22 November 2023

Rally Silesia in 2024 FIA ERC calendar

The FIA World Motor Sport Council (WMSC) has approved the calendar of the 2024 European Rally Championship. Rally Silesia has been included in series schedule for the first time in history. The event will be held as eighth and final round of the championship on 11-13th of October 2024.

The season will kick-off with Rally Hungary (12-14th of April), running on gravel special stages around city of Veszprem, north of Lake Balaton. Next up is Rally Islas Canarias, held on grippy and twisty roads of Gran Canaria (2-4th of May). Spanish tarmac challenge will be followed by high-speed gravel action in Varmland region, where Royal Rally of Scandinavia takes place (Sweden, 13-15th of June). Third and last gravel ERC counter is Rally Estonia (5-7th of July) – an event which hosted FIA WRC rounds for three previous seasons.

Second half of the calendar comprises of tarmac rallies only, beginning with Rally di Roma Capitale (26-28th of July), famous for spectacular evening superspecial around Colosseo in Rome. Round number six is the oldest event in series calendar – 53rd Barum Czech Rally Zlin (16-18th of August). Next in store are two rallies which make their debut in ERC calendar. Penultimate round of the series will be held in Wales, around the seaside town of Aberystwyth. Rali Ceredigion (30th of August – 1st of September) marks ERC comeback to Great Britain for the first time since 2016 Circuit of Ireland Rally.

Opening ceremony, followed by evening superspecial, take place in centre of Katowice, which is the biggest city of Metropolis GZM and the capital of the region.

For the season finale ERC competitors will visit Silesia, a region in southern Poland. The battle for ERC titles will be concluded during Rally Silesia, scheduled for 11-13th of October. Event
backed by Silesian Voivodeship, city of Katowice, Metropolis GZM and shaped in close cooperation with local authorities will be held as the round of national championship too. Honorary auspices of the competition are held by Jakub Chełstowski, Marshal of the Silesian Voivodship.

– For an event to be considered for inclusion in the FIA European Rally Championship it must first pass a rigorous technical inspection as well as demonstrating that it brings something fresh and extra to the calendar. Rally Silesia more than makes the grade, so much so that it was considered worthy to host the prestigious deciding round of the season. We’re delighted to welcome the event to the ERC family and equally pleased that we can maintain Poland’s presence on the calendar. We also know the competitors will savour the challenge and the warm welcome they’ll get from the people of Katowice and from the fans watching the action unfold on the stages. It won’t be an easy event given the technical nature of the bumpy and broken Tarmac roads, as well as the many junctions the drivers will have to negotiate, but the ERC places a great emphasis on training world rally champions of the future. Rally Silesia will form an important part of that process – said Iain Campbell, FIA European Rally Championship Manager.

HQ, service park and finish ceremony are located at the Silesian Stadium – iconic multifunctional venue where most prestigious events are held.

The first edition of Rally Silesia was organised back in 2017. Silesia is a most densely populated region in Poland, with living rallying tradition, so the event is attended by large numbers of spectators. Special stages are located in mountainous, southern part of voivodeship, nearby Czech and Slovakian border. The tarmac is diverse, with bumpy and twisty sections as well as newly paved and fast parts. Special stages run in areas where the most iconic and oldest Polish rallies were held and ERC stars like Kajetan Kajetanowicz and Sobieslaw Zasada, Wojciech Chuchala or Lukasz Habaj developed their careers.

HQ and service park are located at the Silesian Stadium – iconic multifunctional (football, track&field, speedway, marathons) venue where most prestigious events are held. Opening ceremony, followed by evening superspecial, take place in centre of Katowice, which is the biggest city of Metropolis GZM and the capital of the region. Second superspecial stage runs around Silesian Stadium, nearby the service park.

Spectacular opening stage of Rally Silesia is held on Friday evening in the heart of Katowice.

2024 FIA ERC calendar

  • 12-14 April: Rally Hungary (gravel)
  • 2-4 May: Rally Islas Canarias (tarmac, Spain)
  • 13-15 June: Royal Rally of Scandinavia (gravel, Sweden)
  • 5-7 July: Rally Estonia (gravel)
  • 26-28 July: Rally di Roma Capitale (tarmac, Italy)
  • 16-18 August: Rajd Barum (tarmac)
  • 30 August – 1 September: Rali Ceredigion (tarmac, UK)
  • 11-13 October: Rally Silesia (tarmac, Poland)

Rally Silesia 2023 – information:

Honorary auspices of the competition are held by Jakub Chełstowski, Marshal of the Silesian Voivodship.

The main partner of the Silesia Rally is the Silesian Voivodeship.

The strategic partner of the Rally Silesia is the Upper Silesian and Zagłębie Metropolis, and Kazimierz Karolczak, Chairperson of the Management Board of the Upper Silesian and Zagłębie Metropolis, has assumed honorary auspices of the competition.

The partner of the event is the city of Katowice, and the honorary auspices of the competition were taken by Marcin Krupa, Mayor of the City of Katowice.

The partner of the event is the city of Bielsko-Biała.

 The Rally Silesia is organised in a cooperation with the poviats of Cieszyn, Pszczyna, Bielsko and Bieruńsko-Lędziński, the city of Jastrzębie-Zdrój, as well as the communes of: Skoczów, Jasienica, Hażlach, Pawłowice, Strumień and Dębowiec.

The Rally Silesia is sponsored by Silesia Oil sp. z o.o. – manufacturer of AVIA brand oils, Febi Bilstein and FOB-Decor.

Motul is the title sponsor of the HRSMP. Motowizja is the media partner of the competition. RMF Maxx is the exclusive radio patron of the event.

All information about the Rally Silesia can be found at www.rajdslaska.pl, Facebook @rajdslaska, Instagram @rajd_slaska and Twitter @RajdSlaska.