- The German team of Manuel Kößler / Benedikt Hofmann won the Mitropa Rally Cup classification in a Hyundai i20 R5 at the 27th Rally Poreč in Croatia
- Rino Muradore and Cristina Delbello once again win the historic vehicles classification in their Ford Escort RS 2000 MKII
- The Italian team of Federico Laurencich and Alberto Mlakar (Peugeot 106 Rally S2) secure victory in the internal Club Championship
Manuel Kößler and his co-driver Benedikt Hofmann claimed victory in the Mitropa Rally Cup (MRC) classification at the 27th Rally Poreč (April 24–26, 2026) in Croatia. The German team set the fastest times on all 11 timed special stages, securing a start-to-finish victory for the Hyundai i20 R5 and claiming the top spot on the podium with a lead of 2:33.9 minutes.
The battle for second and third place was fought down to the last second. Initially, Slovenian Simon Rončel in the Peugeot 208 Rally4 led his German rival Fabian Schulze in the identical model by a razor-thin margin of 2.6 seconds until the fourth special stage.
Deep cuts and muddy asphalt roads pushed the riders to their limits. Schulze then passed the 36-year-old Slovenian, but couldn’t hold his position, and Rončel reclaimed second place. But his joy over the regained position does not last long; Schulze counters and reclaims second place, defending it all the way to the finish line and relegating the Slovenian to third place with a lead of 15.9 seconds.
Hermann Gaßner Sr. finishes in fourth place in the Hyundai i20 R5. Despite setting two second-fastest times, Gaßner is beaten by the two fast front-wheel-drive cars. Fifth place goes to the Italian Cristian Terpin in the Peugeot 208 Rally4.
With this result, Gaßner Sr. retains the championship lead ahead of Manuel Kößler, who did not compete in the first race of the season. Fabian Schulze follows in third place in the championship standings. Rüdiger Dilg (GER) moves up to fourth place, and MRC newcomer Robby Fechner (GER) now sits in fifth place in the standings despite retiring from the first race.
In the historic car class, two Italians initially engaged in a fierce battle. Alessandro Pulz initially held the lead in his Ford Sierra RS Cosworth. However, after he retired in the third special stage, the team of Rino Muradore and Cristina Delbello in their Ford Escort RS 2000 MKII seized the opportunity and cruised to victory. His compatriot Nicola Randon took second place in the Fiat Ritmo Abarth 130 TC, ahead of Hungarian János Dunavölgyi in the Lada Samara 21080 in third place.
Muradore thus further extends his lead as the championship leader in the historic vehicles category. Dunavölgyi follows in second place in the standings. Third place is held by the Austrian Walther Stietka, who, however, did not compete in Poreč.
The internal club championship also saw a start-to-finish victory. The Italian duo of Federico Laurencich and Alberto Mlakar won the class outright in their Peugeot 106 Rallye S2, finishing more than seven minutes ahead of the German team of Olaf and Heike Rachner in their Suzuki Swift Sport MK4. Mirsad Guzin (GER) finished third in the Subaru Impreza STi N11. Laurencich thus defended his lead in the championship ahead of Hungary’s Gábor Hulmann and Olaf Rachner.
Due to organizational reasons, only 11 of the planned 12 special stages could be completed. The rally on the Adriatic coast covers a total distance of 507 kilometers, including 102 kilometers of timed special stages.
