Team MRF Tyres crowned European champions again
Chennai, August 19, 2023 Team MRF Tyres are the new 2023 FIA European Rally Champions. Team MRF Tyres scored a historic double as they secured this year’s title with two rounds to spare of the eight round 2023 FIA ERC Championship.
Team MRF Tyres is the winner of the FIA European Rally Championship for Teams for a second year after it reached the penultimate event of the season with an unassailable advantage*.
Team scores enough points before the start of Barum Czech Rally, to get their 2nd Team Championship title.
Points scored by Simone Campedelli, Efrén Llarena and Mārtiṇš Sesks during the first six events of the 2023 ERC season were enough for Team MRF Tyres to celebrate another momentous achievement on the international motorsport stage.
Vivek Ponnusamy, Team Representative who heads up MRF Tyres ERC participation, said: “History is not made, it is repeated and I’m incredibly happy and proud for the entire team right from the MRF Tyres management, the engineers, the tyre technicians, drivers and co-drivers, it’s a great achievement.
“Coming to Europe as an underdog and performing at this level of competition and to win the FIA European Rally Championship for Teams back-to-back is phenomenal and I’m over the moon. Even if this weekend’s rally has not started, we are already drenched in champagne so it’s a very good feeling.”
Team MRF successfully defended its 2022 team’s crown in what has been a hard-fought season with MRF Tyres taking on, and winning, against the established Global MNC rally tyre manufacturers. Having dominated in the FIA Asia Pacific Rally Championships for 9 wins, MRF Tyres set its sights on rallying in the top levels of European competition and joined the FIA ERC in 2020. With an intensive product development strategy, MRF Tyres soon started winning stages, rallies, and championships. This second championship win in the ERC is proof of the quality, performance and resilience of MRF Tyres.
Team MRF Tyres entered the 2023 FIA ERC season with high hopes after a championship winning performance in 2022 and it was immediately clear that any result would have to be earned, as the field was one toughest in years.
The season started well with a podium for Efrén Llarena and Sara Fernandez in the Rally Islas Canarias. After the podium success in Spain, the season moved to the fast gravel stages of Rally Liepaja and Rally Poland and Martins Sesks with Renars Francis would dominate these two fast rallies. Both rallies demanded absolute precision and confidence from the driver and the tyre, with the MRF product performing faultlessly throughout the events.
The back-to-back wins put Team MRF Tyres in the prime position for the Team’s Championship, which was further solidified with another podium in the first Royal Rally of Scandinavia. With solid points, including vital Powerstage points for Simone Campedelli and Tania Canton at the Rally di Roma Capitale, the goal of a second Team’s Championship was achieved. To underline MRF Tyres’ success, the second team, the MRF Tyres Dealer Team sits third in the standings, having taken podiums with Mads Ostberg and Patrik Barth, along with stage wins for Andrea Mabellini and Virigina Lenzi.
With two wins and two podiums in six rallies for Team MRF Tyres, it has undoubtedly been a year of sheer dominance.
The team, however, will not back off in its pursuit of success in top line rallying in Europe. There are two rounds of the FIA ERC remaining, and the commitment to competition has never been stronger. The 2023 Team’s Championship sits alongside 2022 FIA ERC driver’s and team’s championship, along with championships from the Italian gravel and tarmac championship from 2021 and 2022 and the 2021 Finnish Rally Championship.
Quotes
Arun Mammen, Vice-Chairman & Managing Director, MRF Ltd.
“I am extremely proud of the success achieved by MRF Tyres in the 2023 FIA European Rally Championship. As India’s leading tyre manufacturer we looked to take India to the world stage and compete in the toughest rally competitions in the world. We knew it would take dedication and determination to succeed and to do it once was a challenge, to back up that success in 2023 proves the talent and skill of the entire team at MRF Tyres. I would like to extend my congratulations to the team and I look forward to our future challenges.”
Martins Sesks, driver, Team MRF Tyres
“We came into this year knowing that it would be a challenge. In the FIA European Rally Championship, you have to earn every result, as the quality of the teams and the drivers is very high. I have been proud to represent MRF Tyres in the Championship and being able to stand on the top step of the podium after winning at home in Latvia and in Poland, has made me extremely proud. I would like to thank and I would also congratulate everyone at MRF Tyres for this Championship success.”
Efrén Llarena, driver, Team MRF Tyres
“I am proud to have been a part of Team MRF Tyres for the last couple of seasons and to be a part of their championship title success. As a team, we have put in so much hard work and we are always trying to improve, trying new ideas and looking for the extra tenths of seconds. You just have to look at the dedication of everyone at MRF Tyres, and you understand that this Championship didn’t come by chance, but by hard work. I would like to thank and congratulate the entire MRF Tyres team.”
Simone Campedelli, driver, Team MRF Tyres
“It has been a tough and rewarding season with MRF Tyres and it has been great to be a part of the Championship success. The testing and effort that has gone into the success from the entire team is clear. The success we have achieved across Europe makes it clear that MRF Tyres will play an important role in the future of European rallying. Congratulations to everyone in the team.”
*Subject to confirmation of the results by FIA
