Azores Rallye (J) - 30 Mar-1 Apr 17

FUTURE WORLD CHAMPION SEARCH IS ON AS REVAMPED ERC JUNIOR PREPARES FOR AZORES LIFT-OFF

Posted: March 27, 2017 9:34 AM

The restructured FIA ERC Junior category, which has helped to grow the careers of 67 drivers since it was introduced in 2014, gets underway on the Azores Airlines Rallye next week (30 March-1 April) with 19 drivers chasing success ? and future career progression ? in two different categories based on age and car performance.

ERC Junior U27, which totals six events, is for drivers born on or after 1 January 1990 competing in R2 cars on Pirelli tyres. With the best four rounds counting, the winner will receive a career progression fund worth 100,000 euros to use in ERC Junior U28 in 2018. For many drivers ERC Junior U27 will be their first taste of international rallying.

ERC Junior U28 offers the next step on the rallying pyramid for drivers born on or after 1 January 1989. Again totalling six rounds with the best four scores counting, drivers use R5 cars with no restriction on tyre choice. The champion will get a drive on a European round of the 2018 FIA World Rally Championship as a P1 driver in a 2016-specification World Rally Car.

Both ERC Junior divisions benefit from substantial television coverage with at least three minutes per programme broadcast on Eurosport dedicated to the two young driver categories.

With 10 drivers signed up so far for ERC Junior U27 and nine registered for ERC Junior U28 with more to follow in both divisions, Jean-Baptiste Ley, the ERC Co-ordinator, expects the categories objectives ? set out in line with the FIA's rallying pyramid ? to be achieved.

"As the ERC promoter, Eurosport Events put this new structure in place because it was clear there is a growing number of ERC Junior graduates and other young drivers looking to take the next step in rallying but without the financial means to run a full international campaign in an R5 car or lacking the experience required to achieve consistent success," said Ley. "ERC Junior U28 will bridge this gap by providing a step up in performance for ERC Junior U27 graduates, albeit in a managed environment where they will come up against like-minded drivers with similar experience. And by providing a World Rally Championship prize drive to the ERC Junior U28 champion, we're recognising the ambition of young drivers to reach the sport's top level. For the ERC Junior U27 drivers, a 100,000-euro career-development fund will go to the eventual champion and we're delighted by the strong interest in both categories."

Marijan Griebel, who won the third ERC Junior title in 2016, two years after Citroen WRC star Stephane Lefebvre won the first, said:
"The ERC is a good championship with good rallies and really good TV on Eurosport. It's better for me to drive an R5 car in the ERC and be a main player than go to WRC2 to drive for 16th overall. The ERC is the best place to show my skills and develop in an R5 car."

Bruno Famin, Peugeot Sport Director, said:
"We are extremely pleased with our association with Eurosport and delighted to confirm that the Peugeot Rally Academy's programme in 2017 will focus on the ERC. We will be running cars for two particularly promising young Spaniards, Jose Suarez and Pepe Lopez. Our aim will be to give them an opportunity to gain experience and fine-tune their professionalism without pressure as part of a high-level operation. They will both drive Peugeot 208 T16s, which is the flagship of our rally car range, so it will be a good chance for us to showcase the reliability and competitiveness of the 2017-spec car."

Opel Motorsport Director Jorg Schrott said:
"After two consecutive ERC Junior titles, the Opel Rallye Junior Team is certainly under pressure as the favourite. But we are more than happy to take on this challenge and our new team has a great mix of different driving backgrounds and different characters."

Sports Racing Technologies' Team Manager Joe Labuckas, who will oversee Nicolay Gryazin and Ralfs Sirmacis in ERC Junior U28, said:
"We're very pleased to continue our participation in the ERC. The championship has given our team a great platform to showcase its expertise."

Tomas Kunc, Vice President for Automobile Sport, AUTOKLUB Czech Republic, added:
"We have been considering possible ways of supporting the growth of junior drivers for quite some time, and for this season we have decided to create a special project for young drivers and their navigators to support them in ERC Junior. This championship is an ideal platform for young drivers, as it can help them gain valuable experience and provide a springboard for their future careers."

