How five ERC titles were won

2019: Final-stage thrills leave Ingram in wonderland 
Chris Ingram (pictured above) became the first British ERC champion for 52 years following a dramatic Rally Hungary season showdown in 2019. Alongside co-driver Ross Whittock, the Škoda Fabia R5-powered Ingram overcame two tyre deflations – the second coming on the final stage of the event – and a spin to finish the season on 141 points for Toksport WRT. Saintéloc Junior Team’s Alexey Lukyanuk finished second to rally winner Frigyes Turán after suffering his own damaged tyre on the last test. He and co-driver Alexey Arnautov could only pick up two Sunday leg bonus points and ended up nine points adrift of the new champions. Ingram came into the weekend 19 points ahead of Sports Racing Technologies’ Łukasz Habaj, and a further nine ahead of Lukyanuk, the reigning champion. With the best six results out of eight counting towards the championship, Ingram was set to lose 12 points from his end-of-season total, with Habaj and Lukyanuk potentially dropping four and three respectively. But in a dramatic final stage, Ingram came through to clinch the crown having begun his ERC adventure on the Junior ERC category five years earlier. “It’s been a bloody hard road but this is everything to us,” the then 25-year-old said. Lukyanuk’s final-stage puncture, meanwhile, denied him the event win and what would have been a second title following Ingram’s drama ahead of him on the road.

2015: Rain stops play to leave Kajetanowicz celebrating early
When extreme weather, including a thunderstorm and torrential rain, led to the cancellation of the final three stages of the 2015 Acropolis Rally, Pole Kajetan Kajetanowicz (pictured on Rally Estonia during his first title-winning ERC season) was declared event winner and ERC champion after sufficient kilometres had been covered for full points to be awarded. Co-driven by Jarek Baran, Kajetanowicz followed compatriots Sobiesław Zasada (1966, 1967, 1971) and Krzysztof Hołowczyc (1997) in claiming European rallying’s top prize. “Yes, we did it, it’s been an amazing day,” said Kajetanowicz, who beat the late Craig Breen to the title with one round remaining. “It was a dream but now it’s come true. To be honest it was a really hard year for us but we did it, we’re European champions. It’s amazing, probably the best day in my life. We did it with winning Acropolis Rally. It’s also a big thing, one of the most difficult rallies in the world.” Breen started the final day in third place, 14.7sec behind leader Lambros Athanassoulas. In the incredibly muddy and foggy conditions, the Irishman drove brilliantly to set fastest time on SS4 (by 20.3sec) and SS5 (by 16.4sec) to lead by 33.7sec. Unfortunately, the bonnet of Breen’s Peugeot Rally Academy 208 T16 flew open on SS6 and blocked his view, costing him so much time that he dropped to second place, 10sec down on Kajetanowicz. Had Breen won the Acropolis Rally and Kajetanowicz finished second, the Polish driver would have still secured the ERC title, however.

2023: Paddon Czechs out with Zlín smash and grab raid
Hayden Paddon became ERC champion in 2023 despite a dramatic exit from Barum Czech Rally Zlín on the event’s final morning. Pirelli-equipped Paddon was in fifth position and cruising to the coveted FIA title for BRC Racing Team when he stopped nine kilometres from the start of the 16.69km Halenkovice test with the right-rear wheel missing from his Hyundai i20 N Rally2. He’d run wide on a high-speed left-hander, swiped a tree and parked up a few hundred metres later, his challenge over. But with Paddon’s closest championship rival Mārtiṇš Sesks unable to secure the points he needed to keep the title fight alive until the Rally Hungary finale, New Zealander Paddon was able to celebrate becoming the first driver not flying a European flag to lift the ERC crown alongside his co-driver John Kennard. “It’s a strange way to win it today with the troubles we’ve had but we’re hugely proud of what we’ve done with the team,” Paddon said. “We’ve had six good rallies and one bad one.  I’ve loved our time in the ERC this year. A real mixture of events, lots of challenges and the competition is huge. It’s one of the best rally championships in the world and hopefully we can be a part of it in the future as well.”

2014: Lappi fired up in Corsica
The race to win the 2014 ERC title came down to a two-driver fight on Tour de Corse. Well, that was the plan. Škoda team-mates Esapekka Lappi (pictured above on Barum Czech Rally Zlín in 2014) and Sepp Wiegand headed to the Mediterranean island set to duel for the coveted crown only for fire to destroy Wiegand’s Fabia Super 2000 following a testing crash. With no replacement car available, the young German was a non-starter leaving Lappi to seal the title deal, despite the Finn crashing out from third place on the final stage of leg one and not starting leg two as a result. “It’s the biggest success of my career,” Lappi said at the time. “My thanks go to the entire Škoda Motorsport team and my co-driver Janne [Ferm] – they all did a fantastic job. We were doing well, but then I misjudged a bend. I feel bad for the team.” Following their title triumph, Lappi and Ferm were served coffee and cake at surprise homecoming party at Helinski Airport, while Juho Hänninen, the 2012 ERC champion commented: “He’s still young and still needs experience, but there’s no reason why he cannot go to the WRC one day.”

2017: Bruno’s big hit leaves King Kajto to make ERC history
Bruno Magalhães faced a tall order to prevent Kajetan Kajetanowicz (pictured above) from becoming the first driver in ERC history to win the title three years running when the 2017 season reached its climax on Rally Liepāja. Magalhães, who mounted a championship campaign after winning the opening round in the Azores despite initially having no budget for further appearances, had to postpone his honeymoon to compete in Latvia, cancel out a 24-point deficit to Kajetanowicz and hope his Polish rival faltered in the Baltics to become Portugal's first ERC champion. Instead, Magalhaes spent the opening night of the rally battered and bruised and under observation in hospital with a back injury after he was caught out by standing water on the Liepāja City Stage and crashed into a tree. “I didn’t want what happened to happen but what we have done for the whole championship, to come second is amazing,” Magalhães said. “I love this championship and I want to come back.” For Kajetanowicz and co-driver Jarek Baran, their decision to trade speed for caution during the latter half of the season in pursuit of points paid dividends with the coveted FIA title.