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Spanish motorsport federation joins forces with ERC

The winner of the recently announced Spanish junior championship, Beca Junior R2, will be handed a prize drive in next season's FIA ERC Junior Under 27 Championship as part of a major initiative from the country's motorsport federation, RFEDA, and a new alliance with ERC promoter Eurosport Events.

Having partnered with the Czech and Estonian federations in recent weeks, and with its alliance with the ADAC in Germany running since 2014, the ERC's association with RFEDA under the Rally Team Spain banner provides yet another exciting opportunity for young drivers to progress from national level to the European championship, where they build their experience and expertise ahead of a future step up to world level.

Manuel Aviñó, the President of RFEDA, explained: "Less than 100 days into my RFEDA Presidency, I'm very proud to announce the creation of a very ambitious promotional rally project called Rally Team Spain. The project starts in 2017 with Beca Junior R2 (#BkR2), a six-event calendar (three on Tarmac, three on gravel) for Spanish drivers aged under 27 at the start of 2018. This means the champion will get to enjoy the attractive prize based around ERC Junior with the Beca Junior R2 champion participating, completely for free, in a full ERC Junior U27 programme in 2018. We have chosen ERC Junior U27 for two main reasons: first of all, there is splendid TV coverage of the events. Secondly, the ERC Junior U27 winner will take part in ERC Junior U28 the following season in an R5 car as the final prize. We start the Rally Team Spain project with the biggest opportunity I could wish for to promote some young Spanish talents to the international rally scene."

Jean-Baptiste Ley, the ERC Co-ordinator, welcomed the partnership with RFEDA's Rally Team Spain project. "This collaboration is totally in accordance with ERC strategy in developing young talent for future progression. The motorsport federations in Czech Republic and Estonia, two countries where rallying dominates the motorsport landscape, plus the ADAC in Germany have already put their faith in ERC Junior as they totally understand the platform Eurosport Events has created for young talent to step up from national to international level and the opportunities that brings, while reinforcing the base of the junior rallying pyramid at national level. The partnership with RFEDA opens yet another exciting chapter in the history of ERC Junior."

In addition to the Czech ACCR federation, Estonia's EASU and Germany's ADAC, other major organisations participating in the European Rally Championship this year include Opel Motorsport, Peugeot Sport, Pirelli and Castrol and Ford's Turkish subsidiaries.

Zdroj: fiaerc.com