FIA ERC Junior Under 27 Championship

Bugra Banaz (TUR) Age: 24 Co-driver: Burak Erdener (TUR) Car: Ford Fiesta R2
*Dominik Broz (CZE) Age: 20 Co-driver: Petr Tesinsky (CZE) Car: Peugeot 208 R2
Marcos Gonzalez Espino (ESP) Age: 23 Co-driver: Rogelio Lopez (ESP) Car: Peugeot 208 R2
**Jari Huttunen (FIN) Age: 23 Co-driver: Akki Linnaketo (FIN) Car: Opel ADAM R2
Chris Ingram (GBR) Age: 22 Co-driver: Elliot Edmondson (GBR) Car: Opel ADAM R2
Karel Kupec (CZE) Age: 24 Co-driver: Ondrej Krajca (CZE) Car: Peugeot 208 R2
*Filip Mares (CZE) Age: 25 Co-driver: Jan Hlousek (CZE) Car: Peugeot 208 R2
Tamara Molinaro (ITA) Age: 19 Co-driver: Ursula Mayrhofer (AUT) Car: Opel ADAM R2
Catie Munnings (GBR) Age: 19 Co-driver: Anne Katharina Stein (DEU) Car: Peugeot 208 R2
Aleks Zawada (POL) Age: 24 Co-driver: Grzegorz Dachowski (POL) Car: Peugeot 208 R2

FIA ERC Junior Under 28 Championship

*Jan Cerny (CZE) Age: 26 Co-driver: Petr Cernohorsky (CZE) Car: SKODA Fabia R5
Marijan Griebel (DEU) Age: 27 Co-driver: Stefan Kopcyzk (DEU) Car: SKODA Fabia R5
Nikolay Gryazin (LVA) Age: 19 Co-driver: Yaroslav Federov (RUS) Car: SKODA Fabia R5
Tomasz Kasperczyk (POL) Age: 24 Co-driver: Damian Syty (POL) Car: Ford Fiesta R5
Pepe Lopez (ESP) Age: 21 Co-driver: Borja Hernandez (ESP) Car: Peugeot 208 T16
Josh Moffett (IRL) Age: 24 Co-driver: James Fulton (IRL) Car: Ford Fiesta R5
Luis Miguel Rego (PRT) Age: 26 Co-driver: TBA Car: Ford Fiesta R5
Jose Suarez (ESP) Age: 26 Co-driver: Candido Carrera (ESP) Car: Peugeot 208 T16
Ralfs Sirmacis (LVA) Age: 22 Co-driver: Arturs simins (LVA) Car: SKODA Fabia R5

*Supported by ACCR (Czech Republic)
**Supported by ADAC (Germany) as prize for winning the ADAC Opel Rallye Cup.
EASU from Estonia and REFDA from Spain also have partnerships with the ERC

AZORES WILL ROCK WITH 28 R5 CARS ON ERC ENTRY LIST

Posted: March 27, 2017 9:32 AM

*Huge number of top-of-the-range machines for spectacular season opener
*Exciting new ERC Junior era begins with 19 drivers in action across two categories
*Fifty-six car entry features 14 different nationalities and several champions

The 2017 FIA European Rally Championship will begin with a bang following publication of the official entry list for the Azores Airlines Rallye, the opening event of the ERC's exciting new era, featuring new formats, new drivers and a renewed commitment to unearth world championship stars of the future.

Consisting of 28 top-of-the-range R5 cars, 10 ERC Junior Under 27 entries and nine ERC Junior Under 28 runners, a total of 56 crews will line up on the island of S?o Miguel in the mid-Atlantic for the spectacular gravel event from 30 March-1 April.

Representing 14 nationalities, the competing crews are an exciting blend of youth and experience all eager to prove their talent on the 16-stage contest, which covers a competitive distance of 210.20 kilometres over truly stunning scenery, and enjoys extensive live online coverage.

