Norbert and Francesca Maior had an excellent start in the European Rally championship, ranking sixth in Hungary, their first international appearance at the wheel of a Rally2 car. Unfortunately, Simone Tempestini failed to finish the race, being forced to withdraw because of technical problems that deprived him of a place on the podium.
Show at the Hungarian rally
The stage held on the Macadam roads in Hungary brought together no less than 95 crews from all over Europe, being considered one of the most demanding competitions of the 2025 season. Of the six Romanian crews, only the one of the Maior brothers managed to cross the finish line.
Piloting a Citroen C3 Rally2, Norbert and Francesca had a constant evolution, succeeding in a spectacular return: they climbed 15 positions compared to the result of the first special test and ended the 6th place in the general standings. So far, only Simone Tempestini had obtained a comparable result in Fia ERC, with a victory last year in the same competition.
With a total time of 1: 55: 52.6 on the 180 kilometers of timed route, the major crew was only five seconds away from the fifth position. Victoria returned to Finnish Ropi Korhone.
“It is just our third rally with this car, and the result obtained makes us proud, even if it came in a special context. We want to continue progress“, Said Norbert Maior.
Simone Tempestini, who had two test victories and ranked third in the general standings after the first two days, had to abandon before the last test, due to the breaking of a shock absorber. Accompanied by the co -pilot Sergiu Itu and competing on a Skoda Fabia RS, Tempestini had previously suffered and a wedge on the special sample with number 10, losing about 15 seconds.
The other four crews in Romania present at the start of the Hungarian stage were also forced to abandon during the three days of competition. The next round of the European Championship will take place on Macadam routes in Sweden, between 29 and 31.
