Jon Armstrong, Andrea Mabellini and Miko Marczyk can all be crowned this season’s ERC champion – and join an illustrious list of former winners – while seven other prestigious titles are up for grabs on the hugely challenging Tarmac event.

After seven action-packed rounds, Michelin-equipped Polish driver Miko Marczyk holds the championship initiative ahead of Pirelli-supplied Italian Mabellini, albeit by a slender margin of two points when the dropped score rule is applied. Irishman Armstrong, who also runs on Pirelli tyres, is 18 points behind Mabellini.

To take the title, M-Sport Ford World Rally Team-run Armstrong must bank a near perfect score of 34 points from the 35 on offer in Croatia, providing Marczyk finishes no higher than seventh and Mabellini no higher than sixth.

Armstrong heads to Croatia fresh from his breakthrough ERC victory on JDS Machinery Rali Ceredigion and boosted by his superior event knowledge – he’s started twice in Croatia compared to Marczyk, who has tackled the event once, and Mabellini, who has yet to contest the Zagreb-based rally. 

“It’s going to be difficult to win the championship, but Croatia is a slippery event,” the 30-year-old said. “That time of year, there’s going to be a lot of dirt and leaves and stuff on the road so it’s not out of the question that issues can happen.”

Marczyk, 29, said: “We’ve had good consistent driving through all rounds but now I need to present something extra for Croatia and this is my goal. Every point is really important, I’m trying all the time, using all my advantages and trying to cancel the disadvantages.”

Twenty-six-year-old Mabellini kept himself firmly in the title fight by scoring five points on the JDS Machinery Rali Ceredigion Power Stage. He said: “The Power Stage was the stage of our championship to save it or to lose it, but we took the maximum. We showed we’re really strong in terms of mindset. Let’s go and fight for the win. It’s game on, we must do it.”

Big week for support championship stars
It’s not just the overall ERC driver and co-driver titles that must be won in Croatia. The FIA ERC3, FIA ERC4, FIA ERC Team and FIA ERC Tyre Supplier championships will also be decided.

Tymek Abramowski and Hubert Kowalczyk will face-off for ERC3 glory, while Calle Carlberg – who was crowned Junior ERC champion* on Barum Czech Rally Zlín in August – will aim to prevent Ioan Lloyd from snatching top ERC4 honours.

The FIA European Rally Championship for Teams is between Team MRF Tyres and M-Sport Ford World Rally Team, which is 17 points behind the two-time winner. Pirelli is 11 points ahead of Michelin, which won the inaugural FIA European Rally Championship for Tyre Suppliers in 2024.

But with Dariusz Biedrzyński not competing in Croatia, Martin Vlček will be celebrated as the first winner of the FIA Master ERC Championship* ahead of the event getting under way.

Click HERE to view the provisional ERC standings after round seven of eight.

ERC season finale attracts exceptional entry
Forty-nine crews will chase FIA European Rally Championship success when Croatia Rally hosts the ERC title showdown this week.

The standout figure for Croatia Rally’s first ERC appearance since 2013 includes 27 crews in Rally2 cars, 10 at the wheel of Rally3 machinery and 12 in Rally4 entries of which nine are eligible for points in the Hankook-supplied FIA Junior ERC Championship.

Croatia Rally route in short
Ten stages over a competitive distance of 172.36 kilometres will decide the 2025 ERC season.

Following Free Practice, Qualifying and Shakedown from 09:30 on Friday, Saturday’s action west and southwest of Zagreb features three double-use stages and begins at 09:23 local time with the 22.70-kilometre test from Krašić to Sošice on part of the stage used for the first time on last year’s Croatia Rally. The 20.93-kilometre Hartje - Stojdraga stage is next at 10:26 followed by Breganica - Smerovišće (14.70 kilometres) from 11:19. After a 30-minute service halt at Westgate Shopping City from 12:59, Krašić - Sošice, Hartje - Stojdraga and Breganica - Smerovišće are repeated in the afternoon at 14:37, 15:40 and 16:33 respectively. End-of-day service at Westgate Shopping City is due to get under way at 17:43.

Leg two on Sunday is located north of Zagreb and consists of two repeated stages, Veliko Trgovišće - Klanjec (13.61 kilometres) and Zagorska Sela - Kumrovec, the legendary WRC Power Stage covering 14.24 kilometres. Veliko Trgovišće - Klanjec made its debut on Rally Kumrovec on 6 September and has been described by the event organisers as “a very demanding technical stage with frequent changes in road profile”. Trgovišće - Klanjec is scheduled to run from 09:10 and 11:18 with Zagorska Sela - Kumrovec due to take place at 10:05 and again as the Power Stage at 13:05.

How to watch?
Fans across the globe can experience the excitement and drama of the ERC with every stage of every rally broadcast Rally.TV platform. In addition, the ERC is broadcast in a number of countries around the world and fans are advised to check local listings for details.

Croatia Rally: the key numbers
Stages: 10
Stage distance: 172.36 kilometres
Total distance: 589.89 kilometres

*Subject to FIA confirmation