LANCIA CORSE FACES TOUGH ROYAL RALLY OF SCANDINAVIA PESAVENTO CLAIMS JUNIOR ERC PODIUM AS MABELLINI–LENZI RETIRE

• Davide Pesavento secures third place in Junior ERC aboard the Lancia Ypsilon Rally4 HF
• Swedish gravel proves demanding for Lancia Corse HF as Andrea Mabellini and Virginia Lenzi retire after three stages
• Tommaso Sandrin finishes sixth in ERC4 and moves into the class championship lead
• FIA ERC action resumes at Rally di Roma Capitale from 3–5 July
   

The fast and unforgiving gravel roads of the Royal Rally of Scandinavia delivered a challenging weekend for the Lancia Corse HF crews, with the Swedish event once again proving one of the most selective rounds of the FIA European Rally Championship.

From the opening kilometres, the Scandinavian stages tested both drivers and machinery, catching out several leading names in the championship. Among them were Andrea Mabellini and Virginia Lenzi, whose rally came to an early end during the third special stage after damaging a suspension in an off-road excursion. The Lancia Corse HF crew was forced to retire its Lancia Ypsilon Rally2 HF Integrale without scoring championship points.

Finnish crew Tuukka Kauppinen and Topi Luhtinen, meanwhile, narrowly missed out on a top-10 finish after battling throughout the weekend on the ultra-fast and technical Swedish stages in the top Rally2 category.

While the results in the overall classification were disappointing for Lancia Corse HF, the Italian manufacturer celebrated strong performances in Junior ERC and ERC4. Davide Pesavento and Alessio Angeli produced an impressive comeback drive to secure third place in both Junior ERC and ERC4 with the Lancia Ypsilon Rally4 HF, consistently fighting close to the leading positions throughout the rally. The result also confirmed the international potential of the young driver, runner-up in the 2025 Trofeo Lancia season

Tommaso Sandrin and co-driver Andrea Dal Maso also delivered a solid result, finishing sixth in Junior ERC while moving into the overall ERC4 championship lead. Austrian driver Marcel Neulinger, Lithuanian Markas Buteikis and Italian Sebastian Dallapiccola also secured top-10 finishes in the Junior ERC category.

Francesco Dei Ceci and experienced co-driver Danilo Fappani narrowly missed the top 10 after struggling to fully unlock the potential of the Lancia Ypsilon Rally4 HF on the demanding Swedish gravel roads.

Misfortune also struck Aatu Hakalehto, who had been leading both ERC4 and Junior ERC before retiring on Stage 13 with only three stages remaining. Until that point, the Finnish driver appeared firmly on course for victory in the Scandinavian event.

Following the second round of the FIA ERC season, Lancia Corse HF sits eighth in the Teams’ Championship with 22 points. In the overall standings, Andrea Mabellini drops to ninth place on 20 points, while Tommaso Sandrin moves to the top of the ERC4 standings with 39 points, nine ahead of Hakalehto and Germany’s Schulz. After the opening Junior ERC round, Davide Pesavento holds third place with 21 points, while Sandrin sits sixth on 15.

The FIA European Rally Championship now heads to Italy for the Rally di Roma Capitale, scheduled from 3–5 July.

Media contact:

Lancia HQ:
Simona Magnarelli: +39 366 6729414 – simona.magnarelli@stellantis.com 

Team Lancia Corse HF / Stellantis Motorsport:
Mathilde Ponceau: +33 6 58 81 43 01 – mathilde.ponceau@external.stellantis.com

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Turin, 16 April 2026