EXCITING WINTER START FOR 2014 FIA ERC SEASON The 2014 FIA European Rally Championship will begin with two exciting winter rallies in Austria and Latvia while discussions are ongoing over a third snow spectacular, Eurosport Events, the ERC promoter, is delighted to announce. For the third year in a row, the Internationale Jännerrallye in Austria will open the ERC season from 2-4 January with Rally Latvia scheduled from 31 January-2 February. A third winter event could also be added to the provisional ERC calendar and, if current plans reach fruition, a three-round Winter Challenge will be created and incorporated within the existing ERC framework. Both dates remain subject to FIA World Motor Sport Council approval. Eurosport Events is working in close collaboration with the FIA to secure a harmonised ERC and WRC calendar. As such, the full 12-round ERC schedule will be revealed following the announcement of the 2014 FIA World Rally Championship calendar. François Ribeiro, Motorsport Business Director, Eurosport Events, said: “Announcing the first two opening rounds of the 2014 season now not only gives our teams and drivers the opportunity to start their preparations, it also whets the appetite of rally fans who can look forward to some serious competition ahead when the 2014 ERC season begins with at least two exciting winter rallies. While the Jännerrallye is well established as one of Europe’s leading winter events, Rally Latvia was a completely new event for 2013 and proved to be a tremendous success. We can’t wait to take the ERC back to these two rallies. The third winter event remains in the planning stages. But if it does go ahead then it will be a truly spectacular affair to ensure a stunning start to next season’s ERC.” Internationale Jännerrallye Based in Freistadt, near Linz, the Jännerrallye was back in ERC last season for the first time since the championship’s restructuring in 2004 and proved a big hit as drivers fought for glory on the snow-coated undulating stages of Lower Austria. This year’s event also proved to be an epic with Jan Kopecký claiming victory over Bryan Bouffier by half a second and seven different drivers winning stages. Rally Latvia Starting in Liepāja in Latvia’s Kurzeme region west of the capital Riga, the action gradually headed north up the Baltic coast to Ventspils where it finished two days and 243 kilometres of snow and ice-coated stages later. The roads were littered with jumps, high-speed turns and blind crests. Jari Ketomaa came out on top but only after Craig Breen had led early on.
Posted on: Sat, 14 Sep 2013 16:53:07 +0000
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