INDIA in F1

Tag: ERC

  • MRF’s Lindholm hoping for a Hungarian high: Jr ERC1

    MRF’s Lindholm hoping for a Hungarian high: Jr ERC1

    Nyíregyháza (Hungary), 3 Nov 2020: Emil Lindholm is a man with a plan in the FIA European Rally Championship in Hungary this week.

    Keen to make up for the lost kilometres following his early Rally Fafe Montelongo exit, the Team MRF Tyres driver is eager to go the distance on the sealed-surface showcase.

    “We’ve had a bit of a mixed season this year – our pace in Rome and Liepāja was impressive,” said the ERC1 Junior contender. “We again had a lot of speed in Portugal, taking out shakedown but the brake failure meant we couldn’t capitalise on that.

    “Data collection remains key for us as we look to develop the future of MRF Tyres’ rallying product. Before Fafe we were third in ERC1 and we have shown that there is potential in the tyre. So, it would be great to go to Rally Hungary and demonstrate the continued progress from Team MRF Tyres. It will be important for us to have a clean rally so we can maximise the kilometres on the tyres.”

    Craig Breen

    Rally Hungary is another round of the European Rally Championship I have not done before. With Team MRF Tyres, I am hoping we can have some more consistent conditions with the weather! The wet-dry-wet roads in Fafe gave us a lot of data in those conditions so I hope it can be full wet or full dry to give us chances to gain data in those situations.

    It would be great to capitalize on the pace Team MRF Tyres had in Portugal in the next rally. It showed we had the pace to fight for a podium and showed some of the progress we have made through the season. We will primarily continue focus on development and collecting data as we still looking to learn and develop the next generation of MRF Tyres.

    Credit must go to the team for being able to hold a Covid safe event and I can say that I am looking forward to the rally!

    Emil Lindholm

    Rally Hungary is a new rally for me so it will be interesting to drive the Team MRF Tyres Skoda on those roads. We’ve had a bit of a mixed season this year – our pace in Rome and Liepaja was impressive. We again had a lot of speed in Portugal, taking out Shakedown but the brake failure meant we couldn’t capitalize on that.

    Data collection remains to the key for us as we look to develop the future of MRF Tyres rallying product. Before Fafe we were third in ERC1 and we have shown that there is potential in the tyre. So, it would be great to go to Rally Hungary and demonstrate the continued progress from Team MRF Tyres. It will be important for us to have a clean rally so we can maximize the kilometres on the tyres.

    I am looking forward to Rally Hungary and congratulations to the organisers for being able to hold the event at this time.

  • Probe by MRF Tyres shows cause of Craig Breen’s Rally Liepāja delay

    Probe by MRF Tyres shows cause of Craig Breen’s Rally Liepāja delay

    Liepaja, 19 August 2020: The Irish ace, a five-time FIA European Rally Championship event winner, had been in the fight for fourth place until he and co-driver Paul Nagle lost almost a minute on stage seven of the high-speed gravel event due to a damaged tyre.

    After reviewing footage from the camera fitted in Breen’s Hyundai i20 R5, it was discovered that a corner marker had been hit by a car running higher up the order, which had fallen into the road. The obstruction was impossible to see from behind the wheel, and Breen inadvertently ran over it, although he was able to battle back to finish fifth overall and land fourth-place ERC points.

    “It was a tough rally but we showed some good pace,” said Breen, who is leading the MRF Tyres’ development programme in the ERC along with Finnish team-mate Emil Lindholm. “It was important that we got to the end of the rally to pick up good points and get more data for the development of the tyres.

    “We are pushing the tyres to the limits and we are aggressive on the development of the tyre. The MRF Tyres are durable and it is important to learn develop the tyres. We are happy with the direction of the development of the tyres.

    “Being able to take a second on one stage was good and shows our pace. What happened to us on SS7 could have happened to anyone. I am looking forward to continuing on gravel at the next round in the Azores.”

  • Team MRF Tyres finish strongly in ERC Round 2

    Team MRF Tyres finish strongly in ERC Round 2

    Liepaja (Latvia), 16 August 2020: Team MRF Tyres have taken provisional fifth and sixth positions in Rally Liepaja, the second round of the FIA European Rally Championship.

    In the first ERC event for the Team MRF Tyres, Craig Breen & Paul Nagle in the Hyundai i20 R5 showed great pace to take fifth position.

