Sporting News FIA European Historic Gravel Rally Championship: An Experiment!
This year, the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) has undertaken a significant restructuring, separating the European Historic Rally Championship into two distinct competitions. More specifically, what was previously a single unified championship has been “split” into two separate series, with gravel events now forming their own dedicated championship, in an effort aimed at attracting more entries. The inaugural round of the new gravel championship, which consists of five events in total, was held successfully in April in Portugal, marking a dynamic start to this new initiative. The Historic Acropolis Rally, scheduled to take place from 22 to 24 May, will serve as the second round of the series.
1) Historic Rally Fafe | Portugal | 9–11 April
The opening round of this new FIA initiative was hosted on the famous special stages of northern Portugal, with the Historic Rally Fafe attracting 19 entries. Victory went to Christophe Jacob–Isabelle Regnier, who took the lead from the second stage and remained at the front until the end. Well known for their participation in the 2024 Historic Acropolis Rally, the Belgian crew competed in a Ford Escort RS 1800 MKII, making an ideal start to their campaign in the newly established championship.
Second place went to two-time Spanish Historic Champions Jesús Ferreiro–Javier Anido in a Ford Escort RS 1800 MKII, while Nemo Mazza–Mauro Marchiori, also in an Escort RS 1800 MKII, completed the podium in third. The spectacular Pasi Hapulahti–Antti Nordström with a Volvo 242 finished in fourth place, ahead of the Czech crew Oldřich Kovařík–Marek Kapic in a Škoda Favorit 136L. Greeks Nikos Pavlidis–Dimitris Amaxopoulos also took part in the event, a crew that plans to follow the entire FIA European Historic Gravel Rally Championship this season.
Overall Classification
- Christophe Jacob / Isabelle Regnier – Ford Escort RS1800 MKII
- Jesús Ferreiro / Javier Anido – Ford Escort RS1800 MKII
- Nemo Mazza / Mauro Marchiori – Ford Escort RS1800 MKII
- Pasi Hapulahti / Antti Nordström – Volvo 242
- Oldřich Kovařík / Marek Kapic – Škoda Favorit 136L
The FIA European Historic Gravel Rally Championship continues in Greece in a few days with the Historic Acropolis Rally. The third round of the series will be the Lahti Historic Rally, taking place from 20 to 22 August in Finland, while one week later (28–29 August), Sweden will host the fourth round. The season will conclude on the last weekend of November in Italy with the Rally Storico del Brunello.
Will the FIA’s experiment succeed? The answer will be given at the end of the year. What is certain is that there is strong interest from foreign crews in competing in the Historic Acropolis Rally, the most iconic round of the championship, confirming the event’s international significance.
All updates about the Historic Acropolis Rally are available on the official website (www.historicacropolis.gr).
Official Website: www.historicacropolis.gr
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