FIA European Championships for Rallycross Drivers

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The FIA European Championship for Rallycross Drivers is a rallycross competition held in Europe, organized under the auspices of the FIA.

[edit] History

The championship began in 1973 as the Embassy/ERA European Rallycross Championship. In 1976 the FIA created regulations for rallycross and awarded the first official European cup. For 1978 two classes became introduced, one class for Touring cars and one for Grand Touring cars, but the FIA European cup was for the driver with the highest amount of scored points from both Divisions, Norwegian Martin Schanche. In 1979 Schanche claimed the first ever true FIA European championship title.

In 1982 the FIA reorganized the classes into Division 1, for Group A but restricted to two-wheel drive, and Division 2 for the so-called Rallycross Specials, which allowed the use of four-wheel drive. The first European Champions under this new rules became Norwegian Egil Stenshagen and Austrian Franz Wurz (father of ex-Formula One driver Alexander Wurz).

After several major accidents, Group B cars were banned from the WRC at the end of 1986, but found their new home in the European Rallycross Championship in 1987. Division 1 continued to use only two-wheel drive touring cars, but the Division 2 received the exotic Group B machinery such as the Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 E2, Ford RS200 E2, Lancia Delta S4, Audi Sport Quattro S1 or MG Metro 6R4, which continued to be prepared past their highest point of evolution in rallying.

Beginning in the 1993 season, the Group B cars disappeared and the four-wheel drive "specials" came in to the era. Division 1 was now open to four-wheel drive cars, but using Group N regulations. Division 2 was based in Group A, but allowing several extra modifications such as changing to a different engine produced by the same manufacturer, adding a turbocharger or four-wheel drive. This allowed the creation of machines based on the Citroën Xantia, Peugeot 306 or Ford Escort RS2000. A third division was added, for two-wheel drive cars up to 1.4 litres, called 1400 Cup, but the title was recognized by the FIA only in 1995.

In 1997, the divisions were swapped, with Division 1 now becoming the primary class, with Group A-based cars, and Group N moving to Division 2. In 1999, Division 1 was allowed cars based on WRC and Supertouring regulations, but with the same set of freedoms as the Group A (adding turbochargers and four-wheel drive where needed). Division 2 kept Group N, but with a maximum displacement of 2.0 litres and only two-wheel drive. In 2001 the 1400 Cup's status was upgraded to Division 2A.

For 2003, the class format was revised once more, assuming the form that is currently used. Division 1 and Division 2 remain essentially identical, with 4WD turbocharged Group A "specials" and 2WD normally aspirated 2.0 litre Group N cars, respectively, but a new Division A1 was created to replace the 1400 Cup, with regular Group A cars up to 1.6 litres.

