FIA EHRC set for East Sweden Historic Rally – Latvala heads star-studded entry
For the first time, points in the FIA European Historic Rally Championship will be contested on Swedish rally roads. East Sweden Historic Rally takes place on 28–29 August, featuring 15 special stages and more than 150 kilometres of competition on the roads around Linköping, Motala and Finspång. Heading the international entry is former WRC star Jari-Matti Latvala, fresh from victory in Lahti and leading the EHRC Gravel Championship.
East Sweden Historic Rally is the fourth of five rounds in this year’s FIA European Historic Rally Championship Gravel Championship. Following events in Portugal, Greece and, most recently, Finland, the championship now heads to Sweden before the season concludes with Rally del Brunello in Italy in November.
The championship battle is finely poised ahead of the Swedish round. Jari-Matti Latvala leads the standings with 68 points, just two ahead of Belgium’s Christophe Jacob on 66. Austria’s Kris Rosenberger sits third with 57 points. Several of the championship’s leading contenders are included in the entry list for Linköping.
Latvala arrives in Sweden as a winner
Just last weekend, the Lahti Historic Rally was contested on Finland’s classic gravel roads, where Latvala and Janni Hussi were fastest in their Toyota Celica ST185.
Latvala built a substantial lead during Friday, but on Saturday the crew encountered a problem with the steering rack. Repairs left them seven minutes late to the next time control, resulting in a one-minute-and-ten-second penalty. Their advantage was still sufficient, however, and Latvala went on to win the rally.
“It feels really good. The last two years, in 2024 and 2025, we retired here with technical issues, so this year we really wanted to make it all the way to the finish. We had a problem with the steering rack and had to repair the car. We were seven minutes late and received a one-minute-and-ten-second penalty, but luckily we had built up a big enough margin to do the job properly without having to rush too much,” said Jari-Matti Latvala after the finish in Lahti.
At East Sweden Historic Rally, Latvala will be joined by Erno Kinnunen in the co-driver’s seat when the number one Toyota Celica ST185 rolls over the start ramp at Saab Arena.
Several drivers will be looking to challenge Latvala. Kris Rosenberger arrives with his Subaru Impreza GT Turbo and Christophe Jacob with a Ford Escort RS, while Marko Rämänen heads to Sweden after finishing third overall in Lahti with his Opel Kadett E GSi 16V. Marko Uutela, Vojtech Stajf, Jesús Manuel Ferreiro Pérez and Lukas Schindelegger are among the other notable names on the Swedish entry list.
Rally history spanning several generations
The entry list also offers a journey through several decades of rallying history. Alongside Latvala’s Toyota Celica ST185 and Rosenberger’s Subaru are cars including the Opel Ascona 400, Mitsubishi Galant VR4, Toyota Celica GT-Four ST165, Fiat 131 Racing, Porsche 911 SC, Lada VFTS, Volvo 240, Škoda Favorit and a wide selection of Ford Escorts from different generations.
Three Swedish crews will compete in the EHRC field. Sören Olsson and Patrik Karlsson will drive a Toyota Celica ST165, Christer Hedlund and Elina Svensson a Ford Escort, while Joakim Roman and Hans Sylvan stand out with their DAF 66 Coupé.
Strong support field follows the EHRC throughout the rally
The international EHRC field is only one part of East Sweden Historic Rally. A large support field will follow the European Championship crews throughout the entire two-day event.
The support field features a broad mix of Swedish historic rally cars as well as several international crews. One of the best-known Swedish names is Mats Jonsson, who will compete alongside Jon Magnusson in a Toyota Celica GT-4. Three British crews are also on the start line, with two Ford Escorts and a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IV.
The rest of the field includes a large number of Volvo 240s, as well as cars such as the Vauxhall Chevette HSR, Opel Kadett GSI and VW Golf.
The entry grows further on Saturday when the Swedish Historic Rally Championship and Rallyklassikerna join the event. They bring an even earlier chapter of rally history to the stages, with cars including Saab, Ford Cortina GT and Escort, Volvo Amazon and several classic Opel models.
150 kilometres to decide the battle
East Sweden Historic Rally features a total of 15 special stages and 150.45 kilometres of flat-out competition. Friday consists of seven stages covering 73.11 competitive kilometres, while Saturday features eight stages and a further 77.34 kilometres.
On Friday, the rally heads from Saab Arena in Linköping towards the roads around Motala. Åsandby, Båseberg and Karlsby are each run twice before the rally returns to Linköping. The day concludes with the short and spectator-friendly Stångebro asphalt stage, located right next to Saab Arena.
On Saturday, the battle moves towards Tjällmo and Finspång. Tjällmo, Folkström, Gösebo and Brink are each contested twice, before the second run through the 14.04-kilometre Brink stage brings the sporting action to a close at 16:34.
With only the season finale in Italy remaining after East Sweden Historic Rally, an important weekend lies ahead in the battle for the championship.
Follow East Sweden Historic Rally
Live results: www.infiniteracing.se
Rally Radio – live from the first stage to the last: www.rallylive.se
Latest championship standings: www.fia.com/events/european-historic-rally-championship/season-2026/gravel-championship-classifications