EUROPEAN RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP BATTLER BONATO LEAVES HIS BEST TO LAST IN SPAIN

Yoann Bonato scored his maiden European championship victory when the 2022 season, the ERC’s first under the control of WRC Promoter, concluded in Spain last month.

The RallyRACC decider ran as part of the World championship-counting Rally Spain bill with the ERC drivers tackling the Friday and Saturday stages.

Frenchman Bonato was fastest on seven of them to beat champion Efren Llarena and climb from ninth to third in the final table.

Oscar Palomo secured the ERC4 title, while Andorran veteran Joan Vinyes took the ERC Open crown.

Irishman Ryan Caldwell was sixth in class in a Ford Fiesta Rally4, his prize drive for finishing as the top Fiesta driver in the Irish Tarmac championship. Co-driven by Grace O’Brien, Caldwell described the opportunity as a “dream come true”.