HUMDA Hungarian Mobility Development Agency is the title sponsor of this year’s Hungarian Rally Championship under an agreement with the Hungarian National Automobile Sport Association (MNASZ).
The 2023 season of the HUMDA National Rally Championship will start with the Székesfehérvár Rally from 31 March to 2 April and will end with the Nyíregyháza Rally Hungary from 6-8 October. In addition to the first two events, fans can visit the Esztergom Rally, the Salgó Rally, the Mecsek Rally, the East Rally, the Veszprém Rally, the Győr Rally and the Miskolc Rally Cup. The Agency is also the title sponsor of all categories of the championship, including the National Rally Championship (ORB) 1st class, ORC, ORB2 and ORB3.
‘The 1st Győr Rally will be held from 8-10 September and will feature the best of Hungarian rallying. The event is supported by HUMDA, the Széchenyi István University and the Mayor of Győr. Our aim is to extend the role of Győr in the automotive industry to the world of sport, to contribute to the promotion of engineering education in Hungary, to the development of road safety and to the promotion of regional tourism,’ said Prof. Dr. László Palkovics, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Széchenyi István University Foundation.
‘In Győr, the Eastern European capital of vehicle manufacturing, motor sport is also extremely popular, so we are particularly pleased that the best of Hungarian rallying will be competing here this autumn,’ said Csaba András Dézsi Phd, Mayor of Győr. I am confident that in a city where thousands of people earn their living in the automotive industry, this colourful and spectacular event will be a great success in terms of professionalism, sport and public interest,’ added the Mayor.
‘The downtown stage of the 1st Győr Rally will be a spectacular event in the vicinity of the Széchenyi István University, symbolising the growing links between our leading automotive institution and motorsport. The event will also showcase our diverse training portfolio and our internationally elite student racing teams,’ said Dr. Ferenc Szauter, Head of the Centre for Automotive Research at Széchenyi István University.
HUMDA’s main objective is to contribute to the development of the national championship, including the safety of spectators, competitors and officials. The final round of the HUMDA ORB will be Rally Hungary, which is also an ERC event and will be promoted by the Agency. After a one-year break, the competition will return to Nyíregyháza, as well as to the Zemplén and Tokaj wine regions.
‘The return of the ERC is extremely significant, as last year was missed due to yellow card warnings. As promised earlier, the new edition is the result of the hard work of all those involved in the organisation and the ongoing promoter negotiations, following a thorough evaluation of the experience gained so far. We are now concentrating on ensuring that the organisation is flawless and that the public, the drivers and the promoter are satisfied with the outcome of the race. Another important element of the cooperation between HUMDA and MNASZ is the provision of uniform clothing for the marshalls. Anyone who participated at least once in an event last year will receive two T-shirts, a softshell jacket and a cap for their work,’ said Zoltán Szujó, President of the Hungarian National Automobile Sports Association (MNASZ).
‘Road safety is also an important focus of our cooperation, as such competitions are a good way to communicate the message that racing is for the racetrack and that the rules of the Highway Code must be observed on the roads. Thanks to our involvement, we can launch another tradition-building sporting event in Győr. The rally sector is of paramount importance to us, and nothing is better proof of this than the successful organisation of the ZEG Rally Show in recent years, as well as the promotional tasks of Rally Hungary and the return of the event to the calendar. Thanks to this, tens of thousands of rally fans can participate in our programmes’, added Balázs Weingartner, CEO of HUMDA Zrt.
The Agency is also focusing on the development of young talent, so as part of the support, the ORB2 winner of this season will receive a significant contribution to two events in the Peugeot Rally Cup in the 2024 season, if he/she also competes in three additional events in the season.