2026 WRC, ERC (International) Rally thread

[egomeister]

Monte is approaching so it is probably time for a 2026 thread



Slightly revised calendar in WRC, Kenya and Japan moving earlier & Croatia returning:





Rovapera off to single seaters, Tanak taking a break and Munster only down for Monte, with Solberg in full time at Toyota and the Hyundai 3rd driver carousel in full swing. Debut for Jon Armstrong.





In the ERC, problems with Hungary see the event cancelled and in need of replacement. Otherwise, a similar calendar to 25 except for Croatia returning to WRC

[egomeister]

They are earning their money this evening!

[ecsrobin]

Where can I watch this evenings action is it live streamed?

[egomeister]

ecsrobin said:

Where can I watch this evenings action is it live streamed?

Nothing free to air as far as I know. Rally TV or Discovery+ / TNT Sports

[egomeister]

Stage red flagged for visbility.

Worth watching SS2 if you can find it somewhere though

[confucuis]

Wild first 3 stages!

Delighted for Armstrong, hopefully he can bring the car home in the top 5, that'd be a fantastic result. Annoyed with Josh, should know better than to bin it on the second stage. Same place Pajari took a wheel off and Fourmaux spun!

[df76]

Stage 3 looked a nightmare. Glad it didn’t ruin the rally.

[fttm]

Tricky stages , really surprised with Solberg topping the timesheets but credit where it's due .

[df76]

Scary conditions again this morning. Not sure how you’d cope with it..

[egomeister]

fttm said:

Tricky stages , really surprised with Solberg topping the timesheets but credit where it's due .

I wasn't surprised he managed it however the gap he pulled was incredible

[BunkMoreland]

fttm said:

Tricky stages , really surprised with Solberg topping the timesheets but credit where it's due .

Obviously when he turned up a few years ago, I was sceptical about him. Was he just another "nepo" racer?

But he's had success along the way. But there was always a nagging in the back of my head that Dad (totally understandably) helped him get the best contacts. And the best staff. And hence the best seats etc

But after that win last year, he's clearly the real deal.

Has a former WRC champion ever had a child thats also won the title? Obviously we've seen it in F1 with Damon and Nico

[ecsrobin]

BunkMoreland said:

Has a former WRC champion ever had a child thats also won the title? Obviously we've seen it in F1 with Damon and Nico

Not yet.

[thepawbroon]

BunkMoreland said:

Has a former WRC champion ever had a child thats also won the title? Obviously we've seen it in F1 with Damon and Nico

Even WRC event winner nepo babies are rare:

Oliver & Petter Solberg
Kalle & Harri Rovenpera
Henri & Pauli Toivonen (although Pauli's win in the 100 Lakes was before WRC drivers' title existed)

Can't think of any more?

[bergclimber34]

Jimmy did not do full campaigns but did a lot of WRC rallies.

Yves Loubet's lad is half decent as we have Delecours lad on this event.

Gregoire Munster but again his dad never did WRC really.

Niclas Gronholm I guess but not got a WRC budget.

Matthew Wilson but maybe the less said the better lol

[ArnageWRC]

Stig Blomqvist & Carlos Sainz both had sons who had the good sense not to bother with rallying - and go racing; far more opportunities than stuck in current day rallying.

[df76]

Challenging stages again this morning.. anything could still happen. Rally 3 car winning a stage!

Enjoying solbergs end of stage interviews, being pretty honest.

[egomeister]

Fontana has done it again on SS15!

[tardelli]

Big Congratulations to Oliver:-) :-):-)
He took the lead and didn't let go :-) :-) :-)

[ecsrobin]

Great drive by Solberg in what looked to be extremely challenging conditions. Elfyn Evans didn’t look too pleased on the podium.

[egomeister]

I'm not surprised. He had a really good drive and still ended up with someone in front of him!

I feel for Jon Armstrong too. I thought he had a strong debut in a tough event, but had nothing to show for it in the end