Finnish Rally Championship 2012

Finnish Rally Championship is changing quite a bit for the 2012 season. New regulations with new cars eligible for the Championship, new points scales and new tyre regulations make it all very different.

The Finnish Rally Championship (FRC) is the Number 1 Championship in Finnish motorsport, which also has a very good reputation internationally. There are seven events in the FRC, of which three will be driven in the winter and four in the summer. There are two new events in championship for 2012: Riihimäki-Ralli, a legendary season opener from the 60´s, 70´s, 80´s and even the 90´s is making its way back to the series, and the second newcomer is Satamoto-ralli driven in August in Merikarvia.

There will be two Drivers´ Champions: 2-wheel-drive and 4-wheel-drive. Same applies to Co-Drivers and Teams. The 4WDs all run in one class, the 2WDs are separated into two classes as follows:

Class SM1 4WD: FIA R4, Super 2000 Rally, FIN R 4WD, Group N over 2000 ccm
Class SM2 Super2: FIA R3, FIN R 2WD and Group N up to 2000 ccm, and Super 1600
Class SM3 2WD-R: FIA R1 and R2 up to 1600 ccm

The 2WDs get points in each class, based on the formula given in the regulations, where the number of starters is taken into account. On top of this, the best six get points for a 2WD overall classification. The 4WD point scale is more straightforward.

For many private competitors the biggest change for 2012 are the new tyre regulations. The tyres are now free, within the limitations given in Appendix J of the Finnish automobile sports regulations.

Suomi Cup

Finnish Rally Cup, the Suomi Cup, runs as a support event in the FRC events. The four classes and eligible cars are as follows:

Class SC4: Group A over 2000 cm3 (including WRCars)
Class SC5: FIN R and Group A up to and including 1400 cm3
Class SC6: V1600 (nationally homologated standard cars)
Class SC7: Group F, free cylinder volume