At a glance
- Maciej Lubiak confirmed his maiden 2026 FIA European Historic Rally Pre-1992 Championship title after taking second overall and class victory at Sanremo.
- Pre-2000 champions François Delecour and Fabrice Gordon took overall victory at the Sanremo Rally Storico by 56 seconds in their Peugeot.
- Jari-Matti Latvala swept Saturday’s stages but dropped to tenth overall after accumulating 11 minutes and 10 seconds in time penalties.
- Freddy Loix and Pieter Tsjoen completed the overall podium in third place, finishing 3 minutes and 7.0 seconds behind Delecour.
The 2026 FIA European Historic Rally Championship concluded its asphalt season at the 41st Sanremo Rally Storico, where Polish driver Maciej Lubiak secured his first Pre-1992 category title. Partnered with co-driver Grzegorz Dachowski in a Porsche 911 Carrera RS 3.0, Lubiak arrived on the Italian Riviera holding the championship lead and finished second overall to confirm the crown. At the front of the overall field, French rally veteran François Delecour and co-driver Fabrice Gordon completed their dominant Pre-2000 campaign by taking outright victory aboard a Peugeot 306 Maxi.
The event covered ten demanding asphalt special stages and 151.37 competitive kilometres winding through the Ligurian hills. As detailed in the FIA European Historic Rally Championship event report, Delecour and Gordon entered the weekend having already wrapped up the Pre-2000 championship earlier in the year. The French crew led overnight and finished 56.0 seconds ahead of Lubiak.
Friday Leg at Sanremo Rally Storico: Delecour and Lubiak Share Stage Honours
The leading Pre-2000 and Pre-1992 contenders split the eight stage wins on Friday. Delecour and Lubiak set the pace for the entire field, dividing the eight stage victories equally with four fastest times apiece. Lubiak kept his Porsche within striking distance of the Peugeot throughout the opening leg, trading quickest split times while balancing outright speed against his Pre-1992 title objectives.
Delecour closed the leg with an overnight cushion of 29.6 seconds over Lubiak. The Polish driver’s matching tally of four stage wins nevertheless gave him a commanding buffer in the Pre-1992 category. That cushion positioned Lubiak comfortably ahead of his direct championship rivals entering the decisive second day.
Attrition and Accidents Reshuffle the Friday Running Order
The challenging characteristics of the narrow Ligurian roads triggered critical retirements among several top contenders on Friday afternoon. The Belgian pairing of Ghislain de Mevius and Johan Jalet were forced out when their Subaru Impreza could not leave service after special stage six. Their sudden departure elevated the Finnish crew of Jari-Matti Latvala and Tomiya Maekawa into third place overall in their Toyota Celica ST185.
Drama also struck the local favourites when six-time Sanremo Historic victor Lucio Da Zanche crashed out alongside Daniele De Luis on the Ghimbegna stage. Their Porsche 911 left the road during Friday’s running, but both crew members emerged unharmed from the incident. The accident promoted Andrea ‘Zippo’ Zivian and Nicola Arena to fifth overall in their Subaru Impreza GT, making them the highest-placed Italian crew overnight.
Belgian crew Freddy Loix and Pieter Tsjoen preserved a disciplined pace to hold fourth position overnight in their Toyota Corolla WRC. Latvala, meanwhile, ended the opening leg more than a minute behind Delecour as the former World Rally Championship front-runner dedicated Friday’s stages to learning the unfamiliar asphalt terrain.
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Saturday Penalties Thwart Latvala as Delecour Extends Command
Saturday’s itinerary shifted the competition to two final stages contested on Imperia ground, where Latvala set the fastest time on both stages. Having built confidence on the Ligurian surface, Latvala and Maekawa swept both Saturday tests with the fastest times of the morning. Time penalties nevertheless dropped the Toyota crew down the overall order.
Stewards issued Latvala a ten-minute penalty after the Finnish driver failed to report to the final time control on Friday evening. The crew then incurred an additional one-minute-and-ten-second penalty on Saturday morning for exiting the service park seven minutes late. As reported in Racing News Worldwide’s Sanremo classification report, the cumulative 11 minutes and 10 seconds of time penalties relegated Latvala and Maekawa to tenth place overall despite their stage-winning pace on the final day.
How Delecour’s lead changed
The reported gaps show how Delecour increased his lead over Lubiak on Saturday. Delecour entered Saturday with a 29.6-second overnight buffer over Lubiak. That advantage expanded to 37.9 seconds following the penultimate test, representing an 8.3-second gain on stage nine. Delecour then pushed on the tenth and final stage, extracting another 18.1 seconds to cross the finish line 56.0 seconds ahead of the Porsche.
Lubiak and Dachowski crossed the line second overall and first among the Pre-1992 entries, mathematically sealing Lubiak’s 2026 FIA European Historic Rally Pre-1992 Championship. Loix and Tsjoen completed the overall podium in third position, steering their Toyota Corolla WRC to the finish 3 minutes and 7.0 seconds behind Delecour.
European Historic Season Turns to Italian Gravel Finale
With the Sanremo Rally Storico bringing the asphalt season to a close, both Delecour and Lubiak concluded their European asphalt programmes with landmark class and overall achievements. Although the Pre-1992 and Pre-2000 titles have reached their conclusion, the broader 2026 FIA European Historic Rally Championship has one competitive stop remaining. The series moves next to loose surfaces for the Gravel Championship finale at the Rally del Brunello in Italy, scheduled to run from 27 to 29 November.
The numbers behind the story
| Checkpoint | Lead over Lubiak (seconds) |
|---|---|
| Overnight | 29.6 |
| After penultimate stage | 37.9 |
| Finish | 56 |
Source: LUBIAK CROWNED PRE-1992 CHAMPION AS DELECOUR COMPLETES TITLE-WINNING SEASON WITH SANREMO VICTORY. Values transcribed from explicitly stated source checkpoints; no intermediate values estimated.
