The European Rally Championship enters a critical phase at this weekend’s Rally Poland, round four of seven for 2026.
Marking the halfway point of the season, and with fewer wildcard entrants than previous rounds, the full-season title contenders have a golden opportunity to advance in the standings.
Finn Teemu Suninen currently leads the championship in his Škoda after claiming a maiden podium of the season in Rome, but 2025 ERC champion Miko Marczyk starts as a major favorite as the championship heads to his home ground.
Seeded behind the two leading Škodas, Lancia’s Andrea Mabellini is currently third in the championship but he’s yet to find the same vein of form in an Ypsilon Rally2 HF Integrale as he did in a Fabia last year.
Isak Reiersen is seeded fourth as his Tarmac education continues, ahead of fellow Škoda driver Simone Tempestini who leads Team MRF Tyres’ charge alongside co-driver Francesca Maior.
Erik Cais Team MRF Tyres entry is sole Hyundai in Rally Poland field
Erik Cais and Igor Bacigál join Tempestini and Maior in the MRF camp, campaigning their Hyundai i20 N Rally2 fresh from a recent outing at Rally Bohemia, as do Andrei Gîrotan / Dorin Pulpea in another Škoda.
Other notable entrants include triple European champion and home favorite Kajetan Kajetanowicz (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2), former WRC2 driver Marco Bulacia (Škoda), Tristan Charpentier (Škoda) and William Creighton (Citroën C3 Rally2), as well as a gang of Polish drivers led by ERC regular Jakub Matulka (Škoda).
Transitioning from gravel to Tarmac, Rally Poland has moved over 300 miles south from Mikołajki to its new host city of Chorzów – just as the series did for its Polish round in 2024.
Then it was called Rally Silesia, but now that event has taken over the official Rally Poland moniker.
The event comprises 15 stages across three days, beginning on Friday evening with a short spectator stage. Seven stages make up Saturday, with a superspecial in the evening, before a further seven on Sunday.
