From Latvala and Delecour to Wagner: RSSD Presented to Rally Legends in Weiz

Last Saturday marked the finish of Rallye Weiz, an event that brought together several very different eras of our sport on the same special stages, modern Rally2, Rally3, Rally4 and Rally5 cars, fully electric rally cars, and legendary machines that defined the 1980s and 1990s. Rallye Weiz counted towards the TEC7 Austrian Rally Championship, the Austrian Rallye Challenge, the ADAC Opel GSE Rally Cup, and two championships within the FIA European Historic Rally Championship: FIA EHRC Pre-1992 and FIA EHRC Pre-2000. The Rally Show Santa Domenica team was in Weiz, where we used this top-level rally as an opportunity to promote the 16th Rally Show Santa Domenica internationally. The event will take place from 20 to 22 November 2026.
We are especially pleased that we had the opportunity to personally present RSSD to some of the biggest names in world and European rallying.

Jari-Matti Latvala, three-time World Rally Championship runner-up, 18 WRC victories and a European historic title
The biggest name at Rallye Weiz was undoubtedly Jari-Matti Latvala, three-time World Rally Championship runner-up, winner of 18 World Rally Championship events and one of the most recognisable drivers of the modern WRC era. During his career, he drove as a factory driver for Ford, Volkswagen and Toyota, and today he leads the Toyota Gazoo Racing World Rally Team. Although he no longer contests a full WRC season, Latvala has certainly not slowed down. Behind the wheel of a Toyota Celica GT-Four, he won the 2025 FIA European Historic Rally Championship title. In Weiz, he once again showed that there is still plenty of speed behind the famous name. Driving a Celica GT-Four more than 30 years old, he won one special stage against the entire field. It was a great honour to speak with him and personally introduce him to Rally Show Santa Domenica, the gravel roads of Savršćak and everything we are preparing for November.

François Delecour, a WRC icon still driving flat out
Right behind Latvala, another special moment was meeting François Delecour, one of the fastest, most committed and most recognisable drivers from the golden era of the World Rally Championship. During his WRC career, Delecour achieved four victories, 19 podium finishes and an impressive 214 special-stage wins. He was World Championship runner-up in 1993, a Rallye Monte-Carlo winner and a factory driver for some of the biggest teams of his era. He achieved his greatest success behind the wheel of the Ford Escort RS Cosworth, but his career was also closely linked with the Peugeot 206 WRC, Mitsubishi Lancer WRC and the spectacular Peugeot 306 Maxi. It was in the Peugeot 306 Maxi that he competed in Weiz. It remains one of the greatest rally icons of the 1990s – a car that is impossible to overlook and even harder not to hear. Its screaming naturally aspirated engine at high revs, raw sound and character-filled driving were a reminder of an era of rallying that is almost completely unknown in today’s sport. Even today, Delecour does not turn up simply to display the car to the fans. He still drives at the maximum, without holding back, exactly as rally fans remember him. We also presented RSSD to him and introduced him to our event, the gravel roads of Savršćak and the special atmosphere that attracts crews and spectators from across Europe every year.

Renato Travaglia, a major name in Italian and European rallying
We also had the honour of speaking with Renato Travaglia, one of the most successful Italian rally drivers of his generation.
Travaglia is a two-time European Rally Champion and a driver who spent many years at the very top of Italian and European rallying. His career is linked with numerous iconic cars, including the Peugeot 306 Maxi, Peugeot 206 WRC and Renault Clio S1600.
He is especially well known as a top asphalt specialist, but also as a driver whose precision and speed defined the era of Kit Cars, Super 1600 machinery and the early WRC cars. We introduced him to Rally Show Santa Domenica and to our long-standing connection with Italian crews and rally fans.

Simon Wagner, four-time RSSD winner
In Weiz, we also met our great friend Simon Wagner, a five-time consecutive Austrian Rally Champion and four-time winner of Rally Show Santa Domenica. With four victories, Simon is the most successful driver in RSSD history, and his battles for the win over the years have become an important part of our event’s story. He knows Savršćak better than almost any other foreign driver, and our rally has always attracted him because of the gravel, the strong competition and the special atmosphere alongside the stages. That is why meeting Simon was not only part of the promotion, but also time spent with a driver who has long been an important member of the RSSD family.

Interest from Austrian and international media
Our promotion in Weiz also attracted the attention of Austrian and international media. We presented the concept of this year’s Rally Show Santa Domenica, the two Savršćak by Night stages and the five runs through the Savršćak Arena special stage. Conversations with drivers, teams, and journalists once again confirmed that RSSD has become a recognised international rally name and that interest in our event continues to grow far beyond Croatia. We returned from Weiz with excellent impressions, new contacts and even greater motivation for what awaits us in November. We presented RSSD to rally legends and to all the crews. Now the goal is clear; to bring them to the gravel stages of RSSD.