The coastal roads of the scenic island of Elba played host to round seven of the 2025 FIA European Historic Rally Championship. The rally – a stalwart of the EHRC calendar – pushed crews to their limit, offering challenge after challenge, from the tight twists and turns of Thursday’s nighttime city stage in the heart of Capoliveri to the flat-out 26km test along the sand dunes of Padretemo. Rallye Elba Storico truly put Europe’s best historic rally crews to the ultimate test.

Rising to the challenge was the Italian duo of Angelo Lombardo and Roberto Consiglio. The crew headed into the weekend as clear favourites, piloting a Porsche 911 Carrera RS 3.0 – a car particularly suited to the unique characteristics of Elba – having previously claimed victory on the island in 2024. They quickly put their local knowledge and penchant for asphalt rallies to work, claiming the fastest time on Thursday’s tight and technical nighttime city stage. With victory on the first test, the pair were hungry for more and, despite a brief besting from Maciej Lubiak in SS2, they quickly sewed up the rally, putting a sizeable gap between themselves and the remaining competition. From there, there was no stopping the home heroes, who went on to claim fastest times on all but one of the weekend’s stages, taking top honours and overall victory in Category 2.

Looking to spoil the homecoming was Poland’s Maciej Lubiak. The Pole has put in a phenomenal season thus far, heading to Elba atop the standings with a 10-point cushion over his nearest competition. The former tennis pro started the weekend’s running in perfect form, sitting in second position after Thursday’s opening test. On Friday, the Pole was after more, claiming victory on SS2. Throughout the day’s remaining stages Lubiak gave his all to hunt down a charging Lombardo, posting impressive times, before disaster struck: an note error left Lubiak carrying too much speed into a tight hairpin, sending him hurtling down Elba’s hillside. Thankfully emerging unscathed, the incident marked the end of his weekend and championship charge.

Lubiak’s loss was Graham’s gain, with the young British pilot quickly capitalising on the opportunity to rise to the summit of the championship standings. The Flexifly Rally Team driver posted impressive times throughout the weekend, extracting every ounce of performance his BMW M3 E30 had to offer to close down the gap to a charging Lombardo. The young Brit remained consistent throughout the remainder of the weekend, alternating between second and third in each stage, finishing just over one minute behind Lombardo. The impressive performance was enough to take second position overall and victory in the highly competitive Category 4 class, importantly bagging enough championship points to enter the remaining two rounds of the 2025 season at the summit of the standings.

Completing the podium was Italy’s Enrico Brazzoli. Always in the mix for the top three, he clawed time off both Graham and Lombardo across several stages. A late scare nearly derailed his bid when his Porsche 911 developed a mechanical issue before SS8. With only 20 minutes to fix it, he and his co-driver pulled off a rapid repair, reaching the control with moments to spare. The effort kept them in contention and rewarded them with third overall and second in Category 4.

Just behind, France’s Richard Genesca pushed Brazzoli all the way in a thrilling duel. Trading tenths stage after stage, the Frenchman fell agonisingly short, finishing only 1.4 seconds adrift. He nevertheless secured fourth overall and third in Category 4.

Rounding out the top five was Flexifly Team boss Ernie Graham in his Ford Escort RS1800. A stalwart of the EHRC, Graham thrilled the crowds with his flamboyant style, sliding his Escort through Elba’s hairpins to the delight of local fans. His consistency and intimate knowledge of the stages earned him fifth overall and victory in Class 2B. The result also allowed Flexifly Rally Team to claim the European Historic Teams’ Championship in Elba – a result sure to put a smile on the faces of the entire squad.

In Category 1, it was an all-Italian affair. Antonio Parisi and Carlo Fiorito fought tooth and nail throughout the rally, with Parisi ultimately prevailing despite a spirited late charge from Fiorito.

Category 3 provided another close contest between Britain’s Tim Jones in a Talbot Sunbeam Lotus and Andrea Farmakakis in a Ford Escort RS2000. Jones ultimately came out on top, adding another name to the weekend’s roll of winners.

With Rallye Elba Storico now concluded, the championship looks to its closing stretch. Just two rounds remain: Rallye de Asturias Histórico (15–18 October) and Historic Rally Fafe (7–8 November). With championship superstars Jari-Matti Latvala and Janni Hussi confirmed to return for the final two rounds, the battle for the 2025 crown is still all to play for.