    The duo had battled dust problems on Saturday’s stages and made changes to the car in the overnight service to find additional pace for the six Sunday stages.

    The Sunday stages saw six stages in two loops, for a total distance of 87.66 km. The weather was sunny and warm and the dusty gravel roads meant that the road sweeping effect was in full force. Meaning the more cars that ran on the road, the more grip there was.

    Breen/Nagle started the day by taking fifth on SS5 – the longest of the day at 18.11 km. This was followed by sixth on SS6. Unfortunately, an issue on SS7 meant the crew lost 56 seconds and fell down the leader board.

    They bounced back on the other side of service taking the second-best time on SS8. The time of 7:55.4 was just 1.5seconds off the stage winner, Mads Ostberg & Torstein Eriksen.

    After the short stage nine, they had consolidated their fifth place in their first gravel rally in the ERC with MRF Tyres.

    For Emil Lindholm & Mikael Korhonen, it was a tough start to the day. The duo started sixth but an awkward landing after a jump saw them take to a field. They were able to get back on stage and continue in sixth but the battle to move up the leader board had ended.

    Their rally became one of consolidation and, importantly data gathering.   

    They came home in sixth just 1.8 seconds behind their Team MRF Tyres stablemates.

    Lindholm & Korhonen are also competing in the ERC1 Junior Championship. It is a very positive result for the Finnish duo in that category, taking a second behind Solberg/Johnston.

    The final positions of fifth and sixth represent a positive finish for Team MRF Tyres. By pushing the boundaries and gaining important data against some of the best competition, the products will continue to improve. 

    The next round of the 2020 European Rally Championship takes place on the Portuguese Islands with the Azores Rallye. Craig Breen & Paul Nagle will compete on the gravel stage from 17-19 September.

    Craig Breen (Driver, Hyundai i20 R5) 5th

    “It was a tough rally but we showed some good pace. It was important that we got to the end of the rally to pick up good points and get more data for the development of the tyres.”

    “We are pushing the tyres to the limits and we are aggressive on the development of the tyre. The MRF Tyres are durable and it is important to learn develop the tyres. We are happy with the direction of the development of the tyres.”

    “Being able to take a second on one stage was good and shows our pace. What happened to us on SS7 could have happened to anyone. I am looking forward to continuing on gravel at the next round in the Azores Rallye.”

    Emil Lindholm (Driver, Skoda Fabia Rally2 evo) 6th

    “We wanted to make sure we got to the end of this rally. After our moment in the morning, our focus certainly turned to consolidating our sixth place and gaining data. Saying that, we did have some good pace through the weekend.”

    “Taking a second on a stage is encouraging and like Craig, the development of the MRF Tyres is going in the right direction.”

    “It was also important to get the points in ERC1 Junior. We finished second in that class, which is quite a positive result for us and Team MRF Tyres!”

  • Team MRF Tyres drivers in a tight battle at Rally Liepaja

    Team MRF Tyres drivers in a tight battle at Rally Liepaja

    It was a successful day of action for Team MRF Tyres on Rally Liepaja, the second round of the European Rally Championship with Craig Breen and Paul Nagle just ahead of their stablemates Emil Lindholm and Mikael Korhonen sitting in fifth and sixth.

    The day saw four stages and over 88 km of competitive action near the town of Talsi in the north west of Latvia. Adding to the challenge was the fact at the crews did not return to service throughout the day, rather having a flexi-service in Talsi.

    Crews faced warm conditions on faster roads. A crucial factor to the day’s running was the road cleaning. The more cars went through, the faster the roads became.

    Breen and Nagle started eighth on the road while Lindholm and Korhonen were ninth.

    The first stage of the day saw a 25 km test with the crews battling to take the advantage so early on.

    Lindholm took fifth on the first stage, while Breen was eighth.

    Stage 2 saw a further 17.45 km and Lindholm repeated his fifth position from the first stage while Breen took seventh to move into seventh the first service.

    It became clear through the day that while the road would be clearing, hanging dust would be an issue.

    Breen in the MRF Tyres Hyundai i20 R5 had to slow slightly in the third stage because of the dust, but he still ended up sixth.

    Lindholm, however found his groove in his Skoda Fabia Rally2 evo, finishing second on stage, just 5.6 seconds off stage winner, Oliver Solberg.

    Lindholm had a small spin on the final stage of the day, dropping more than 10 seconds. Despite this, he ends the day in sixth.

