Junior WRC

FIA Junior WRC

Category	Group Rally3
Country	International
Inaugural season	2001
Drivers' champion	Romet Jürgenson
Co-Drivers' champion	Siim Oja
Official website	www.wrc.com
Current season

Sébastien Loeb and Daniel Elena at the 2001 Rally Finland.

P-G Andersson and Suzuki celebrating JWRC class victory at the 2004 Rally Finland.

The FIA Junior WRC Championship, is an international rallying series restricted to drivers under 29 years old, running within the framework of the World Rally Championship. The series is governed by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) and promoted by M-Sport Ltd.

Run annually since 2013, the championship is the latest in the FIA's junior driver category which began in 2001 with the Super 1600 Championship, the Junior World Rally Championship in 2002, and the WRC Academy in 2011. This category has been a stepping stone in the careers of WRC champions Sebastien Loeb and Sébastien Ogier; plus leading drivers Dani Sordo, Elfyn Evans, Craig Breen and Thierry Neuville.^[1][2][3][4]

Junior WRC differs from the WRC support championships, WRC2 and WRC3, as the competition is managed and promoted by M-Sport under contract to the FIA. All cars are identical, provided and serviced by M-Sport on the entrants' behalf.^[5][6] The car used since 2022 is the company's Ford Fiesta Rally3.^[7] The championship currently consists of five select rallies of the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) calendar. FIA Championship titles are awarded to the winning Driver and Co-Driver.

The FIA did not award Junior WRC champion titles in the 2022 season. Instead, the titles of FIA WRC3 Junior were awarded to the winners of the Junior WRC competition run by M-Sport.^[7][8][9]

History

The championship's origins began in 2001 as the FIA Super 1600 Drivers' Championship, and included six events in Europe. Sébastien Loeb was the series' champion, driving a Super 1600 Citroën Saxo.^[10] The series became the Junior World Rally Championship the following year, with an upper age limit of 29 introduced in 2003.^[11]

In 2007, the championship did not include events outside Europe. Following introduction of an FIA rule in 2006 surrounding use of the word 'world' in championship names, the championship was known as the FIA Junior Rally Championship (JRC) for one season only. The 2010 season was the last Junior World Rally Championship.^[12]

In 2011, the FIA replaced the championship with the WRC Academy Cup. This was the first year the championship was managed under contract. M-Sport provided identical Ford Fiesta R2 cars for entrants to use.^[13][14] In 2013 the series was renamed to FIA Junior WRC.^[15]

In 2014, Citroën were awarded the contract to run Junior WRC providing Citroën DS3 R3T cars.^[16] M-Sport repurposed the old Ford Fiesta R2 units for the Drive DMACK Fiesta Trophy.^[17]

In 2017, M-Sport regained the running rights continuing to use the Ford Fiesta R2. Following the introduction of the Rally Pyramid in 2019, the latest evolution Ford Fiesta Rally4 was introduced for the second round of the 2020 season.

At the 2018 season the number of rallies were reduced to 5, while the last rally gives double points.

In March 2021 the FIA announced there will not be any two-wheel drive championships in WRC from 2022.^[18] It was later announced Rally3 cars would be used for Junior WRC from then on.^[8][9] The FIA title for 2022 was called WRC3 Junior, however from 2023, FIA Junior WRC was restored.

Rules

The Junior WRC is open to drivers under the age of 29 who have not competed as a Priority 1 (P1) driver in an FIA World Rally Championship event. Competitors drive identical Ford Fiesta Rally4 cars using Pirelli tyres. There is no obligation to enter a minimum number of rounds and all rounds contribute to the championship points tally.^[19]

The point-scoring system based on classification is the same as in the WRC, WRC2 and WRC3 championships, with points allocated to the top ten classified finishers as follows:

Position	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th	10th
Points	25	18	15	12	10	8	6	4	2	1

The last rally in the season awards double classification points to competitors who have started at least 3 previous rounds. Power Stage points are not awarded in Junior WRC as in the other WRC championships, however JWRC competitors can score one championship bonus point for each stage win during the season.^[19]

The Nations Trophy sums points of the best performing driver from each nation each round, not including stage points.^[19]

