Huge £50,000 stage prize offered in Cyprus

This year’s European Rally Championship finale will have a £50,000 prize fund on offer from series promoter Eurosport Events.

The Golden Stage format returns to the Cyprus Rally for the first time since Thierry Neuville pocketed 40,000 euro (£33,000) in 2011. This time, however, the winner will have to perform over two final-day stages on the October event.

Backed by the Cypriot tourist board, the Love Cyprus Golden Stage incorporates the final two tests of this year’s ERC finale, with the lowest combined time picking up the cash. Both stages will be mixed-surface.

ERC co-ordinator Jean-baptiste Ley said: “This is great news for the drivers and teams and it really underlines the tremendous support being extended to the event by the authorities in Cyprus.”

The Nicosia-based event, which runs from October 7-9, could need a cash incentive to bring crews to the middle of Mediterranean following Kajetan Kajetanowicz’s dominant win on last weekend’s Rally Rzeszow (see report page 25).

The defending champion has a 76-point lead over Alexey Lukyanuk with three rounds remaining. He was second on the event last year.