) among the competitors with a multi-round program.

Among the list of around forty Rally2s, we will have to follow the progress of the Dutchman Jos Verstappen (Skoda Fabia RS). A newcomer to this championship, he will have to rely on the experience of his co-driver Renaud Jamoul to try to avoid the pitfalls. Among the other names that stand out, there is inevitably that of Max McRae (Citroën C3). Alister's son has had a complicated start to the year with two retirements in two races, but he already has knowledge of these roads after his success last year in Junior ERC. Finally, the locals, Andras Hadik (Fiesta), Martin Laszlo (Skoda Fabia), Nobert Herczig (Skoda Fabia) and especially Miklos Csomos (Citroën C2) will certainly be the driving force.

The ERC Junior category, with its 21 competitors, promises to be a hotly contested event between Sergi Pérez (208), winner at Sierra Morena, Calle Carlberg (Corsa), Jaspar Vaher (Ypsilon) and Tuukka Kauppinen (Ypsilon). The same is true in Rally3 with 13 crews, including the (only!) Frenchmen Tristan Charpentier/Forian Barral, who won in Spain and are keen to continue their winning ways.

The event will take place in the Veszprém region, located 115 km southwest of Budapest. The program features 13 special stages, covering a timed 190,91 km. The competition will begin Friday morning with the shakedown, followed by a first stage of 2,05 km.