The entry list features several highlights, including:

*Peugeot Rally Academy: Returning to the ERC with a two-car official team
*Marijan Griebel: ERC Junior champion chasing overall success in an R5 car
*Alexey Lukyanuk: Spectacular driver and 2016 runner-up aiming to go one better in 2017
*Opel Motorsport: Line-up includes Red Bull-backed woman driver Tamara Molinaro
*ADAC Opel Rallye Junior Team: Jari Huttunen stepping up to ERC through prize drive
*ACCR Czech Team: Three-car squad has direct backing from Czech federation
*Sports Racing Technologies: Nicolay Gryazin and Ralfs Sirmacis among future hopes
*Castrol Ford Team Turkey: Embarking on major ERC campaign from Azores onwards
*Ricardo Moura: Home hero will enjoy big following from local fans
*ERC2 contenders: Sergey Remennik and Zelindo Melegari target class title glory

Other drivers entered include Chris Ingram, the ERC Junior runner-up from 2016, ERC Ladies champion Catie Munnings, ex-GT driver Albert von Thurn und Taxis from Germany, former Polish champion Lukasz Habaj, Irish promise Josh Moffett, ERC regular David Botka, ERC Junior U28 contenders Tomasz Kasperczyk and Luis Miguel Rego, plus experienced Italian Max Rendina. Kajetan Kajetanowicz tops the entry list but the ERC champion for the last two seasons has yet to announce his programme for 2017.

Seeded Entry List (Rev 2)

Posted: March 16, 2017 10:12 AM

Azores Rallye (J) - 30 Mar-1 Apr 17 - SEEDED ENTRY LIST (Rev 2)

Azores Airlines Rallye in 100 words

Posted: February 3, 2017 6:43 AM

Based on the archipelago's largest island of Sao Miguel in the mid-Atlantic, the event celebrated its half-century in 2015 as another chapter of its impressive history was written. The timed tests criss-cross breath-taking scenery and lush countryside and are characterised by their sandy surface and narrow and undulating nature. And because the stages are often no wider than the width of a car, there is simply no margin for error, particularly on the Sete Cidades test along the rim of a volcanic crater lake. Changeable weather is also a factor with conditions switching from sunshine to showers and fog patches.

AZORES AIRLINES RALLYE ORGANISERS CONFIRM HUGE LOGISTICS SUPPORT PACKAGE FOR ERC SEASON OPENER

Posted: February 3, 2017 6:40 AM

Drivers and teams contesting the Azores Airlines Rallye, the opening round of the 2017 FIA European Rally Championship, will benefit from a huge logistics support package and subsidised entry fee.

For every R5 car entered, the entrant or team will receive eight return flight tickets between Lisbon or Porto and Ponta Delgada on the island of Sao Miguel where the spectacular gravel event takes place from 30 March-1 April. Six return flight tickets between Lisbon or Porto and Ponta Delgada will be issued for every ERC Junior Under 27 Championship entry.

In addition, the costs to ship service and support vehicles, rally cars and trailers will be covered by the event organisers. This offer is for teams/drivers entering R5 cars or competing in ERC Junior U27. Loading at Setubal port in Portugal is from early morning on 22 March with departure scheduled for 17h00 the same day. Arrival and immediate unloading in Ponta Delgada will be from approximately 08h30 on 26 March. Reloading is from the evening of 1 April, the departure is from the afternoon of 2 April with unloading in Setubal on 5 April.

A 60 per cent reduction in the entry fee for R5 and ERC Junior U27 crews is also available, while a travel and accommodation reservation service is now in operation. The logistics support package outlined above is also available to non-ERC registered drivers and teams.

More information is available from Bruno Cruz, Teams and Logistics Co-ordinator, Azores Airlines Rallye, bruno.cruz@azoresrallye.com, +351917100761. Flights: Paula Monte, paulamonte@panazorica.pt, +351 296301720. Accommodation: Alexandra Pacheco, alexandra@panazorica.pt, +351 296301724.

Event Website / Details

Posted: January 3, 2017 9:41 AM

Azores Rallye