Pontus Tidemand will return to international rallying for the first time since 2020 this year competing for MRF Tyres in the European Rally Championship.
Tidemand, the 2017 WRC2 champion with Škoda, has only competed regionally since missing out on the 2020 WRC2 title to Mads Østberg, and in fact has only started seven rallies.
But he’s back for 2023, driving a Ford Fiesta Rally2 with new co-driver Julia Thulin.
Tidemand has great history with MRF having dominated the 2015 Asia Pacific Rally Championship in an MRF-shod Škoda Fabia S2000.
He then became a mainstay of Škoda Motorsport’s operation behind the wheel of a Fabia R5 before stepping up to drive a Ford Fiesta WRC for M-Sport in 2019.
Tidemand entered four WRC events with a best finish of seventh on Rally GB.
He has never taken on an ERC season before, but did make one championship appearance on the Ypres Rally in 2013 in a Ford Fiesta R2.
Tidemand will be joined in the MRF team this season by reigning ERC champion Efrén Llarena and ERC round winner Mārtiņš Sesks.
Both will drive an all-new Škoda Fabia RS Rally2.
