Title success for MRF Tyres in the FIA ERC, the culmination of years of work.

Team MRF Tyres’ run to the FIA European Rally Championship Team’s Championship was not the work of a moment. Rather it is years of hard work, development, and determination. 

The Team MRF Tyres story in Europe began in 2018 with a four round run in the FIA World Rally Championship, in the RC2 class. 

We knew that we would be facing a mountain of work. The mission was to come and compete against the most accomplished companies in their backyard.

From the initial four rallies in a Ford Fiesta R5, MRF Tyres knew the direction to go, where to develop and how to begin strategizing for the future.

The next year, 2019, was spent on the drawing boards, putting the structures in place and commencing the aggressive development program.

We returned to the stages in 2020. Like everyone else in the world, MRF Tyres had to cope and plan around the COVID-19 global pandemic but the FIA ERC was able to get going and so did we. 

Craig Breen and Paul Nagle were at the wheel of a Hyundai i20 R5 and led the program. Finland’s Emil Lindholm and Mikael Korhonen completed a part season in a Skoda Fabia R5. Along with the five rallies, we undertook an aggressive multi-driver testing program.

It led to 2021 with Italian legend Paolo Andreucci leading the testing program and competing in the Italian Rally Championship – Gravel, going on to win the Championship with Rudy Briani. 

It was the second MRF Tyres’ Championship of the year with Emil Lindholm taking the Driver’s Championship in the Finnish Rally Championship.

Along with our first podium success in the FIA ERC, with Breen and Nagle, now with Simone Campedelli and Tania Canton, the progress was clear.

But the goal remained. The focus had to be on a European Rally Championship title.

For 2022, Team MRF Tyres entered into the next phase of the program. Andreucci continued to lead the testing and the Italian Gravel Championship. Campedelli went into double duty with the FIA ERC and Italian Rally Championship – Tarmac.

But the FIA ERC would now be a multi car effort with Efrén Llarena and Sara Fernández leading the charge alongside Campedelli and Canton, Norbert Herczig, Javier Pardo and Martins Sesks.

Podiums and wins followed. Llarena and Fernández took MRF Tyres’ first FIA ERC win at Rallye Azores and Martins Sesks with Renars Francis took every stage win in a dominant win at Rally Liepaja.

It meant that in just our third season in the FIA ERC, and fifth year in Europe, MRF Tyres has taken Championship success all the way to the FIA ERC Driver’s, Co-Driver’s and Team’s Championships.

History is written with our triple crown.

MRF Tyres will not back off as we continue our story into the future.

The RacerViews info

By Sam Tickell, for Team MRF Tyres

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