Rali Ceredigion 2026: Meeke wins, Suninen takes ERC title
Teemu Suninen is the 2026 FIA European Rally Championship champion. The Finn secured the title with second place at Rali Ceredigion, one round before the end of the season. Kris Meeke took the win in Wales, his first ERC rally victory. Andrea Mabellini pushed to the end but could not produce the Power Stage margin he needed to keep his title hopes alive.
How Suninen sealed the 2026 ERC title
Suninen, driving a Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 for The Racing Factory on Pirelli tires, finished 38.6 seconds behind Meeke. That gap was enough to wrap up the championship before the final round. The decisive moment came on the Power Stage: Mabellini needed to beat Suninen there by a clear margin, with exactly 9 points separating them going in. Mabellini managed only seventh fastest on the stage; Suninen won it, and the title was decided.
Suninen is the first Finnish ERC champion since Esapekka Lappi in 2014. The title defender was Miko Marczyk, who this time finished third overall.
"Unbelievable. On Wednesday I still didn't believe we could run at that pace, because I was quite ill," said Suninen. "In the end we did a good job and learned a lot. It was a very good season, especially on tarmac."
Earlier in 2026, Suninen had won Rally Silesia in Poland and taken second in Rome and in Zlín. After Suninen's title was confirmed, Meeke publicly said the Finn deserves a place in the FIA World Rally Championship.
Rally summary: two Suninen spins and Meeke's dominant attack
After four Friday special stages, Suninen still led, 0.9 seconds ahead of Meeke. On the first stage of Saturday, Suninen made a mistake: he spun half-way round while accelerating out of a tight corner and lost 13.6 seconds. Meeke took the lead.
Suninen responded by winning SS7, closing to within seven seconds of the leader, but Meeke answered with a run of stage wins. By the end of Saturday, the Northern Irishman led by 20.5 seconds.
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, and Suninen deliberately eased off the stage wins and concentrated on bringing second place safely to the finish.
Meeke drove the Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 on Michelin tires and committed to an attacking strategy from the start of Saturday. He won 10 of the 16 special stages. It was Toyota's first tarmac ERC victory.
"What a weekend. Thank you to everyone who brought me here. When the package works, driving it is simply a lot of fun," said Meeke. The former WRC driver added that the win was down to the work done with Toyota.
Matulka's crash and the neutralized Sunday stage
Jakub Matulka of ORLEN LOTTO Rally Team was running fourth when he went off on a left-hand corner 4.6 km from the start of the opening Sunday stage. After rolling, he and co-driver Damian Syty signaled they were unhurt, but the car blocked the road. SS13 was stopped and canceled for most crews, who received notional times. Saturday's SS6 had also been canceled 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 teammate Tom Heindrichs, who had led by 0.1 seconds on Saturday, crashed on Sunday morning. Colin Dünker, in a Ford, also did not finish.
Final results and championship picture
Behind Meeke and Suninen, Marczyk was third in a Škoda Fabia RS Rally2. Max McRae finished fourth and local driver Meirion Evans fifth, both achieving their best ERC results to date. Mabellini ended the rally sixth. Erik Cais was seventh on his UK debut, ahead of Simone Tempestini.
Ville Vatanen claimed the FIA ERC3 Championship title. Suninen leads the overall standings and cannot be caught.
Rali Ceredigion was first held in 2019 and gained ERC round status in 2024. This year's event was the last covered by the initial three-year agreement with ERC; talks about a 2027 contract are ongoing. It was also the first international-status rally held in Great Britain since Wales Rally GB in 2019.
The next ERC round is Rally Six Cities North of Portugal, scheduled for October 23–25, 2026.