The FIA Rally Star crews delivered one other standout efficiency because the 2025 FIA Junior WRC Championship obtained underway at Rally Sweden. Taylor Gill and Dan Brkic secured a shocking victory, whereas Max Sensible and Cameron Truthful confirmed flashes of brilliance regardless of a difficult weekend.
Making his WRC2 debut, reigning Junior WRC champion Romet Jürgenson, co-driven by Siim Oja, tailored rapidly to the step up in equipment. He piloted his M-Sport-run Ford Fiesta Rally2 to a powerful seventh general and sixth within the WRC2 Challenger Championship. Regardless of restricted expertise with the automobile, the Estonian improved steadily all through the weekend. He notably excelled on Sunday’s lengthy 30-kilometre levels. His skill to handle tempo and work together with his M-Sport crew to extract extra efficiency from his automobile highlighted his potential on this aggressive class.
In the meantime, Taylor Gill stormed to his second Junior WRC victory, dealing with the treacherous situations with outstanding composure. Though the preliminary goal was to safe a podium spot, an off-road tour for native favorite Mille Johansson opened the door for Gill to take the lead. From that time on, the Australian delivered a flawless drive, expertly managing his benefit and in the end securing the win with a 22.8-second lead.
Taylor Gill and co-driver Dan Brkic are rapidly changing into Nordic favourites after relocating to Finland to advance their FIA Rally Star coaching. The Aussie duo has confirmed their skill to excel within the area, securing a second Nordic victory following their breakthrough win at Rally Finland in 2024.
Max Sensible endured a weekend of highs and lows, beginning in a robust place with a stage win on Friday earlier than a troublesome Saturday noticed him retire resulting from a gathering with the snowbank. Regardless of the setback, he rebounded on Sunday with a powerful efficiency, narrowly lacking out on the quickest time within the Energy Stage by simply 0.068 seconds. Though the ultimate end result didn’t replicate his outright pace, his skill to bounce again underneath difficult circumstances was a testomony to his resilience and development as a driver.
The FIA Rally Star programme’s meticulous preparation was evident within the performances of all three drivers, who proceed to develop at a powerful fee. With Rally Sweden offering a invaluable studying expertise, the crews now look to their subsequent rounds, with Taylor Gill and Max Sensible specializing in the second spherical of the FIA Junior WRC Championship in Portugal from Fifteenth-Twenty first Might. Portugal isn’t any peculiar gravel occasion, with its tough, unpredictable terrain and ever-changing climate situations promising to problem each the drivers’ abilities and the resilience of their vehicles.
In the meantime, Romet Jürgenson will tackle the East Driving Phases on February twenty third in a Rally2 automobile as a part of the British Rally Championship opener, supported by M-Sport. He’ll then proceed his WRC2 marketing campaign at Rally Islas Canarias in Spain from April Twenty fourth-Twenty seventh.
FIA Rally Star Undertaking Chief Jérôme Roussel stated: “We are able to take quite a lot of positives from Rally Sweden, the primary occasion of the season for our FIA Rally Star crews. Romet’s debut in WRC2 was notably spectacular. With virtually no prior expertise in a Rally2 automobile at this degree, he confirmed outstanding maturity and development all through the weekend. His strategy was intelligent, enhancing considerably between levels and managing his tempo sensibly on the tough icy sections. To complete sixth within the WRC2 Challenger class on his first try is a implausible achievement. Extra importantly, he has demonstrated his skill to study rapidly and adapt. His collaboration with M-Sport has been very productive, and we’re happy with the way in which he labored with the crew to refine the automobile’s setup. His subsequent problem on tarmac within the Canary Islands will likely be one other massive step, however we’ve got each confidence in his skill to maintain progressing.