[edit] Champions

Year		Overall
1976	1.	Franz Wurz	Lancia Stratos HF
	2.	Cees Teurlings	Porsche 911 Carrera
	3.	Rolf Nilsson	Porsche 911 Carrera
1977	1.	Herbert Grünsteidl	Alpine A310 16V Alpine A310 V6
	2.	Per Engseth	Porsche 911 Carrera
	3.	Stig Emilsson	Porsche 911 Carrera
1978	1.	Martin Schanche (FIA European Cup winner)	Ford Escort RS1800
	2.	Andy Bentza (GT Division winner)	Lancia Stratos HF
	3.	Åke Andersson	Porsche 911 Carrera
Year		TC Division		GT Division
1979	1.	Martin Schanche	Ford Escort RS1800	Olle Arnesson	Porsche 911 Carrera
	2.	Jan de Rooy	Ford Escort RS1800	Per Engseth	Porsche 911 Carrera
	3.	Anders Hultqvist	VW 1303S Turbo	Andy Bentza	Lancia Stratos HF
1980	1.	Per-Inge Walfridsson	Volvo 343 Turbo	Olle Arnesson	Porsche 911 SC
	2.	Martin Schanche	Ford Escort RS1800	Andy Bentza	Lancia Stratos HF
	3.	Per Engseth	Volvo 343 Turbo	Matti Alamäki	Porsche 911 SC
1981	1.	Martin Schanche	Ford Escort RS1800 Turbo	Matti Alamäki	Porsche 911 SC
	2.	Piet Dam	BMW 320i	Olle Arnesson	Porsche 911 SC
	3.	Per-Inge Walfridsson	Volvo 343/16 Turbo	Andy Bentza	Lancia Stratos HF
Year		Division 1		Division 2
1982	1.	Egil Stenshagen	Volkswagen Golf GTI	Franz Wurz	Audi Quattro
	2.	Svein Hagen	Talbot Rallye 3	Martin Schanche	Ford Escort RS1800 Turbo
	3.	Knut Boberg	Volkswagen Golf GTI	Jan de Rooy	Audi Quattro
1983	1.	Egil Stenshagen	Volkswagen Golf GTI 1.8	Olle Arnesson	Audi Quattro
	2.	Lars Nyström	Volvo 240 Turbo	Rolf Nilsson	Porsche 911 SC
	3.	Ludvig Hunsbedt	Opel Ascona i2000	Seppo Niittymäki	Porsche 911 BiTurbo
1984	1.	Anders Norstedt	Saab 900 Turbo	Martin Schanche	Ford Escort XR3 T16 4x4
	2.	Lars Nyström	Volvo 240 Turbo	Seppo Niittymäki	Porsche 911 BiTurbo 4x4
	3.	Bjørn Skogstad	Opel Ascona i2000	Olle Arnesson	Audi Quattro
1985	1.	Anders Norstedt	Saab 900 Turbo	Matti Alamäki	Porsche 911 BiTurbo 4x4
	2.	Lars Nyström	Volvo 240 Turbo	Martin Schanche	Ford Escort XR3 T16 4x4
	3.	Bjørn Skogstad	Opel Ascona i2000	Olle Arnesson	Audi Quattro
1986	1.	Anders Norstedt	Saab 900 Turbo	Olle Arnesson	Audi Quattro 20V
	2.	Per-Ove Davidsson	Volvo 240 Turbo	Martin Schanche	Ford Escort XR3 T16 4x4
	3.	Trevor Reeves	Ford Escort RS Turbo	Matti Alamäki	Porsche 911 BiTurbo 4x4
1987	1.	Per-Ove Davidsson	Volvo 240 Turbo	Seppo Niittymäki	Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 E2
	2.	Herbert Breiteneder	Volkswagen Golf GTI 16V	Matti Alamäki	Lancia Delta S4
	3.	Anders Norstedt	Saab 900 Turbo	Olle Arnesson	Audi Sport Quattro S1
1988	1.	Bjørn Skogstad	Ford Sierra RS500	Matti Alamäki	Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 E2
	2.	Herbert Breiteneder	Volkswagen Golf GTI 16V	Martin Schanche	Ford RS200 E2
	3.	Anders Norstedt	Saab 900 Turbo 16	Will Gollop	MG Metro 6R4
1989	1.	Kenneth Hansen	Ford Sierra RS500	Matti Alamäki	Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 E2
	2.	Bjørn Skogstad	Ford Sierra RS500	Martin Schanche	Ford RS200 E2
	3.	Trevor Reeves	Ford Sierra RS500	Will Gollop	MG Metro 6R4 BiTurbo
1990	1.	Kenneth Hansen	Ford Sierra RS500	Matti Alamäki	Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 E2
