FIA ERC Rally Championship 2022 news 08.03.2022: Categories: The ERC is made up of three main categories, ERC (for Rally2 cars), ERC3 (for Rally3 cars) and ERC4 (for Rally4 and Rally5 cars). There’s also ERC4 Junior for drivers 27 and under on 1 January 2022 in Rally4 or Rally5 cars using Pirelli t

Categories:

The ERC is made up of three main categories, ERC (for Rally2 cars), ERC3 (for Rally3 cars) and ERC4 (for Rally4 and Rally5 cars). There’s also ERC4 Junior for drivers 27 and under on 1 January 2022 in Rally4 or Rally5 cars using Pirelli tyres.


ERC Open, which is new for 2022 but doesn’t carry an FIA title, is for Rally2 Kit, RGT and Group N4 cars. The Clio Trophy by Toksport WRT is an arrive-and-drive series held over five ERC rounds for the Renault Clio Rally5. The ERC-MICHELIN Talent Factory is an incentive scheme covering the first six rounds for drivers under 28 competing in Rally2 cars on MICHELIN tyres.


Format:


Events are held over four days. The first one and a half days are taken up with reconnaissance. The focus then swiftly turns to Free Practice and the Qualifying Stage for Rally2 drivers. They get two runs in Free Practice and a single run over the Qualifying Stage, the results of which are used to help set the starting order for leg one.



All other drivers complete their rally preparations in shakedown, which starts once the Qualifying Stage has finished. The end of day two is usually filled with a ceremonial start or superspecial stage ahead of two full days of rally action. From 2022, all ERC events will be decided on the event-closing Power Stage.





Starting order:

Leg one: First 15 cars run at 2-minute intervals, rest at 1-minute intervals Leg two: First 15 cars in the classification at the end of leg one run in reverse order at 2-minute intervals. The rest at 1-minute intervals. Power Stage: Gaps to be decided by Stewards, Clerk of the Course and WRC Promoter representative




In ERC, ERC3 and ERC4 drivers count their best seven scores from a possible eight. In ERC4 Junior (starting from Round 3) it’s five rounds from six.


The fastest five drivers on the Power Stage score points on a descending scale as follows: 1st = 5 points; 2 = 4; 3 = 3; 4 = 2; 5 = 1.


To score points in the FIA European Rally Championship for Teams, competitors must register in ERC, ERC3 or ERC4 under a team name. A maximum of three cars may be registered for the purpose of scoring Team points.



A registered Team can score points with the two best-placed cars of its Team in the final classification of each rally. For the purpose of calculating points, cars driven by ERC4 priority drivers will score points within their own group.




Titles:

The following titles are up for grabs in 2022:

FIA European Championship for Drivers, Co-Drivers and Teams
FIA ERC3 for Drivers and Co-Drivers
FIA ERC4 for Drivers and Co-Drivers
FIA ERC4 Junior (for drivers only)
ERC Open for Drivers and Co-Drivers



Tyres:


To score ERC points, drivers must use tyres from a registered manufacturer. For 2022, MICHELIN, MRF and Pirelli have registered. Tyre use is restricted according to category.


Testing:

Testing is restricted to control costs, essentially to one day per rally.





CATEGORIES EXPLAINED


Introduction


The FIA European Rally Championship is home to a whole array of machinery from the FIA Rally Cars Pyramid. Think Rally2 to Rally5 but there’s more besides. The ERC also follows the FIA Rally Sporting Pyramid, designed to make rallying’s route from grassroots to the highest level easier to understand.



FIA Rally Cars Pyramid in short


Like single-seater racing where Formula 1 is at the top of the tree, international rallying uses the same nomenclature.


That means Rally5 is the starting point for drivers aiming for the sport’s highest level followed by Rally4, Rally3, Rally2 and, ultimately, Rally1, which has replaced the World Rally Car category from 2022 as the sport’s headlining category.


Rally2 Kit, Group N4 and RGT cars are also eligible for the ERC but given their specific characteristics they don’t appear on the FIA Rally Cars Pyramid.






-Marc Wilford, photo FIA ERC