Norbert Herczig will chase success in the European Rally Championship for a fourth season, returning to the Škoda brand with whom he claimed three of his four national titles.
After two seasons relying on Volkswagen Polo power, Hungarian Herczig and co-driver Ramón Ferencz will be back onboard a Rally2-specification Škoda Fabia, which will be entered under the Škoda Rally Team Hungary banner.
Herczig and Ferencz have joined forces with the Topp-Cars Rally Team from Hungary, which guided Andreas Mikkelsen and Ola Fløene to victory on last season’s Rally Hungary.
It means the completion of their long and successful alliance with Baumschlager Rallye & Racing from Austria, the squad that helped Herczig and Ferencz to ERC podiums on the Acropolis Rally and Cyprus Rally in 2018, their first season in the championship.
“It looks like I can’t break away from the brand,” said Herczig, whose first event with Škoda power was back in 1997. “I started racing with Škoda, I got three national championship titles with the Škoda Fabia, and we got to the podium with the Fabia R5 two times in the ERC.
“Porsche Hungária have proved once again that they are a great partner, in 2021 Škoda Rally Team Hungary will be the name of our team again.”
All-Hungarian team excites Herczig
By joining forces with the Topp-Cars Rally Team, Norbert Herczig and Ramón Ferencz will form an all-Hungarian team in the ERC.
“The big change is the service team,” Herczig explained. “After nine years together, we have parted ways with the BRR team, and this year the Topp-Cars team will prepare our race car.
“We learned a lot from the BRR, we said goodbye with friendship, but we have decided previously to start the European championship with a car prepared in Hungary and I know that we also have the knowledge and expertise in Hungary to keep us at the forefront of the ERC.”
Rally Hungary date firmly fixed in the diary
The date of Rally Hungary is already firmly fixed in Herczig’s diary. Based in the city Nyíregyháza, the sealed-surface event is scheduled as the penultimate round of the ERC season from October 22-24.