ERC 2020: the firsts

As 2020 draws to a close, here are 20 firsts from the 2020 FIA European Rally Championship.

1:Rallye Team Spain pairing Efrén Llarena and Sara Fernández scored theirfirstoverall ERC podium during what was theirfirstseason at Rally2 level.

2:In hisfirstseason in ERC1 Junior, Grégoire Munster twice finished first in class alongside co-driver Louis Louka.

3:Ola Jr Nore and Rachele Somaschini joined Toksport WRT for Rally Hungary to give Renault’s Clio RSR Rally5 itsfirstERC outing.

4:Alexey Lukyanuk became thefirstSaintéloc Junior Team driver to win the overall ERC title.

5:The Russian also bagged Citroën’sfirstoverall ERC crown since Simon Jean-Joseph landed the 2007 title in a C2 S1600.

6:After losing out in 2019, Ken Torn placedfirstin ERC3/ERC3 Junior driving a Ford Fiesta Rally4.

7:In hisfirstseason in international rallying, Andrea Mabellini won the Abarth Rally Cup.

8:Rally di Roma Capitale was thefirstinternational rally to take place since lockdown restrictions eased following the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.

9:Tibor Érdi Jr finishedfirston his four ERC2 starts to secure his third category title.

10:Pirelli-equipped drivers werefirstin ERC1, ERC2, ERC3, ERC1 Junior, ERC3 Junior and the Abarth Rally Cup.

11:Adrienn Vogel, competing in the ERC for thefirsttime, was the highest-scoring female driver.

12:For thefirsttime, the top-15 finishers on each ERC rally scored points.

13:ORLEN Team’s Miko Marczyk led an ERC rally for thefirsttime when he topped the order after SS1 on Rally Hungary.

14:Adrien Fourmaux took hisfirstERC victory on the season-deciding Rally Islas Canarias driving a Ford Fiesta R5 MkII on Michelin tyres.

15:Andreas Mikkelsen made hisfirstERC start since 2012 on Rally Hungary and promptly won the event.

16:After back-to-back DNFs, Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy’s Callum Devine registered hisfirstERC points of 2020 on Rally Fafe Montelongo.

17:Zelindo Melegari finishedfirstin ERC2 on Rally di Roma Capitale, hisfirststart since a crash on Barum Czech Rally Zlín in 2019 left he and co-driver Corrado Bonato in hospital.

18:Rally Fafe Montelongo joined the ERC roster for thefirsttime.

19:The all-Tarmac event in Portugal was also the setting for thefirstinternational appearance by the Alpine A110 RGT from CHAZEL Technologie Course (pictured).

20:Firstrun on Rally Hungary in 2019, the P1 Racing Fuels Podium Challenge rewarded the top-three finishers in ERC1 and ERC2 on all rounds of the 2020 ERC season.

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