"I owe István a debt of gratitude...” – this is how many people start the conversation when they ask about the father of the Mecsek Rallye, István Jelen, who dedicated almost half of his life to the Mecsek Rallye. During his thirty years of work related to rallying, he went through the ranks: he first got to know the world of racing cars as a mechanic at Pécsi Volán, learned the ins and outs of timing, then together with his wife, Kati, they created the stickers and logos of the vehicles, and finally they also bought the right to arrange them.

István Jelen organized the Mecsek Rallye for the first time in 1990, which was won by László Ranga and Mihály Dudás. Those who started the two-day race had to complete the Szentkút - Árpádtetó on Friday, and the Kővágószőlős - Hetvehely, Abaliget - Szentkút and Kemping - Árpádtetó on Saturday. István said earlier that he never had time to rest, as soon as one competition was over, he started organizing the next one. He planned everything carefully and wrote it down, first coming up with the routes at the desk and then walking them. He knew the roads and dirt roads of Baranya inside out, he usually got into his car and searched for them himself, researching the most suitable and exciting sections for racing. He designated where the retarders should be, where the tires should be placed, and he also compiled the programs for the whole day.

He never worked out of routine. As he said, everything has always changed over the years and nothing in motorsport should be left to chance. As a sports-loving, sociable person, he did everything to ensure that the participants and spectators of the Mecsek Rallye could enjoy the spectacular competition interspersed with various programs in the greatest safety. He did his work with maximum precision, he did not tolerate mistakes.

Thanks to his maximalism and the international relations established over the years, he was able to lure the Historic European Championship field to Mecsek in the fall of 2010, and then, as a result of nearly three years of hard work, he organized an IRC race in Baranya in 2011. He knew no bounds for his dreams: for the possibility of hosting the IRC, which is considered the anteroom of the World Championship, he traveled a lot to foreign competitions, so that every little thing would be in place and the Mecsek Rallye would be a worthy director of the prestigious competition.

The Mecsek Rallye, interspersed with a number of cultural and entertainment accompanying programs, was rated as a success from a sporting point of view as a whole by the representatives of the international association (FIA) and the IRC rights holder Eurosport. In addition, such an army of tourists had never visited our smaller homeland in a single long weekend, not only for sports, but for any event, so it was a huge responsibility to receive and entertain the competitors and fans in such a way as to spread the good news of the area around the world.

Business card

István Jelen was born on July 22, 1950 in Cluj. As a recalcitrant, stubborn child, he was banned from almost every school in his hometown, but his love of sports captivated him even at a young age: he played athletics, basketball, water polo, fencing, and at the age of 15 he became the ski champion of Cluj County. He completed his military service at Lake Gyilkos, where he met the teacher of a girls' class in Komló, Katalin, whom he married in Cluj, and then moved to Hungary in 1974. He obtained a degree in mechanical engineering and electrical engineering at the Károly Zipernovszky Industrial Vocational High School in Pécs. His first job in Hungary was at Pécs Volán, where he met the organizers of the previous Mecsek Rallies and began his almost 30 years of organizing work. István Jelen, the father of Mecsek Rallye, passed away on November 30, 2020.