Michelin runners monopolize the 2021 ERC podium

The 2021 FIA European Rally Championship (ERC) saw Skoda/Michelin drivers Andreas Mikkelsen, Efren Llanera and Mikolaj Marczyck secure the year’s gold, silver and bronze medals. The series concluded in Spain’s Canary Islands following a fiercely-fought campaign between the different carmakers, drivers and tire firms involved.

Having recently made sure of the 2021 ERC title with one round remaining thanks to a score of two victories and four podium finishes in his Skoda Fabia/Michelin, Norway’s Andreas Mikkelsen chose to sit out the final fixture, leaving his opponents to battle for second place.

Gran Canaria’s twisty stages produced a thrilling scrap between Marczyck and Llanera, with the latter ending up second on the event, behind four-time Rally Islas Canarias victor Alexey Lukyanuk. The result sufficed for the Spaniard to clinch the season’s runner-up honors, as well as the European co-drivers’ crown for his co-driver Sara Fernandez.

Marczyck completed both the rally and the championship in third place, helped by the allocation of Michelin Pilot Sport A tires he earned for topping the Michelin Talent Factory program which covered the first six rounds of the ERC. “I’m now looking forward to visiting Michelin’s facilities in Clermont-Ferrand [France],” he said after the finish. The trip is also part of his prize, along with discounted prices and technical advice.

This year’s ERC featured a mix of eight dirt and asphalt rounds, with the MICHELIN Pilot Sport A and Latitude Cross customer racing ranges shrugging off stiff competition to claim wins on both types of surface.