    Breen consolidated his position in the final stage, taking advantage of Lindholm’s issue to leap from his Team MRF Tyres stablemate to end the day in fifth. Breen sits just 0.2 seconds off Eerik Pietarinen in fourth.

    The two MRF Tyres drivers are separated by just 6.2 seconds at the end of day.

    The final day of Rally Liepaja sees the crews stay closer to Liepaja, with six stages over a further 88 km. There will be just the one service throughout the day, meaning that any mistakes will be punished.

    The first stage of the day gets underway at 10am local time or 12:30pm in India.

    Quotes:
    Craig Breen (Driver, Hyundai i20 R5) 5th
    “Today was a tough day. We lost some time in the dust which was hanging in the air. We were doing as much as we could throughout the day.

    “The direction of development for the tyres is positive and this is the first time I have run on these tyres in the European Championship.

    “Tomorrow we will push again. The road position will be important again and we will be looking to find more pace on these roads while getting the data we need.”

    Emil Lindholm (Driver, Skoda Fabia Rally2 evo) 6th

    “The roads are challenging. There are a lot of fast sections but then some narrow roads and it is quite difficult to find the entry to those parts. We had a spin on SS4 which cost us a bit of time.”

    I pushed throughout the day and I am happy with my pace and the wear of the tyres. The loops and the stages were long and the wear and the grip were good. We are continuing to get data for development of these tyres so that is good.”

    “Tomorrow will be interesting. The stages are a bit shorter but the legs are just as long. We will push and see!”

  • Breen finishes 4th; MRF Tyres look competitive

    Breen finishes 4th; MRF Tyres look competitive

    Rome, 26 July 2020: Indian Tyre giant made their debut in ERC with a big impact as International rallying returned with a bang this weekend and Russian Rocket Alexey Lukyanuk charged to victory on Rally di Roma Capitale, round one of the delayed 2020 FIA European Rally Championship here on Sunday.

    Irishman Craig Breen in MRF colours did a wonderful job matching the pace of Pirellis and finished fourth with focus on tyre development.

    “It’s not often I would be happy with finishing 4th, but after all the hard work, the testing, it has been immensely satisfying to have been competitive with our MRF Tyres! Both the tyres and the i20 R5 performed faultlessly, we still have some work to do but thank you MRF!” tweeted Breen.

    “Our primary aim is to test our tyres and see how they are faring when compared with our competitors. We have gathered some data late last year and I am happy with the way we ran this rally,” added the 30-year old Breen, who has Paul Nagle as his navigator, driving a Hyundai i20 R4, shod with MRF Tyres.

    “A fantastic result for #MRFTyres. On what is a new tyre and a new challenge for us. The purpose is development at the moment and getting both cars home, in P4 and P10 is great!,” tweeted MRF Tyres.

    Lukyanuk, partnered by new co-driver Dmitry Eremeev, the Saintéloc Junior Team ace led from start to finish in his Pirelli-equipped Citroën C3 R5 to claim his second win in Rome and his 10th in the ERC by 16.1s.

    “It’s good points for the championship and of course winning in Rome is something special,” said Lukyanuk, who hadn’t driven a rally car for 255 days prior to a test on Tuesday. “It’s a unique race with very hard competition. It was a long rally, very tough and very hot. It took a lot of effort to achieve the result and I’m delighted for the performance and happy for the team. I thank our sponsors for their support in this hard situation. You never expect to be the winner and when it comes it’s a special feeling. It was a controlled drive, quite calculated with reasonable pace. It’s very pleasant to see we didn’t lose our feeling and our performance during this lockdown. But without my new co-driver this result would not have been possible.”

    Giandomenico Basso, the two-time ERC champion who won this event 12 months ago, finished second with Oliver Solberg taking third and winning the ERC1 Junior category on his Roma debut.

    Zelindo Melegari claimed a richly-deserved ERC2 victory on his first start since he and co-driver Corrado Bonato were hospitalised following a crash on Barum Czech Rally Zlín 11 months ago. ERC newcomer Andrea Mabellini bagged Abarth Rally Cup honours.

    Ken Torn won a frenetic battle for ERC3 and ERC3 Junior glory, as his rally-long rival Pedro Antunes crashed out of first place on the final stage. Pep Bassas took second for Rallye Team Spain on his first event as the winner of Spanish federation RFEDA’s Beca Júnior R2 scholarship.

