Meeke wins Rali Ceredigion as Suninen is crowned European champion

Kris Meeke won the JDS Machinery Rali Ceredigion on Sunday, taking his first victory on an FIA European Rally Championship event, while runner-up Teemu Suninen wrapped up the 2026 ERC title with one round still to run.

Meeke, driving a Michelin-equipped Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 with co-driver Noel O’Sullivan, led from Saturday morning and set the pace on two of Sunday’s four stages to finish 38.6 seconds clear of Suninen’s Škoda Fabia RS Rally2. It was Meeke’s first rally win on UK soil since 2007.

Kris Meeke said: “What a weekend, big thanks to everyone who got me here. It’s so enjoyable when the package is right. To get that real flow state again… delighted.”

Suninen seals the European title

Suninen and co-driver Antti Haapala arrived in Wales needing only to manage the gap to their nearest challenger, Andrea Mabellini. The Finn led Friday’s night stages by 0.9 seconds but handed the rally lead to Meeke with a half-spin on Saturday morning that cost more than 13 seconds, then spun again on Sunday’s SS14, damaging the front of the car and causing a coolant leak before repairs at service let him reach the finish.

Second place, plus fastest time on the closing Ty Glyn Power Stage, settled it. The title was confirmed once Mabellini could finish only sixth in his Lancia and failed to score on the Power Stage. Suninen is the first Finn since Esapekka Lappi in 2014 to win the European championship, and it is a maiden ERC crown for both him and Haapala.

Teemu Suninen said: “Amazing. On Wednesday I couldn’t believe we could be on this pace, I was quite sick, but we got on the pace. It’s been a really good season for us and we’ve been doing a great job on the Tarmac.”

Suninen opened the season with fourth in Andalusia, was runner-up on asphalt in Rome, won in Poland and reached the podium in the Czech Republic, his only retirement coming after an off on the Swedish gravel. The season finishes in Portugal on 23-25 October.

A costly Sunday for the chasers

Reigning European champion Miko Marczyk completed the podium in his Škoda, 1m03.4s behind Meeke. Max McRae and Meirion Evans took fourth and fifth for career-best ERC results, both helped by the retirement of their British Rally Championship rival Osian Pryce.

Pryce, a two-time Rali Ceredigion winner, briefly moved up to fourth on SS13 before stopping on the next stage with a gearbox failure. The stage before had caught out Jakub Matulka, who braked too late on a downhill left-hander and rolled into a haybale shielding a telegraph pole. Matulka and co-driver Damian Syty were unhurt, but their stranded car blocked the road and the stage was cancelled for most of the field, with notional times awarded. Matulka had been running fourth.

Erik Cais took seventh on his first rally in the UK, ahead of Team MRF Tyre stablemate Simone Tempestini.

Vatanen champion, Schulz doubles up

Ville Vatanen sealed the ERC3 title, the 19-year-old winning the category in Wales by 1.6 seconds from Ireland’s Casey Jay Coleman for his fourth ERC3 win of the season.

Ville Vatanen said: “This is incredible. I don’t know what to say. Absolutely incredible. A huge thank you to the team for the whole season. They did a fantastic job and the car worked throughout. Thanks also to the supporters, my family and, of course, Joonas (co-driver Ojala).”

Timo Schulz won both Junior ERC and ERC4 after his ADAC Opel Rally Junior Team team-mate Tom Heindrichs, who had led both standings, crashed out on Sunday morning. The Junior ERC title fight now goes to the final round.

British Rally Championship

Ceredigion counted twice for the British Rally Championship this year, with a first points-scoring round across Friday and Saturday and a separate one over Sunday’s stages. McRae won Saturday’s round; Pryce retired from the rally on SS14. The BRC concludes at the Lewis & Hunter Cambrian Rally on 24 October.