	2.	Bjørn Skogstad	Ford Sierra RS500	Martin Schanche	Ford RS200 E2
	3.	Bengt Ekström	BMW M3	Will Gollop	MG Metro 6R4 BiTurbo
1991	1.	Kenneth Hansen	Ford Sierra RS500	Martin Schanche	Ford RS200 E2
	2.	Bjørn Skogstad	Ford Sierra RS500	Will Gollop	MG Metro 6R4 BiTurbo
	3.	Steinar Jøranli	Opel Kadett GSi 16V	Thor Holm	Ford RS200 E2
1992	1.	Kenneth Hansen	Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth	Will Gollop	MG Metro 6R4 BiTurbo
	2.	Bjørn Skogstad	Ford Sierra RS500	Pat Doran	Ford RS200 E2
	3.	Michael Jernberg	Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth	Pekka Rantanen	Ford RS200 E2
Year		Division 1		Division 2		1400 Cup
1993	1.	Ludvig Hunsbedt	Ford Escort RS Cosworth	Jean-Luc Pailler	Citroën BX GTi T16 4x4	Tony Kuypers	Citroën AX GT Citroën AX Sport
	2.	Eivind Opland	Nissan Sunny GTi-R	Kenneth Hansen	Citroën ZX T16 4x4	Manfred Beck	Citroën AX Sport
	3.	Richard Hutton	Ford Escort RS Cosworth	Tommy Kristoffersson	Audi Coupé S2 20V	Pavel Novotný	Citroën AX Sport
1994	1.	Richard Hutton	Ford Escort RS Cosworth	Kenneth Hansen	Citroën ZX T16 4x4	Susann Bergvall	Citroën AX Sport
	2.	Bernd Leinemann	Ford Escort RS Cosworth	Martin Schanche	Ford Escort RS2000 T16 4x4	Manfred Beck	Citroën AX Sport
	3.	Ludvig Hunsbedt	Ford Escort RS Cosworth	Jean-Luc Pailler	Citroën Xantia T16 4x4	Rudy Lauwers	Peugeot 205 Rallye
1995	1.	Eivind Opland	Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution II	Martin Schanche	Ford Escort RS2000 T16 4x4	Ko Kasse	Citroën AX GTi
	2.	Jos Kuypers	Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution II	Kenneth Hansen	Citroën ZX T16 4x4	Manfred Beck	Citroën AX Sport
	3.	Gunde Svan	Toyota Celica GT-Four	Jean-Luc Pailler	Citroën Xantia T16 4x4	Pavel Novotný	Citroën AX GTi
1996	1.	Eivind Opland	Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution III	Kenneth Hansen	Citroën ZX T16 4x4	Manfred Beck	Citroën AX GTi
	2.	Lars Sällström	Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution III	Ludvig Hunsbedt	Ford Escort RS2000 T16 4x4	Ko Kasse	Citroën AX GTi
	3.	Jos Kuypers	Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution III	Jean-Luc Pailler	Citroën Xantia T16 4x4	Sven Seeliger	Citroën AX GTi
Year		Division 1		Division 2		1400 Cup (Div. 2A)
1997	1.	Ludvig Hunsbedt	Ford Escort RS2000 T16 4x4	Eivind Opland	Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution III	Jaroslav Kalný	Peugeot 106 Rallye
	2.	Kenneth Hansen	Citroën ZX T16 4x4	Pavel Koutný	Ford Escort RS Cosworth	Sven Seeliger	Citroën AX GTi
	3.	Martin Schanche	Ford Escort RS2000 T16 4x4	Lars Sällström	Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution III	Vlastimil Boháček	Peugeot 106 XSi
1998	1.	Kenneth Hansen	Citroën Xsara VTS T16 4x4	Eivind Opland	Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution V	Jaroslav Kalný	Peugeot 106 Rallye
	2.	Per Eklund	Saab 900 T16 4x4	Jos Kuypers	Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution III	Magnus Hansen	Citroën AX GTi
	3.	Martin Schanche	Ford Escort RS2000 T16 4x4	Bjørn Skogstad	Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution III	Jean-Michel Laurant	Peugeot 106 XSi
