- Albert von Thurn und Taxis achieves an impressive start-to-finish victory in the 8th round of this year's Mitropa Rally Cup in Slovenia.
- Italian Rino Muradore wins the Historic Cars category and secures an early victory in the Mitropa Rally Historic Cup 2025.
- Routinier Martin Kainz wins the internal ranking of the Club Championship
With an outstanding start-to-finish victory, the Germans Albert von Thurn und Taxis/Jara Hain (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) win the penultimate round of this year's Mitropa Rally Cup (MRC).
At the 13th MAHLE Rally Nova Gorica (26-28 September 2025), the team is faster than the competition on all 13 special stages. Their closest rivals, Hermann Gaßner Jr. with co-driver Ursula Gaßner, drive consistently fast times in their Renault Clio Rally3 but are unable to challenge von Thurn und Taxis due to their vehicle's lower performance in the RC3 class. They finish in second place, consistently maintaining that position until the end. Third place goes to Robert Kolčák/Petr Černohorský Jr. in their Hyundai i20 N Rally2. The 36-year-old Slovakian also posted fast times but ultimately had to settle for third, losing out to Gaßner Jr. As a result, Gaßner maintains his lead in the Mitropa Rally Cup standings.
Incidentally, wife Ursula Gaßner can no longer be displaced from first place in the co-driver standings due to her points lead, making her the winner in this category.
Albert von Thurn und Taxis also makes an impression in the overall standings of this highly competitive round, which is part of the European Rally Trophy of the FIA and the Slovenian Rally Championship. On three special stages, the team sets best times and finishes on the podium in third place overall. Hermann Gaßner Jr. also demonstrated his skill in the overall classification. The battle between him and Irishman Eamonn Kelly, who is competing in the Junior World Rally Championship this year and won the World Championship round in Finland, was closely fought. Before the final stage, Gaßner was leading by 1.7 seconds. In the final special stage, Kelly likely lost his nerves and parked his car in the underbrush. Gaßner finishes the rally in an impressive 6th overall position. "Despite a spin on Saturday and the failure of our intercom on Sunday, we had a lot of fun battling with Eamonn. It's a shame he didn’t make it to the finish," said Hermann Gaßner Jr. at the finish. A decision was made in the Historic Vehicle category.
Italian Rino Muradore, with co-driver Alex Petrigh in their Ford Escort RS 1800 MKII, triumphed ahead of Austrians Alois Nothdurfter/Marcel Baumgartner (Ford Sierra RS Cosworth). With this win, Muradore is already confirmed as the winner of the Mitropa Rally Historic Cup 2025 before the final round. The third place battle was fought between the Italian teams Luigi Terpin/Luca Benossi (Opel Kadett GT/E) and Alessandro Pulz/Michele Ceretti (Ford Sierra RS Cosworth). At the finish, Pulz edged out his fellow countryman to take third place.
In the internal Club Championship standings, it initially seemed like an easy win for the Italian team Federico Laurencich/Alberto Mlakar in their Peugeot 106 Rallye. Martin Kainz/Alexander Hirsch (Germany), with their significantly heavier Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX, couldn’t match the agility of the Italian crew on the twisty tracks. However, in the 11th special stage, the Peugeot's mechanics failed, and Martin Kainz seized the opportunity to take the lead, which he maintained safely over the final three special stages. After a flawless drive, the couple Olaf and Heike Rachner (Germany) in their Suzuki Swift Sport MK4 finished in third place, thus taking the lead in this category. The final round of the 60th Mitropa Rally Cup season will take place at the Rallye du Valais from 23-25 October 2025 in Switzerland.