Taylor’s victory in Junior WRC is a superb achievement. Our unique plan was to safe a podium spot, as we knew Mille Johansson could be dominant at this rally. Nevertheless, after Mille completed in a snowbank and Taylor inherited the lead, he managed his tempo brilliantly and introduced the automobile residence with minimal threat, displaying the intelligence and composure wanted to battle for a championship. He has made a really sturdy begin. It is nonetheless a protracted method to go, however profitable on the primary rally is at all times one of the best ways to begin a championship.
Max had his share of challenges, however his efficiency on Friday, taking a stage win, was a transparent signal of his potential. Whereas his retirement on Saturday was disappointing, he confirmed resilience by coming again sturdy on Sunday, lacking the quickest time on the Energy Stage by simply 68 thousandths of a second. He’s nonetheless gaining expertise at this degree, and each rally is a step ahead for him. His development over the weekend was encouraging, and we all know he’ll proceed to develop.
As deliberate earlier than the beginning of the season, Rally Sweden additionally marked the top of the affiliation between Max Sensible and his co-driver Cameron Truthful, who has supported Max over the previous two seasons. I want to take this chance to thank Cameron for what he delivered to the crew and to Max particularly.
An enormous thanks to the M-Sport groups and the Rally Sweden organisers for his or her laborious work in robust situations. It was a really constructive begin to the season, and we stay up for seeing how our drivers proceed to develop within the coming occasions.”
Romet Jürgenson acknowledged: “It’s been superb to get the primary WRC2 occasion carried out this weekend, and I feel it’s been successful. The pace has actually been there. We noticed so many alternative situations and discovered lots in regards to the automobile and our driving, so we are able to solely enhance from right here. Going into the season, my goal is to point out extra pace in direction of the top of the yr. We nonetheless want a little bit of time to get adjusted to the automobile and the class, however for this occasion, it was precisely what we deliberate. We set ourselves the purpose of ending between sixth and eighth place, and I feel we achieved it by ending seventh.
It’s an enormous step as much as WRC2. It’s a brand new automobile, a brand new setup, and there are such a lot of extra potentialities. So, at this occasion, we actually needed to perceive what we have been doing, however fortunately, we’ve got an excellent crew at M-Sport with us, who’ve actually supported us to get essentially the most out of the automobile with the proper setup.”
Taylor Gill commented: “It’s been an unimaginable weekend. You at all times hope to win the rally, however to come back residence with the win is greater than we might have requested for. I knew we had an opportunity to be on the rostrum, however we additionally knew that, realistically, Mille was going to be fairly unbeatable, so we have been pleased to be the perfect of the remaining and sit second subsequent to him. That was the plan we have been following, with the odd stage win right here and there. Then we obtained the lead. As soon as we had it, we knew what we needed to do to handle it to the top, and I feel we managed it nicely.
I wish to say thanks to everybody for the help. It’s been unbelievable to obtain the messages, the calls, and the feedback. Each Dan and I actually really feel the help pushing us alongside, and listening to the Australian nationwide anthem on the rostrum right here at present was one thing actually particular.”
Max Sensible added: “It’s been a protracted weekend, and sadly not the way in which we’d have wished it to go, having to retire on Saturday morning. However we confirmed good tempo all through the weekend, securing our first stage win on Friday and constructing on that within the remaining stage on Sunday, the place we have been extremely near the stage win. So, it’s been good to finish on a excessive word like that. Sweden can be the final time Cameron Truthful, and I will likely be driving collectively. It’s been an incredible two years, and I’ve discovered an unimaginable quantity from him.”
FIA Junior WRC Championship Occasion Schedule Refresher
The 2025 FIA Junior WRC Championship consists of 5 rounds as follows:
• Rally Sweden: 13-16 February
• Vodafone Rally de Portugal: 15-18 April
• EKO Acropolis Rally Greece: 26-29 June
• Secto Rally Finland: 31 July – 3 August
• Central European Rally: 16-19 October
To know extra in regards to the FIA Rally Star programme, go to https://www.fia.com/fia-rally-star and observe @FIARallyStar on social media.