    ERC3 Junior champion Efrén Llarena (Rallye Team Spain) marked his graduation to ERC1 Junior by finishing sixth overall behind fourth-placed Craig Breen (Team MRF Tyres) and Romanian champion Simone Tempestini, who came home 1.3s behind the five-time ERC winner from Ireland after a spin. Grégoire Munster held seventh ahead of the advancing ERC1 Junior champion Filip Mareš, who narrowed the Hyundai Junior Driver’s margin to 5.5s. Emil Lindholm and Miko Marczyk filled out the top 10.

    Leg two round-up
    After winning all six stages on Saturday to build an advantage of 34.1s, Lukyanuk was second best to Basso this morning, with the two-time ERC champion going quickest on the first and second stages north of rally hub Fiuggi. At the regroup in the thermal spa town earlier, Basso had narrowed Lukyanuk’s overall lead to 29.3s with Oliver Solberg maintaining his grip on third as the top ERC1 Junior driver.

    Basso scored a brace of stage wins in the middle loop to start the final trio of tests 23.9s behind Lukyanuk. Although he would win the penultimate test, Lukyanuk’s controlled performance and measured approach in ambient temperatures exceeding 30 degrees centigrade meant the Russian was never truly threatened.

    Solberg belied his absence of Rally di Roma Capitale experience on his first pure Tarmac rally in a Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 to take third with Hyundai-powered Craig Breen taking advantage of a spin for Simone Tempestini on SS13 to grab fourth.

    Tempestini admitted he struggled to “wake up” and repeat his flying form from Saturday this morning. Despite only confirming his Roma entry on Tuesday, Tempestini was 2.3s ahead of Breen starting the final trio of stages, but his spin caused a six-second delay and Breen finished 1.3s in front. Meanwhile, Breen, on his return to ERC action with Team MRF Tyres, was hugely praiseworthy of the rate of progress of the Indian company’s development programme.

    ERC3 Junior champion Efrén Llarena starred on his step up to ERC1 Junior, finishing sixth after adapting the handling of his Rallye Team Spain C3 R5 more to his liking by tweaking the spring and anti-roll bar settings. Hyundai Junior Driver Grégoire Munster took seventh on his second outing in an i20 R5 with ERC1 Junior champion Filip Mareš battling back to eighth after a tough rally, which began with a roll in Friday practice. Young guns Emil Lindholm and ORLEN Team’s Polish champion Miko Marczyk impressed as they rounded out the top 10.

    More drivers rewarded in ERC 2020
    With points awarded to the top 15 classified finishers from this season, more drivers than ever before scored ERC points on Rally di Roma Capitale. By finishing in positions 11-15, Alessandro Re, Antonio Rusce, Dominik Dinkel, Albert von Thurn und Taxis and Marijan Griebel all scored.

    COVID-19 protocol takes centre stage on international rallying’s restart
    With myriad strict measures in place in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Rally di Roma Capitale is the first FIA international-level event to run since lockdown restrictions eased in certain countries. Drivers and teams have united in their praise of the extensive steps taken by organiser Motorsport Italia to provide a safe and secure environment for competitors and volunteer officials alike in partnership with the FIA, ERC promoter Eurosport Events and Italian federation ACI Sport.

    Solberg clinches ERC1 Junior victory on Roma debut
    Oliver Solberg, son of 2003 World Rally champion Petter Solberg, made it two ERC1 Junior wins from two starts, overcoming the handicap of losing his glasses prior to stage two. ERC3 Junior champion Efrén Llarena followed Simone Tempestini home in third with Grégoire Munste, Emil Lindholm, Miko Marczyk, Dominik Dinkel (Brose Motorsport) and Albert Battistolli next. Erik Cais (Yacco ACCR Team) restarted after his stage one crash to place ninth on his step up from ERC3 Junior in a Ford Fiesta MkII. Callum Devine retired his Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy Hyundai with engine failure after the finish of SS3.

    Hard time for Kreim
    A strong fifth overnight on his return to ERC1 Junior action, three-time German champion Fabian Kreim’s debut in a Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 ended on Sunday’s first stage when he crashed into a wall. “It was my mistake,” he said. “I did a mistake on my pacenotes and have written left-entry-flat and 40-metre hairpin-left. And for this I was definitely too fast and crashed into a wall and broken the front-right wheel.”

