José Antonio Suárez secured his maiden FIA European Rally Championship (ERC) victory in dominant fashion on home soil at Rally Sierra Morena.
Kicking off the 74th ERC season with his maiden triumph in the series, Suárez won 43rd Andalusia Rally – Sierra Morena – Córdoba World Heritage Site by 20.1sec as Iván Ares edged a thrilling battle for second place.
Driving a Michelin-equipped Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 for the Spanish Recalvi Team, Friday’s Qualifying Stage winner moved into the lead on Saturday’s opening test and never looked back. With Alberto Iglesias alongside, Suárez banked five stage wins for a weekend haul of 30 points.
“It feels amazing,” said Suárez, who completed leg one leading by 20.1sec. “When I was a child, my dream was to one day drive a rally car, now it’s much more than what I dreamed when I was younger, I’m so happy. It was a proper rally without mistakes, stages with good rhythm but nothing crazy, there was no need to push today. With experience I stopped thinking before the rally what could happen, I was just flowing with what was happening during the race.” (Article continues after the photo.)
Basso handed 10-second penalty and loses P3, but CoC later reverts decision
Giandomenico Basso was on course to finish in second place aboard his Pirelli-shod Fabia following a flat-out charge through SS12. But Ares responded by beating double ERC champion Basso through the Power Stage to grab second by 1.8sec as Teemu Suninen took fourth on his return to ERC action after an 11-year break.
Just before the front-runners started the Power Stage, the Clerk of the Course (CoC) handed Basso a 10-second penalty as he ‘did not navigate a chicane correctly’ in SS10 earlier on Sunday. This penalty promoted Suninen to P3, with the Finn finishing 6.6sec ahead of Basso.
However, the CoC cancelled Basso’s penalty two and a half hours later, concluding that ‘the time penalty was not applied in accordance with the regulations’. This promoted Basso back to P3, with Suninen ultimately finishing P4, 3.4sec behind. (Article continues after the photo.)
Ares, at the wheel of a Pirelli-supplied Toyota GR Yaris Rally2, was 6.4sec in front of Basso on Saturday night, but a scare on the first corner of the second stage this morning followed by a contender for save of the season – a two-wheel moment on the first stage of the afternoon loop – looked to have proved costly for the Spaniard until positions swapped again on the Power Stage. “We had luck on our side today,” Ares said afterwards.
Suninen began leg two trailing Basso by 2.9sec with his efforts to close the gap hampered by a deflating front-right tyre through SS8. The Racing Factory rebounded in style with his first ERC stage best on SS10, missing out on the final podium spot by 3.4sec.
Mabellini shines in Power Stage
Two-time Spanish Tarmac champion Jorge Cagiao finished fifth, with Andrea Mabellini marking Lancia’s return to the ERC’s top tier for the first time since 1993 in sixth. The Italian also continued his impressive Power Stage form by going quickest on the final test for five bonus points. (Article continues after the photo.)
British champion William Creighton, who came within 0.1s of winning SS10 on his ERC1 debut, finished seventh followed by Polish title winner Jakub Matulka.
Dominik Stříteský, the winner of Friday evening’s super special stage, began leg two with an impressive fastest time through SS8. He survived a sideways moment on SS12 to finish ninth as Marco Bulacia beat Junior ERC graduate Tuukka Kauppinen to 10th place.
Reigning ERC champion Miko Marczyk crashed out on stage three but restarted on Sunday scored two points for going fourth fastest on the Power Stage.
The ERC heads to Sweden’s high-speed gravel stages next with BAUHAUS Royal Rally of Scandinavia from 22 – 24 May.
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ERC Rally Sierra Morena 2026 – Final results
| # | Drivers | Car | Time / Diff. to 1st |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Suárez / Iglesias | Skoda Fabia RS Rally2 | 1:57:02.5 |
| 2. | Ares / Rozada | Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 | +20.1 |
| 3. | Basso / Granai | Skoda Fabia RS Rally2 | +21.9 |
| 4. | Suninen / Haapala | Skoda Fabia RS Rally2 | +25.3 |
| 5. | Cagiao / Martinez | Citroën C3 Rally2 | +39.3 |
| 6. | Mabellini / Lenzi | Lancia Ypsilon HF Rally2 | +51.6 |
| 7. | Creighton / Regan | Citroën C3 Rally2 | +1:05.5 |
| 8. | Matulka / Syty | Skoda Fabia RS Rally2 | +1:14.6 |
| 9. | Stříteský / Krajča | Skoda Fabia RS Rally2 | +1:44.9 |
| 10. | Bulacia / Coronado | Skoda Fabia RS Rally2 | +2:53.3 |
ERC 2026 Drivers’ Championship – Final Standings after Round 1/7 [Top 10]
| # | Driver | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Jose Antonio Suárez | 30 |
| 2. | Iván Ares | 27 (-3) |
| 3. | Teemu Suninen | 23 (-7) |
| 4. | Giandomenico Basso | 22 (-8) |
| 5. | Andrea Mabellini | 20 (-10) |
| 6. | Jorge Cagiao | 17 (-13) |
| 7. | William Creighton | 13 (-17) |
| 8. | Jakub Matulka | 11 (-19) |
| 9. | Dominik Stříteský | 9 (-21) |
| 10. | Marco Bulacia | 7 (-23) |
Content, photo’s: Red Bull Content Pool