Results

Drivers' Championship

Year	Series name	Upper Age Limit[a]	Champion	Car	2nd place	Car	3rd place	Car	Rounds
2024	FIA Junior WRC	29	Romet Jürgenson	Ford Fiesta Rally3	Norbert Maior	Ford Fiesta Rally3	Ali Türkkan	Ford Fiesta Rally3	5
2023			William Creighton	Ford Fiesta Rally3	Diego Dominguez	Ford Fiesta Rally3	Laurent Pellier	Ford Fiesta Rally3	5
2022	FIA WRC3 Junior		Robert Virves	Ford Fiesta Rally3	Jon Armstrong	Ford Fiesta Rally3	Sami Pajari	Ford Fiesta Rally3	5
2021	FIA Junior WRC		Sami Pajari	Ford Fiesta Rally4	Jon Armstrong	Ford Fiesta Rally4	Mārtiņš Sesks	Ford Fiesta Rally4	5
2020			Tom Kristensson	Ford Fiesta Rally4	Mārtiņš Sesks	Ford Fiesta Rally4	Sami Pajari	Ford Fiesta Rally4	4
2019			Jan Solans	Ford Fiesta R2	Tom Kristensson	Ford Fiesta R2	Dennis Rådström	Ford Fiesta R2	5
2018			Emil Bergkvist	Ford Fiesta R2	Dennis Rådström	Ford Fiesta R2	Jean-Baptiste Franceschi	Ford Fiesta R2	5
2017			Nil Solans	Ford Fiesta R2	Nicolas Ciamin	Ford Fiesta R2	Terry Folb	Ford Fiesta R2	6
2016		28	Simone Tempestini	Citroën DS3 R3T	Martin Koči	Citroën DS3 R3T	Vincent Dubert	Citroën DS3 R3T	6
2015			Quentin Gilbert	Citroën DS3 R3T	Ole Christian Veiby	Citroën DS3 R3T	Terry Folb	Citroën DS3 R3T	7
2014			Stéphane Lefebvre	Citroën DS3 R3T	Alastair Fisher	Citroën DS3 R3T	Martin Koči	Citroën DS3 R3T	6
2013		27	Pontus Tidemand	Ford Fiesta R2	Yeray Lemes	Ford Fiesta R2	Sander Pärn	Ford Fiesta R2	6
2012	WRC Academy Cup	25	Elfyn Evans	Ford Fiesta R2	José Antonio Suárez	Ford Fiesta R2	Pontus Tidemand	Ford Fiesta R2	6
2011			Craig Breen	Ford Fiesta R2	Egon Kaur	Ford Fiesta R2	Alastair Fisher	Ford Fiesta R2	6
2010	FIA Junior World Rally Championship	29	Aaron Burkart	Suzuki Swift S1600	Hans Weijs, Jr.	Citroën C2 S1600	Todor Slavov	Renault Clio R3	6
2009			Martin Prokop	Citroën C2 S1600	Michał Kościuszko	Suzuki Swift S1600	Aaron Burkart	Suzuki Swift S1600	8
2008			Sébastien Ogier	Citroën C2 S1600	Aaron Burkart	Citroën C2 S1600	Martin Prokop	Citroën C2 S1600	7
2007	FIA Junior Rally Championship		Per-Gunnar Andersson	Suzuki Swift S1600	Urmo Aava	Suzuki Swift S1600	Martin Prokop	Citroën C2 S1600	7
2006	FIA Junior World Rally Championship		Patrik Sandell	Renault Clio S1600	Urmo Aava	Suzuki Swift S1600	Per-Gunnar Andersson	Suzuki Swift S1600	9
2005			Dani Sordo	Citroën C2 S1600	Kris Meeke	Citroën C2 S1600	Guy Wilks	Suzuki Ignis S1600	8
2004			Per-Gunnar Andersson	Suzuki Ignis S1600	Nicolas Bernardi	Renault Clio S1600	Guy Wilks	Suzuki Ignis S1600	7
2003			Brice Tirabassi	Renault Clio S1600	Salvador Cañellas Jr.	Suzuki Ignis S1600	Daniel Carlsson	Suzuki Ignis S1600	7
2002		n/a	Daniel Solà	Citroën Saxo VTS S1600	Andrea Dallavilla	Citroën Saxo VTS S1600	Janne Tuohino	Citroën Saxo VTS S1600	6
2001	FIA Super 1600 Championship for Drivers		Sébastien Loeb	Citroën Saxo VTS S1600	Andrea Dallavilla	Fiat Punto S1600	Niall McShea	Ford Puma S1600 Citroën Saxo VTS S1600	6

Statistics

Updated after the 2024 season.

Championships by driver's country Rank Nation Gold Silver Bronze Total 1  Sweden 6 2 4 12 2  France 5 2 5 12 3  Spain 4 3 0 7 4  Estonia 2 3 1 6 5  Ireland 2 0 0 2 6  Great Britain 1 4 4 9 7  Germany 1 1 1 3 8  Romania 1 1 0 2 9  Finland 1 0 3 4 10  Czech Republic 1 0 2 3 11  Italy 0 2 0 2 12  Latvia 0 1 1 2  Slovakia 0 1 1 2 14  Netherlands 0 1 0 1  Norway 0 1 0 1  Paraguay 0 1 0 1  Poland 0 1 0 1 18  Bulgaria 0 0 1 1  Turkey 0 0 1 1 Totals (19 entries) 24 24 24 72

Driver championships by manufacturer Rank Manufacturer Gold Silver Bronze Total 1 Ford 11 11 12 34 2 Citroën 8 7 7 22 3 Suzuki 3 4 5 12 4 Renault 2 1 1 4 5 Fiat 0 1 0 1 Totals (5 entries) 24 24 25 73