    Crugnola quick on restart
    For the second Rally di Roma Capitale running it was a case of what might have been for Andrea Crugnola. After a puncture robbed him of victory 12 months ago, a crash on stage one wrecked his hopes of first place. He restarted on day two, scored six stage bests and five ERC bonus points for winning leg two. There was no restart for Adrien Fourmaux, however, the Frenchman having rolled his M-Sport Ford World Rally Team entry on SS2.

    Melegari savours his “perfect day” in ERC2 on injury comeback
    Zelindo Melegari described winning ERC2 on his comeback from injury as a “perfect day”. Melegari hadn’t competed since a crash on Barum Czech Rally Zlín last August left him and co-driver Corrado Bonato with serious injuries. But he showed no lasting affects to win ahead of ERC newcomer and Abarth Rally Cup winner Andrea Mabellini and Porsche 997 GT3 driver Petr Nešetříl.

    “I am very happy for this result after one year away from rally,” said Italian Melegari. “It was the first rally with the new car on Tarmac, a perfect day. I was happy also to fight with the young drivers in the Abarth Rally Cup. It’s a good result for continuing the season.”

    Roberto Gobbin drove his Abarth 124 rally to fourth with Latvia-based Dmitry Feofanov fifth, hitting back from a roll during testing on Tuesday on his second start on Tarmac. Poland’s Igor Widłak retired prior to SS7 with a sensor failure.

    Abarth Rally Cup contender Dariusz Poloński was back in action for leg two after a turbo issue forced him out on Saturday morning. After going fastest in the one-make series and in ERC2 on SS7 and SS8, more turbo problems struck on SS9, forcing the Pole to retire for a second day running.

    Ford Fiesta Rally4 driver Torn takes ERC3 and ERC3 Junior double in dramatic finale
    Ken Torn scored a memorable ERC3 and ERC3 Junior victory double in his Estonian Autosport Junior Team-entered Ford Fiesta Rally4 following a thrilling battle with Pedro Antunes.

    Driving a Peugeot 208 Rally4 on Pirelli tyres, Antunes snatched the lead from Torn with two stages remaining only to crash out on the final run.

    That left Torn to take the win in his Pirelli-equipped car as Pep Bassas inherited second place for Rallye Team Spain, with Amaury Molle battling to the finish in a fine third as technical issues struck the Belgian’s older-specification 208 in the closing stages.

    Italian Junior champion Marco Pollara finished fourth with Nikolai Landa and Rachele Somaschini fifth and sixth respectively. Pedro Almeida and Dennis Rådström restarted after retiring on Saturday and came home in seventh and eighth.

    A brake issue caused Adam Westlund to crash out of fifth place on SS11. An electrical issue stopped William Creighton on SS10, while Miika Hokkanen went off the road on SS3 when a damaged steering rod failed. Sergio Cuesta retired with engine failure on SS6.

    Vogel victorious
    Adrienn Vogel claimed a fine fifth place in ERC3, following home fellow Hungarian drivers Martin László and his father Zoltán. She also finished as the leading lady driver.

    P1 Racing Fuels Podium Challenge begins
    The P1 Racing Fuels Podium Challenge, run for the first time during the 2019 ERC season finale in Hungary, will reward the top three finishes on every ERC1 and ERC2 round with fuel vouchers that can be exchanged for P1 XR5 race fuel at subsequent events, helping competitors to further reduce the cost of competing. Across both categories, winning drivers will be entitled to 150 litres of fuel, while second and third placed drivers will receive 100L and 50L of the product respectively.

    LEG ONE REPORT: Click here for leg one report
    DAY TWO NEWSFEED AVAILABLE BY EMAILING: Paula_Dequidt@discovery.com

