While Max McRae banked a second FIA Junior ERC Championship event win, Mille Johansson completed JDS Machinery Rali Ceredigion a champion after he claimed the prestigious young driver title and the career-changing prize drive on offer.
“It’s really good,” said 19-year-old Johansson, the first Swedish Junior ERC champion since Emil Bergkvist in 2015. “The team has always delivered a good-performing car, no problems all season. All the luck we didn’t have last season we had this season with good preparations for each event. I’m really happy because all the hard work paid off. Now we are in a full season in Junior WRC next year and I’m really happy for that as well.”
Having initially trailed fellow Swede and Opel Corsa Rally4 driver Calle Carlberg, Johansson moved in front when Carlberg was forced to change a damaged front-left tyre on SS7. But McRae reached the overnight halt just 3.3sec behind Johansson and moved ahead on SS13, the first of Sunday’s stages to run after accidents caused SS11 and SS12 to be halted.
“On the first stage today we could drive I crashed in the same place as Chris Ingram, I went off in the ditch and we broke the steering so the car was not going straight and it was almost impossible to steer on the right-hand corners,” Polášek said.
Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy’s Aoife Raftery warmed-up for the upcoming Beyond Rally Women’s Driver Development Programme training camp in Poland by setting two top-five stage times on her way to seventh place. But her team-mate, Jack Brennan, rolled into retirement on SS13.
Max McRae also took the ERC4 category win with Johansson claiming the title laurels. Welsh wildcard Ioan Lloyd finished fifth as Kyle McBride was delayed by a water pipe issue heading to the final stage, which cost him 3min 30sec of penalties.
The Hankook-supplied 2024 FIA Junior ERC Championship concludes in Poland next month when Rally Silesia hosts the action from 11 – 13 October.
Rally Results:
01: M. McRae/C. Fair (Peugeot 208 Rally4) – 1h 47m 28.3s
02: M. Johansson/J. Gronvall (Opel Corsa Rally4) + 46.4sec
03: T. Schulz/M. Wenzel (Opel Corsa Rally4) + 1m 36.8sec
* Photos by Red Bull Content Pool.
