The 54th Mecsek Rally will take place at the end of June
At the end of June, the Mecsek Rallye is included as the fourth race in the competition calendar of the Hungarian National Rally Championship, and in addition, the race will once again be part of the FIA Historic European Championship. The organization is already underway, according to the intention of the organizers and the domestic association, the 54th Mecsek Rallye will definitely be held.
One of the unmissable corners of domestic motorsport events is the Mecsek Rallye, which, after the first competition in 1967, is organized for the 54th time by Pécsi Sport Nonprofit Zrt. Although the timing is unusual, it is not unprecedented, in 2012 the 46th Mecsek Rallye will also be held. took place at the beginning of the summer. The organizing committee is already working, János Máté, CEO of PSN Zrt., also gave specifics about the competition.
"Among the many tasks of the Pécsi Sport Nonprofit Zrt. is the organization of the Mecsek Rally. We have the license and therefore also the responsibility. Our goal is to organize a high-quality car race that evokes the traditions of the old days. To our great regret, we had to cancel the Mecsek Rally last year due to the virus situation, but this year we will definitely keep what is the firm position of the Hungarian National Motorsport Association. According to our plans the Mecsek Rally will take place on June 25-26, 2021. The organizing committee has started work, designated the tracks, and is in the process of obtaining the necessary permits from the specialized authorities. We are planning four speed stages, and Széchenyi Square will host the start and finish ceremonies. We are also happy to announce that the main patron of the competition will be Attila Péterffy, the mayor of the city of Pécs." – János Máté summarized the most important ones.
With the summer date, the 54th Mecsek Rallye is in the middle of the championship season, so it will be an important race for the entire first-class field, since nothing has been decided yet. In addition to the domestic leaders, the participants of the Historic European Championships will also come to Pécs again, so in addition to the latest technology, the race cars of the past will also be there on the Mecsek tracks.
There will definitely be a race, we all hope that the fans can already be there on the sidelines, but the pandemic will still present challenges to the organizers, because the race must be held in compliance with the epidemiological rules valid in June. The head of the sports staff is Róbert Lakatos, a professional with considerable experience.
"From this year - due to the unfortunate death of the previous organizer Jelen István - a (partially) new sports professional staff will be responsible for the further organization of the Mecsek Rallye. This team has no other goal - since we are talking about Hungary's oldest rally competition - than to carry on the Mecsek Rallye keeping in mind the spirit, successes and traditions of the previous decades, paying tribute to István Jelen's decades of work and memory." said Róbert Lakatos
Although the pandemic will leave its mark on this year's racing season as well, according to the organizers' intention, the 54th Mecsek Rallye will mark the beginning of a new era in the history of the race.
"This year's competition will be the beginning of a multi-year renewal process. We are talking about one of the biggest sports events in Pécs, whose traditions we want to not only strengthen, but also include in the list of city events. A multi-level cooperation is taking shape that goes beyond the city just making room for the competition. We would like to create a program to show the residents of the city and the region what fantastic cars and great sportsmen are coming to the city. We also want to show the domestic and foreign competitors, team members, spectators and journalists who come to us that Pécs has values in addition to the rally, which makes it worth staying here even after the Friday-Saturday racing days, and again later, to come to us with family and friends” – said Miklós Bernáth, PSN Zrt.'s deputy general manager and head of the competition's organizing committee.
The organizers are working, the preliminary schedule is already on the table, and the competition has already received the most important permits. At the same time, the work is not easy, as the epidemiological rules change according to the current situation, and due to the pandemic, raising the necessary resources is much more difficult than usual. The organizers are already asking the fans to support the 54th Mecsek Rallye by coming to Pécs if they have the opportunity and following all the rules, taking care of each other and the athletes, cheering on their favorites.
Photo: Tamás Sándor
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