    TOP 15 POSITIONS (after 15 stages, 197.80 kilometres)
    1 Alexey Lukyanuk (RUS)/Alexey Arnautov (RUS) Citroën C3 R5 1h58m57.0s
    2 Giandomenico Basso (ITA)/Lorenzo Granai (ITA) Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 +16.1s
    3 Oliver Solberg (SWE)/Aaron Johnston (IRL) Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 +1m03.2s
    4 Craig Breen (IRL)/Paul Nagle (IRL) Hyundai i20 R5 +1m57.0s
    5 Simone Tempestini (ROU)/Sergiu Itu (ROU) Škoda Fabia R5 +1m58.3s
    6 Efrén Llarena (ESP)/Sara Fernández (ESP) Citroën C3 R5 +2m15.9s
    7 Grégoire Munster (LUX)/Louis Louka (BEL) Hyundai i20 R5 +2m20.5s
    8 Filip Mareš (CZE)/Radovan Bucha (CZE) Škoda Fabia Rally2 Evo +2m26.0s
    9 Emil Lindholm (FIN)/Mikael Korhonen (FIN) Škoda Fabia Rally2 Evo +2m54.0s
    10 Miko Marczk (POL)/Szymon Gospodarczyk (POL) Škoda Fabia Rally2 Evo +3m25.1s
    11 Alessandro Re (ITA)/Paolo Zanini (ITA) Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 +3m25.8s
    12 Antonio Rusce (ITA)/Sauro Farnocchia (ITA) Citroën C3 R5 +4m10.2s
    13 Dominik Dinkel (DEU)/Ursula Mayrhofer (AUT) Škoda Fabia Rally2 Evo +4m47.1s
    14 Albert von Thurn und Taxis (DEU)/Bernhard Ettel (AUT) Škoda Fabia Rally2 Evo +4m54.4s
    15 Marijan Griebel (DEU)/Pirmin Winklhofer (DEU) Citroën C3 R5 +6m24.1s

    FIA ERC2: Zelindo Melegari (ITA)/Corrado Bonato (ITA) Subaru Impreza STI
    FIA ERC3: Ken Torn (EST)/Kauri Pannas (EST) Ford Fiesta Rally4
    FIA ERC1 Junior: Oliver Solberg (SWE)/Aaron Johnston (IRL) Volkswagen Polo GTI R5
    FIA ERC3 Junior: Ken Torn (EST)/Kauri Pannas (EST) Ford Fiesta Rally4
    Abarth Rally Cup: Andrea Mabellini (ITA)/Nicola Arena (ITA) Abarth 124 rally

  • Emil Lindholm, Mikeal Korhonen join Team MRF Tyres for ERC

    Emil Lindholm, Mikeal Korhonen join Team MRF Tyres for ERC

    Chennai, 5 March 2020: Team MRF Tyres is strengthening its presence in the European Rally Championship (ERC) in 2020 by announcing their support to Finnish duo Emil Lindholm and Mikeal Korhonen who will take part in ERC1 campaign.

    Lindholm will campaign on MRF Tyres in a Skoda Fabia R5 EVO in four rallies of the first six rallies as they campaign for the ERC1 title. They join alongside Craig Breen and Paul who are campaigning in the ERC outright title on MRF Tyres.

    Lindholm, son of Finnish rally legend Sebastian, has had a stellar start to his Finnish Rally Championship, winning the first two of three rounds and is an ideal driver for Team MRF Tyres.

    Emil Lindholm on way to his win in the SM Itaralli on March 1. Photo: http://emillindholm.fi

    MRF Tyres have undergone an extensive year of testing in 2019 in order to produce development tyres for the first year of full competition in the European Rally Championship. Meanwhile, Lindholm has been building his rally career and moving to the ERC1 with MRF Tyres as an ideal step.

    This season represents Team MRF Tyres continued expansion in European rallying and is committed to continuing the learning and development process. Lindholm’s addition to the team strengthens this approach.

    The ERC1 Championship sees junior drivers compete against each other in R5 cars with the top driver after the first six rounds winning 100,000 Euros to contest the 2020 season-closing events in Cyprus and Hungary with a car and team of their choosing.

    Lindholm’s first rally with team will be at the Azores Rally on the Portuguese island at the end of March, now likely to be put-off due to Carona Virus scare.

    Team MRF Tyres driver Emil Lindholm said: “It’s a great opportunity for me to expand my career to ERC-rallies with MRF Tyres, and an important step in my career to get the experience of a more international rallying scene. From what I’ve seen this weekend in Itäralli, with Breen behind the wheel, MRF is really serious and already has a great product for winter rallies. I’m in no doubt they’ll deliver on the events in ERC and keep on pushing with the development. Personally, I hope I can support MRF with knowledge especially about winter conditions, but also serve them in the development of their complete tyre range.”

    MRF Tyres Vice-Chairman & Managing Director, Arun Mammen said: “We are excited to enter the European Rally Championship in 2020 after winning nine titles in the Asia Pacific Rally Championship. We have a front runner with Craig Breen, and we are excited to support the career of another young, upcoming and fast driver in Emil Lindholm. It will be a great relationship as he will help develop and prove the pace of MRF Tyres and we look forward to helping him achieve his potential in the European Rally Championship.”