1999	1.	Per Eklund	Saab 9-3 T16 4x4	Magnus Hansen	Citroën Xsara VTS	Johnny Jensen	Citroën AX GTi
	2.	Kenneth Hansen	Citroën Xsara VTS T16 4x4	Jaroslav Kalný	Peugeot 306 S16	Jean-Michel Laurant	Peugeot 106 XSi
	3.	Ludvig Hunsbedt	Ford Escort RS2000 T16 4x4	Pavel Novotný	Citroën Xsara VTS	Jaroslav Marchal	Volkswagen Polo 1.4 16V
2000	1.	Kenneth Hansen	Citroën Xsara WRC	Eddy Bénézet	Peugeot 306 S16	Sven Seeliger	Citroën AX GTi
	2.	Jean-Luc Pailler	Peugeot 206 WRC	Jouko Kallio	Honda Integra Type-R	Michaël De Keersmaecker	Peugeot 106 XSi
	3.	Per Eklund	Saab 9-3 T16 4x4	Magnus Hansen	Citroën Xsara VTS	Jaroslav Marchal	Volkswagen Polo 1.4 16V
2001	1.	Kenneth Hansen	Citroën Xsara WRC	Ronny Scheveneels	Volkswagen Golf GTI 16V	Sven Seeliger	Citroën AX GTi
	2.	Ludvig Hunsbedt	Ford Focus WRC	Magnus Hansen	Citroën Xsara VTS	Tomasz Oleksiak	Peugeot 106 XSi
	3.	Per Eklund	Saab 9-3 T16 4x4	Guttorm Lindefjell	Peugeot 306 S16	Michaël De Keersmaecker	Peugeot 106 XSi
2002	1.	Kenneth Hansen	Citroën Xsara WRC	Marc-Jan Vlassak	Opel Astra OPC	Aleš Zázvorka	Volkswagen Polo 1.4 16V
	2.	Per Eklund	Saab 9-3 T16 4x4	Magnus Hansen	Citroën Xsara VTS	Krzysztof Groblewski	Volkswagen Polo 1.4 16V
	3.	Pavel Koutný	Ford Focus WRC Ford Escort WRC	Ronny Scheveneels	Volkswagen Golf GTI 16V	Milan Peruth	Volkswagen Polo 1.4 16V
Year		Division 1		Division 1A		Division 2
2003	1.	Kenneth Hansen	Citroën Xsara T16 4x4	Jaroslav Kalný	Peugeot 206 XS	Guttorm Lindefjell	Opel Astra OPC
	2.	Per Eklund	Saab 9-3 T16 4x4	Krzysztof Groblewski	Volkswagen Polo GTI	Harald Sachweh	Opel Astra OPC
	3.	Jean-Luc Pailler	Peugeot 206 T16 4x4	Ron Snoeck	Seat Ibiza 16V	Jussi Pinomäki	Renault Clio RS
2004	1.	Kenneth Hansen	Citroën Xsara T16 4x4	Ron Snoeck	Seat Ibiza 16V	Jussi Pinomäki	Renault Clio RS Ragnotti
	2.	Michael Jernberg	Ford Focus T16 4x4	Krzysztof Groblewski	Volkswagen Polo GTI	Harald Sachweh	Opel Astra OPC
	3.	Jos Kuypers	Ford Focus T16 4x4	Marcin Laskowski	Peugeot 106 S16	Per Gustafsson	Peugeot 206 RC
2005	1.	Kenneth Hansen	Citroën Xsara T16 4x4	Ron Snoeck	Seat Ibiza 16V	Jussi Pinomäki	Renault Clio RS Ragnotti
	2.	Michael Jernberg	Ford Focus T16 4x4	Jaroslav Kalný	Peugeot 206 XSi	Michaël De Keersmaecker	Honda Civic Type-R
	3.	Sverre Isachsen	Ford Focus T16 4x4	Morten Jespersen	Peugeot 106 S16	Marcus Nilsson	Peugeot 206 RC
2006	1.	Lars Larsson	Škoda Fabia T16 4x4	Krzysztof Groblewski	Volkswagen Polo GTI	Roman Častoral	Opel Astra OPC
	2.	Kenneth Hansen	Citroën C4 T16 4x4	Morten Jespersen	Peugeot 106 S16	Mattias Thörjesson	Opel Astra OPC
	3.	Tommy Rustad	Ford Focus T16 4x4	Jussi Pinomäki	Renault Clio 1.6	Tomáš Kotek	Honda Civic Type-R
2007	1.	Lars Larsson	Škoda Fabia T16 4x4	Michaël De Keersmaecker	Opel Corsa GSi	Tomáš Kotek	Honda Civic Type-R
	2.	Kenneth Hansen	Citroën C4 T16 4x4	Jaroslav Kalný	Peugeot 206 XS	Roman Častoral	Opel Astra OPC
	3.	Andreas Eriksson	Ford Fiesta ST T16 4x4	Olivier Bossard	Citroën Saxo VTS Citroën C2 GT	Martynas Padgurskis	Renault Clio RS

[edit] External links

• Unofficial European Rallycross site