The 2024 European Rally Championship season kicked off at Spain’s Rally Sierra Morena, where Nikolay Gryazin claimed victory, showcasing his impressive asphalt pace. The WRC2 regular won by a 46-second margin over Tarmac specialist Yoann Bonato, who kept the atmosphere light with his quick-witted comments at the end of stages. José Antonio Suárez rounded out the podium, followed by title contenders Andrea Mabellini (who claimed the powerstage win) and Miko Marczyk.
But beyond the results of this all-new rally in the ERC, there were some notable takeaways, including the surprising presence of Rally1 cars, an unfortunate incident that spoiled a former WRC winner’s weekend, and the debut of an ex-F1 driver in the series.
Locals Might Not Always Dominate
One trend in the 2024 ERC season had been the dominance of local drivers taking overall victories, often overshadowing the regular title contenders. However, that didn’t hold true at Rally Sierra Morena, where Gryazin – who, while not a full-time ERC participant in 2025, still proved his speed – outpaced the talented Spaniards.
Gryazin’s victory began with a strong performance in the qualifying stage, securing the cleanest road for the rally. This clean road was quickly dirtied by his competitors, especially Andrea Mabellini and Mads Østberg, who were notably frustrated by the conditions.
However, it was the third stage of Saturday’s loop, the 16.9-mile Villaviciosa, that proved crucial for Gryazin. His decision to use the medium tires paid off, as he set the fastest times, being 18.5 seconds quicker than any of his ERC rivals on the first pass and 11.6 seconds faster on the second. This put him in a comfortable lead going into Sunday, a lead he continued to extend, ultimately securing his first ERC victory in four years.
As for the local contenders, José Antonio Suárez was the only one who was even close to Gryazin’s pace in the ERC field. However, a rear-left puncture on Sunday’s opening stage derailed his hopes of challenging for the win, allowing Yoann Bonato – who had won the last time the ERC visited Spain at Rally Islas Canarias – to move ahead in the standings.
Alejandro Cachón, the only Rally2 driver initially faster than Gryazin (due to drier road conditions), didn’t make much of an impact on the overall rally narrative as he wasn’t registered for the ERC. After six stages, Cachón’s Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 was 10.1 seconds ahead of Gryazin’s Škoda Fabia RS Rally2, but he dropped five minutes on SS8 and was forced to retire. Nonetheless, Cachón was satisfied with the lessons learned and performance shown, looking ahead to his WRC2 campaign.
Verstappen Shows Promise
Meanwhile, Jos Verstappen made a notable debut in the ERC, though his final result didn’t fully reflect his performance. On the same weekend that his son Max stole the spotlight with his remarkable Japanese Grand Prix win, Jos also impressed with a solid outing in Spain.
Having been rallying for three years now, Verstappen has made clear progress, especially with a strong start to the 2025 season domestically in Belgium. However, the ERC posed a tougher challenge. Despite this, Verstappen qualified a respectable seventh, earning attention for a memorable word in his pacenotes to describe poor conditions. He managed to run within the top-10 during the rally but struggled to adapt to the flowing roads, which were far different from the junction-heavy stages he’s used to. Ultimately, Verstappen finished 13th overall, five minutes behind the winner.
While the newly introduced ERC Masters title wasn’t his primary goal, the 53-year-old Verstappen did claim an easy victory in that category in Córdoba.
“We can’t forget I’m over 50, but my aim is still higher,” he said. “We’ll do a lot to improve and keep pushing forward.”
A Rocky Start for Title Challengers
While finishing in fourth and fifth might not have been what Andrea Mabellini and Miko Marczyk had hoped for in Spain, their results were strong compared to three of their expected 2025 title rivals, who had a much tougher time.
Jon Armstrong, who had been a standout in qualifying – second fastest and the only driver to match Gryazin’s pace – seemed poised for a great result.
Despite a stall on Friday’s superspecial, Jon Armstrong showed impressive speed and was a constant threat to the leaders. However, a misheard pacenote on SS4 led to a slip-off that cost him a minute. On Sunday morning, the Irishman’s rally ended for good after a spin that damaged his steering arm.
2022 champion Efrén Llarena, who started the rally quietly, had managed to climb to fifth place after six stages. But his momentum came to a halt due to technical issues with his Citroën, forcing him to use up his dropped score early, just like Armstrong.
Mads Østberg, meanwhile, had to deal with a frustrating issue that he described as “something really stupid.” After struggling for several stages, Østberg discovered that a bent clip on the throttle pedal was causing it to stick, overboosting the car and overheating the brakes.
“You see the pedal?” Østberg said after SS10. “This clip was bent, and it was holding the throttle down, so we were overboosting and burning the brakes all the time. It was full of dirt inside, probably from yesterday, with mud from my shoe stuck holding the pedal down.”
After fixing the issue, Østberg regained his pace and was set for a sixth-place finish, only for his transmission to fail just before the powerstage, costing him two positions and leaving him in eighth place.
Advantage Michelin in Tire War
Last year, the tire suppliers’ championship in the ERC went down to the wire, with Michelin edging out Pirelli by just three points. At Rally Sierra Morena, Michelin proved its dominance, locking out the podium and placing four cars in the top five. Mabellini’s Pirelli-shod Škoda was the highest-placed non-Michelin car, finishing fourth.
This performance gives Michelin an early lead in the tire suppliers’ standings, with Pirelli trailing behind. Hankook, represented by Mille Johansson (seventh) and the retired Robert Virves, sits third, while MRF, relying on Stéphane Lefebvre (ninth), lags at the bottom after Simone Tempestini and James Williams both crashed out.
Junior ERC Title Battle Heats Up
The Junior ERC category delivered one of the closest finishes of the rally, with just 3.4 seconds separating the top two after over two hours of driving.
For Sergi Pérez, the result was a dream come true – a Junior ERC win on his series debut. For Calle Carlberg, it was heartbreak, as despite setting the fastest time on the powerstage, he couldn’t quite steal the win.
“The day you see Calle Carlberg smiling with a P2, you should call a doctor,” Carlberg jokingly said after the rally.
Carlberg is certainly a strong contender for this year’s title, but one thing is clear: the Junior ERC championship will be as fiercely contested in 2025 as it was in 2024.
Estonian driver Jasper Vaher completed the podium, while defending Junior ERC champion Mille Johansson impressed in his step up to the main category. In his first Tarmac event in a Rally2 car, the Swede finished seventh overall, setting two top-four stage times in the process.
Neuville Gets Away with One
It was unusual to see the defending World Rally Champion, Thierry Neuville, in action without being the center of attention, especially in a rally where he was running as car #84, with Elfyn Evans (#85) also competing. Both drivers were primarily there to gain valuable mileage ahead of the upcoming Rally Islas Canarias (April 24-27), and neither was the main focus of broadcast coverage.
While we shouldn’t make too much of the result without speaking to the drivers or teams, fan footage revealed an almost disastrous moment for Neuville. While navigating a right-left sequence of bends, he came dangerously close to a major mishap. The first turn had already caught out James Williams in the ERC field, with his Hyundai i20 N Rally2 crashing into a protective barrier.
Neuville’s car was also unsettled, losing the rear and drifting through the corner. He made light contact with the barrier, which had been pushed back by Williams’ earlier accident. Had the barrier not been displaced, the impact could have been far more serious.
It was a close call for the world champion, but whether it’s just a wild moment or a fortunate turn of events, it might be seen as a sign that luck could finally be turning for Neuville in his efforts to challenge the driver who’s dominated the 2025 season so far.