The Sibiu Rally Romania, known originally as the Raliul Sibiului, is an international rallying event based in Transylvania in central Romania. The event is a round of the European Rally Championship, the Romanian Rally Championship and the Bulgarian Rally Championship. Previously the event had been a round of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge and has been a predominantly gravel event since inception with some stages held on tarmac.
First run in 2001 as a round of the Romanian championship held in the middle of the year, originally in August before settling into a July date. The event became an international event for the first time in 2012 when it was added to the Intercontinental Challenge and Romania was added to the event name as Sibiului Raliul Romania. It was one of four events added to the calendar and slid into a mid-season gap when Atlantic Ocean island event Rallye Açores was moved to the start of the season. The event survived the merger of the Intercontinental Challenge and the European Championship into 2013 when the rally acquired its current name.
Romanian drivers dominated the events early history, the first foreign victor was Finn Jarkko Miettinen in 2008. Simone Tempestini is the most successful driver in the events history, winning five times in total. Norwegian driver Andreas Mikkelsen won the first international event in 2012, with Czech driver Jan Kopecký winning the first European championship round.
List of winners
YearWinnerCarSeries 2001 Mihai Leu Ford Escort RS Cosworth Romanian Rally Championship 2002 Constantin Aur SEAT Córdoba WRC 2003 Constantin Aur Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI 2004 Bogdan Marisca Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI 2005 Constantin Aur Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI 2006 Constantin Aur Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX 2007 Bogdan Marisca Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX 2008 Jarkko Miettinen Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX 2009 Jarkko Miettinen Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX 2010 Gergely Szabó Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX 2011 Gergely Szabó Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX 2012 Andreas Mikkelsen Škoda Fabia S2000 Intercontinental Rally ChallengeRomanian Rally Championship 2013 Jan Kopecký Škoda Fabia S2000 European Rally ChampionshipRomanian Rally Championship 2014 cancelled European Rally Championship 2015 Simone Tempestini Ford Fiesta R5 Romanian Rally Championship 2016 Dan GritofanŠkoda Fabia R5 Romanian Rally ChampionshipBulgarian Rally Championship2017 Dan GritofanŠkoda Fabia R5Romanian Rally Championship2018 Bogdan MariscaFord Fiesta R52019 Sebastian BarbuŠkoda Fabia R52020 Simone TempestiniŠkoda Fabia R52021 Simone TempestiniŠkoda Fabia R52022 Simone TempestiniŠkoda Fabia R52023 Simone TempestiniŠkoda Fabia Rally2 evoSources:
References
External links Official website European Rally Championship