Barum Czech Rally Zlín 

FIA ERC in 2015 with significant changes

25. 7. 2014 - Jakub Hofbauer, press centre BCRZ

The European Rally Championship, which the Barum Czech Rally Zlín belongs to for more than thirty years, will bring major changes applied from 2015. Major aims are costs reduction for FIA ERC participants and general strengthening of the series' position.

From the upcoming season the FIA ERC will consist of maximum ten events. To score the championship points, drivers, co-drivers and teams will be obliged to register to the series. Another announced changes, which were presented by the series promoter Eurosport Events Ltd. and agreed by the FIA Rally commission, will bring championship's structure closer to the one already used in the elite World Rally Championship.

The overall FIA ERC title will be appointed to drivers, co-drivers and teams using R5, RRC or S2000 cars. There will be count maximum eight best results with four scored in first half of the season and another four in the second one. ERC2 category will be reserved for drivers with Production cars and its R4 derivatives, where the homologation has been prolonged by the FIA for another three years. And like in the WRC the ERC3 group will be appointed for crews with 2WD cars. The point-scoring scheme will be the same for the ERC and ERC2, in the ERC3 group will be counted only six top results overall with three best results in each of the season halves.

There will also continue the junior championship, which has been warmly welcomed in the current premiere season. Tiny change will come into the series' name as it will be rebranded to the Junior ERC. Positive step in terms of the cost reducing can be found in lowering the number of Junior ERC nominated rallies from seven to six. There will remain basic rules like counting four best results, competing with cars of R2 specification or using unified Michelin tyres. The series winner will be awarded with a possibility of several starts with the R5 car on several forthcoming ERC events.

The structure of the 2015 FIA ERC will be secret several months yet. But it's not a secret that Barum Czech Rally Zlín organizers would be happy to see their rally on the list again. "But it won't be anything easy. In the times of running the European rally championship and the Intercontinental Rally Challenge at the same time the continental rally scene could contain up to 25 strong and well prepared rallies. With joining these two series into one strong championship in 2013 the number of the rallies dropped down to twelve and currently we are standing in front of another events reduction," says Mr. Jan Regner, the Deputy of the CoC BCRZ. "Our contract with Eurosport Events will expire after this year, but we will do our best to extend the agreement so the Barum Czech Rally Zlín would welcome the ERC also in upcoming years. We strongly believe that our rally will remain in the group of the elite European events, however we realize that at the promoter's door are many other organizers with high ambitions. Hopefully on our side are long-term high level and quality of the event itself and also the loyalty to the Eurosport, which we cooperate with since the beginning of the IRC series in 2007."