The smooth Tarmac rounds of Rally Sierra Morena were traded for the ultra-punishing gravel tracks of Rally Hungary for round two of this year’s European Rally Championship.
With none of the top three from Spain (Nikolay Gryazin, Yoann Bonato and José Antonio Suárez) on the entry list for Hungary, the result was always going to be different this time round.
But once more, the events of this weekend also pointed to some clues for the wider season narrative, which is now 25% complete.
Here’s what we learned from ERC Rally Hungary 2025:
Korhonen overcomes penalty to win
Korhonen (left) claimed his first international rally win with a patient yet pacy drive
An MRF-liveried Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 run by the SRT team – Mãrtiņş Sesks, is that you?
No, not this time.
Instead, it was Roope Korhonen who joined the MRF fold and immediately took his very first European championship win.
The Finn didn’t have it all his own way, though.
Andrea Mabellini’s strong start to 2025 was continuing for most of Rally Hungary; the Italian leading Korhonen overnight by 10.6s. However a puncture on SS11 of 13 initially dropped him 0.7s behind Korhonen – who at this point had become one of four drivers to be handed a 10s time penalty for destroying a chicane – but worse was to come when Mabellini was forced to retire with broken suspension.
That paved Korhonen’s path clear to take victory by 30.1 seconds over Mads Østberg with Miko Marczyk completing the podium.
“It feels amazing I have to say. The last stage felt quite long but we managed!”
Marczyk grabs championship lead
Miko Marczyk is the new championship leader of the ERC, but Andrea Mabellini looked impressive
Marcyzk’s first podium of the season, following fifth place in Sierra Morena, was enough for him to take the championship lead from the hands of the absent Gryazin.
Mabellini was looking set to be a clear leader before his exit, but as it stands he is 21 points adrift in sixth spot behind Gryazin, Korhonen and Bonato.
Østberg almost lost his second place in the rally, clinging on by 1.3s over Marczyk, to find himself second in the championship table, seven points shy of Marczyk – but mainly feeling relieved to have got back on the podium after a long run of troubled events.
Jon Armstrong showed the pace to be a contender in Hungary like he did in Sierra Morena, but two separate stops to change two different punctures on SS6 wrecked his weekend.
He was at least positive to take 10th, along with second on the powerstage, feeling he’d shown his and the Ford Fiesta Rally2’s potential – but with a 34-point deficit his title hopes are already looking tricky.
“It’s positive to show the pace on gravel and shows that the Fiesta can do it, keeps Malcolm [Wilson] happy,” said Armstrong.
“Use code ‘JON10’ if you want €10 off the purchase of your Rally2 car,” he joked.
Verstappen gets first ERC top-10
Verstappen is more used to racing cars than helicopters, but made some gravel rallying progress in Hungary
In terms of pure performance, Jos Verstappen’s second ERC round was not as strong as his first.
That was to be expected, given both his previous circuit racing career and the fact this was just his second ever gravel start.
However by staying out of any major trouble (two punctures on a rally as rough as Hungary can’t be considered major), the Dutchman picked up his first top-10 finish in the ERC with eighth.
“I would sign for it before I came here. I’m happy – by far not good enough, but we keep working,” he said. “This one was really tough I must say but it’s OK, I’m happy.”
His finishing position was boosted by Hungarian driver Norbert Herczig losing two minutes on the powerstage due to a broken shock absorber.
McRae’s tricky season continues
McRae's season is yet to take off, but he wasn't shy over the jumps
Max McRae has shown decent pace since making the full-time switch to Rally2 in 2025, but hasn’t enjoyed a clean weekend yet.
That trend didn’t change on his first ERC start of the season, as the 20-year-old was hampered from the start by feeling ill throughout rally week. Things only got trickier when he clipped a barrier on the opening superspecial and damaged his rear-left suspension.
Resultant time penalties as the car was fixed cost McRae three minutes, but he recovered from 80th to 22nd place after Saturday.
However a puncture on Sunday’s opener marked the beginning of the end as then a wheel was damaged, before he eventually retired his Citroën C3 Rally2 with damaged suspension on the road section.
Carlberg capitalizes in Juniors
Carlberg waded through the challenges Rally Hungary threw at him
A close second on round one, Swede Calle Carlberg was never going to let history repeat itself.
The rally was won on the first proper test, as Carlberg powered his Opel Corsa Rally4 to a massive 15.8s win that earned him control of the contest.
In the end, he won by over four minutes with the leading Lancia – the brand making its long-awaited ERC return represented by the Ypsilon Rally4 – of Jasper Vaher fourth.
DirtFish Women in Motorsport driver Aoife Raftery brought her Peugeot 208 Rally4 home a strong seventh.
Michelin’s rivals hit back (sort of)
MRF won the rally, but was in for an even stronger points haul before Tempestni retired
Michelin locked out the top-three positions on the opening round of the season on Tarmac, but it was beaten on the gravel in Hungary.
Korhonen used MRF rubber to win in his Toyota, but Østberg and Marczyk directly behind him were both Michelin-shod, meaning the French firm extended its championship lead in the tire suppliers’ contest.
MRF was on to score big, but last year’s Rally Hungary winner Simone Tempestini was forced out of third place with first a puncture, then damaged suspension on the next stage.
The highest two finishers on each manufacturer’s rubber earn it points, meaning Pirelli actually strengthened its hold on second despite its highest classified driver (Gábor Német) being behind the best from MRF, Michelin or Hankook.