Round wins by driver[20] Driver Total 1 Martin Prokop 9 2 Per-Gunnar Andersson 8 3 Quentin Gilbert 5 Tom Kristensson 5 Sébastien Loeb 5 Guy Wilks 5 7 Elfyn Evans 4 Alastair Fisher 4 Sami Pajari 4 Nil Solans 4 Dani Sordo 4 Simone Tempestini 4 Brice Tirabassi 4 14 Jon Armstrong 3 Egon Kaur 3 Michał Kościuszko 3 Stephane Lefebvre 3 Sébastien Ogier 3 Dani Solà 3 Pontus Tidemand 3 21 Urmo Aava 2 Kevin Abbring 2 Mirco Baldacci 2 Nicolas Bernardi 2 Craig Breen 2 Aaron Burkart 2 Daniel Carlsson 2 William Creighton 2 Andrea Dallavilla 2 Martin Koči 2 Yeray Lemes 2 Kris Meeke 2 Dennis Rådström 2 Patrik Sandell 2 Mārtiņš Sesks 2 Jan Solans 2 José Antonio Suárez 2 Julius Tannert 2 Ole Christian Veiby 2 Hans Weijs, Jr. 2 Diego Dominguez Jr. 2 42 Andreas Amberg 1 Jérémi Ancian 1 Emil Bergkvist 1 Nicolas Ciamin 1 François Duval 1 Jean-Baptiste Franceschi 1 Mille Johanson 1 Taylor Gill 1 Lauri Joona 1 Romet Jürgenson 1 Kosti Katajamäki 1 Eamonn Kelly 1 Norbert Maior 1 Jaan Mölder jr. 1 Grégoire Munster 1 Thierry Neuville 1 Laurent Pellier 1 Ken Torn 1 Janne Tuohino 1 Robert Virves 1 Total 148

Gallery

• 
  François Duval driving a Ford Puma S1600 at the 2001 Rally Finland.
• 
  Sébastien Loeb driving his Citroën Saxo VTS S1600 in 2001.
• 
  Fiat Punto S1600 at the 2001 Rally Finland.
• 
  Renault Clio S1600 at the 2004 Rally Finland.
• 
  2004 Suzuki Ignis S1600 at an auto show in 2003.
• 
  Opel Corsa S1600 driven in 2005.
• 
  Suzuki Swift S1600 at the 2007 Rally Finland.
• 
  Ford Fiesta ST at the 2007 Wales Rally GB.
• 
  Sébastien Ogier with a Citroën C2 S1600 in 2008 Rallye Deutschland.
• 
  Martin Prokop with a Citroën C2 S1600 at the 2009 Cyprus Rally.

See also

• WRC2
• WRC3
• Production World Rally Championship
• Super 2000 World Rally Championship

References

1. "Exciting Junior WRC Calendar revealed for 2023". Irish Motor Sports News. 2022-12-01. Retrieved 2023-01-01.
2. "Armstrong's 'underdog' road to Junior WRC fight". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2023-01-01.
3. Barry, Luke (2021-03-29). "The Junior WRC stars worth watching in 2021". DirtFish. Retrieved 2023-01-01.
4. "Exciting 2023 calendar revealed for FIA Junior WRC Championship - automobilsport.com". www.automobilsport.com. Archived from the original on January 1, 2023. Retrieved 2023-01-01.
5. "M-SPORT REVEALS NEW JUNIOR WRC R2 CAR".
6. "JUNIOR WRC". M-Sport. Retrieved 2023-01-01.
7. "Junior WRC". WRC - World Rally Championship. Retrieved 2021-03-03.
8. "APPLICATIONS OPEN FOR JUNIOR WRC DRIVE DAY".
9. "NEW-LOOK CALENDAR TEMPTS JUNIOR WRC HOTSHOTS".
10. Shacki. "Season 2001 rally - eWRC-results". eWRC-results.com. Retrieved 2023-01-01.
11. "Preview: WRC 2003". Crash. 2003-01-04. Retrieved 2022-12-17.
12. Stenos, Jan (16 November 2022). "What is a Championship anyway?". janswrc.substack.com. Retrieved 2023-01-01.
13. "Introducing The FIA WRC Academy Crews Of 2012". www.motorsport.com. Retrieved 2023-01-01.
14. "WRC academy completes induction". Crash. 2011-03-15. Retrieved 2023-01-01.
15. "Exciting changes for 2013 WRC". WRC.com. WRC Official Website. 21 September 2012. Archived from the original on 1 October 2012. Retrieved 16 October 2012.
16. "FIA Junior WRC has Citroën in the spotlight | CARS GLOBALMAG". 2015-05-04. Retrieved 2023-01-01.
17. Shacki. "Season 2014 rally - eWRC-results". eWRC-results.com. Retrieved 2023-01-01.
18. "FIA Announces World Motor Sport Council Decisions". Federation Internationale de l'Automobile. 2021-03-05. Retrieved 2021-03-05.
19. "2021 FIA WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP – SPORTING REGULATIONS" (PDF).
20. "Top stats - JWRC wins". eWRC-results. (subscription required)

General Statistics

ewrc-Results.com

juwra.com Independent WRC archive

Notes

1. According to the official WRC Sporting Regulations document for each year

External links

• Junior WRC at WRC.com