Rali Ceredigion 2026: Meeke wins, Suninen clinches ERC title
Teemu Suninen is the 2026 FIA European Rally Championship champion. The Finn secured the title with second place at Rali Ceredigion in Wales, with one round still to go. Kris Meeke won the rally in a Toyota GR Yaris Rally2, claiming his first ERC victory and his first rally win on British soil since 2007. Andrea Mabellini, the only driver who could still deny Suninen the championship, finished sixth after failing to win the Power Stage points he needed.
How Suninen sealed the title
Suninen, co-driven by Antti Haapala in a Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 for The Racing Factory, finished 38.6 seconds behind Meeke. That margin was enough to clinch the championship with a round remaining. The title came down to the Power Stage: Mabellini needed to beat Suninen there convincingly, as the gap between them in the standings was exactly 9 points going in. Mabellini recorded only the seventh-fastest time; Suninen won the Power Stage, and the championship was decided.
Suninen is the first Finnish driver to win the European Rally Championship since Esapekka Lappi in 2014. Defending champion Mikołaj Marczyk finished third overall.
"Amazing! On Wednesday, I couldn't believe we could be on this pace, I was quite sick," Suninen said. He added that the team had done a good job, learned a lot, and had an overall very good season, particularly on tarmac.
Race run: Suninen's two spins and Meeke's command
Suninen led after Friday's four special stages, 0.9 seconds ahead of Meeke. On the first stage of Saturday, he spun on the exit of a tight corner and lost 13.6 seconds. Meeke took the lead.
Suninen responded by winning SS7 and closing to within seven seconds, but Meeke then strung together a series of stage wins and extended his advantage to 20.5 seconds by the end of Saturday.
On Sunday, Suninen spun a second time, on SS14. He damaged the front of the Fabia and caused a coolant leak. The car was repaired in the Service Park, after which Suninen drove conservatively to secure second place and the championship.
Meeke, co-driven by Noel O'Sullivan jnr., won 10 of the 16 special stages on Michelin tires. His winning time was 1:29:45.3. It was also Toyota's first tarmac win in the ERC.
"What a weekend. Thank you to everyone who brought me here. When the package works, it's just an incredible amount of fun," Meeke said. He noted that the result was testament to the work done with Toyota.
Matulka's accident and the neutralized stage
Jakub Matulka of ORLEN LOTTO Rally Team, running fourth at the time, rolled on Sunday's opening stage (SS13) at 4.6 km from the start after catching a left-hand corner wrong. He and co-driver Damian Syty signaled they were unhurt, but the car blocked the road. The stage was stopped and canceled for most crews, who were awarded notional times. SS6 had also been canceled on Saturday for safety reasons.
Osian Pryce, a two-time Rali Ceredigion winner, retired with a gearbox problem on SS14. In Junior ERC, Timo Schulz took the title after his Opel teammate Tom Heindrichs, who had led the category by 0.1 seconds on Saturday evening, crashed out Sunday morning. Colin Dünker also retired after an accident.
Results and championship picture
Behind Meeke and Suninen, Mikołaj Marczyk and Szymon Gospodarczyk completed the podium in a Škoda Fabia RS Rally2. Max McRae and Meirion Evans finished fourth and fifth respectively, both recording their best ERC results to date. Mabellini and Virginia Lenzi were sixth in their Lancia Ypsilon Rally2 HF Integrale. Erik Cais and Igor Bacigál were seventh on Cais's first rally start in the UK, ahead of Simone Tempestini. Ville Vatanen secured the FIA ERC3 Championship title, finishing ninth overall with co-driver Joonas Ojala.
Suninen ran on Pirelli tires throughout the event. Earlier in the 2026 season he won Rally Silesia in Poland and took second in Rome and Zlín. Meeke, after the title was decided, said publicly that Suninen deserves a WRC seat.
Rali Ceredigion was first held in 2019 and gained ERC round status in 2024. The 2026 edition was the last under the initial three-year agreement with ERC; talks about a 2027 contract are ongoing. It was also the first international-level rally held in the UK since Wales Rally GB in 2019.
The next ERC round is Rally Six Cities North of Portugal, scheduled for October 23–25, 2026.