The 13th MAHLE Rally Nova Gorica (September 25–28, 2025) will serve as round eight of nine in the Mitropa Rally Cup (MRC) during its 60th anniversary season, taking place this coming weekend in Slovenia.
Out of the 107 crews entered, 39 are competing in the Mitropa Rally Cup. This means that more than every third team will be fighting for MRC points, once again underlining the popularity of the series in its jubilee year. 22 crews are entered in the FIA category, 8 cars will contest the historic classification, and 9 crews are registered in the internal MRC Club Championship.
Both the current championship leaders, Hermann Gaßner Jr. with co-driver Ursula Gaßner (GER/AUT) in a Renault Clio Rally3 (288 points), and their closest rivals, Róbert Kolčák/Julius Lapdavský (SVK) in a Hyundai i20 N Rally2 (260 points), as well as Hermann Gaßner Sr. with co-driver Karin Thannhäuser (GER) in a Mitsubishi Lancer EVO X R4 (255 points), will be at the start. Also competing is the tough German pairing of Albert von Thurn und Taxis/Jara Hain in a Škoda Fabia RS Rally2, though they are not contesting all MRC rounds and therefore play no role in the championship outcome.
The rally begins on Friday at 08:00, featuring 7 stages totaling 78 kilometers. The restart on Saturday morning, also at 08:00, sees 6 more stages over 73 competitive kilometers before the finish ramp at around 15:49.
The hub of the event is Nova Gorica in western Slovenia, right on the Italian border. Competitors will tackle a total route of 443 kilometers, including 13 demanding special stages covering 151 kilometers. The stages are all asphalt, very fast, often narrow, and with visibility limited by small crests – making precise pacenotes and a sharp co-driver absolutely essential. Quick callers will have the advantage here.
The 13th MAHLE Rally Nova Gorica is the penultimate round of the 2025 Mitropa Rally Cup, before the grand finale at the Rallye du Valais in Switzerland at the end of October.
The rally restarts on Saturday morning at 09:01, with three loops of two stages each. The winners are expected on the finish podium at 18:30 local time.
