Croatia Rally: Armstrong wins, Marczyk 2025 ERC champion,

After a sunny and dry first stage, the competitors were dreading the arrival of showers. They were not disappointed. Heavy rain further complicated this event by bringing water slides and mud to the four scheduled special stages (55,70 km timed). Despite the short duration of this day, it seemed very long to some. This was particularly the case for Mikolaj Marczyk who was aiming for the title in ERC.

At the wheel of his Skoda Fabia RS Rally2, he started his weekend perfectly by winning Qualifying on Friday. However, this didn't help him negotiate Saturday well. First on the road, he had no reference points and struggled to find the right rhythm. After a spin (SS3), he struggled to stay close to the podium. No doubt caught up by the pressure, he appeared without a solution, but the accident and the withdrawal of Andrea Mabellini (Fabia RS) in SS4 freed him from a significant weight. The 29-year-old Pole had to avoid mistakes on Sunday to take the crown. On roads transformed into a "construction site," he proved to be in a completely different state of mind than the day before. Attributing his return to the forefront to the excellent performance of his Michelin tires, he moved up to 4th.^e then he inherited the podium with the crash of Robert Virves (SS8). Controlling the elements and events, Mikolaj Marczyk let himself slide to the finish to win the title of 2025 European champion.

After making his debut in 2016 at the age of 21 in an original Honda Civic Type-R, the native of Łódź, southwest of Warsaw, quickly moved on to the Skoda Fabia R5 in 2018. 2^e of the Polish championship, Miko won his first national consecration in 2019. A studious boy, he started his first year in ERC in 2020, winning a 2^e title in Poland in 2021 and turned completely towards Europe at the same time. Winner of his first success in this category in 2022 (in Poland obviously...) he gradually established himself as a regular player in the ERC also making appearances in WRC2. This season, he is the only driver to have managed to score points in all the rounds. With 4 podiums in 8 races, the Pole relied on his consistency to succeed Hayden Paddon.

Leading the race, Jon Armstrong started this stage with a lead of 27.3 seconds over Robert Virves. Despite the conditions, the Irishman made no mistakes and won his second^e rally straight away in the ERC after Ceredigion. Behind him, Virves made a mistake (SS8) while Mads Ostberg took 2^e room for the 300^e rally of his career.

For the French, this weekend was very useful. With one stage in the dry and another in the wet, Pablo Sarrazin/Yannick Roche and Léo Rossel/Guillaume Mercoiret were able to prepare well for the Central European Rally (October 14-19) and, above all, gain experience in Croatia for the return of the WRC next year. In Stéphane le papa's team, Pablo had an eventful first day with a puncture, a mistake and a gate that was keen to get loose, but he also set times in the top 10s, just like today. A brake problem prevented him from finishing in the top ten. For his part, the PH-Sport rider showed consistency, gradually moving towards the top of the standings despite a starting position unworthy of his talent. Not being registered in the championship, he had to start around 50th place, constantly overtaking the competitor who started in front of him, which was really limiting from a safety point of view. He was 5^e of the general classification at the start of the final stage when he was forced to stop in the final stage. After having (again!) caught the car that had started in front of him, his radiator was covered in mud and caused overheating.

ERC 2025 Championship

1. Marczyk 154 points, 2. Armstrong, 148, 3. Mabellini, 131, 4. Ostberg 104, 5. Korhonen 60, 6. Reiersen 60, 7. Jürgenson, 50, 8. Johansson 49, 9. Sesks 35, 10. Gryazin 34, 11. Brynildsen 31…

Final ranking