Junior WRC sets cruising altitude for Rally Finland

Prepare for take-off!

• In their quest for FIA Junior World Rally Championship glory, every crew wants to impress in Rally Finland’s 23 speed tests as a total of 48 points are up for grabs.
• The championship fight is heating up: just 15 points separate the top three, with 142 still available thanks to double points at the final round of the season at Wales Rally GB.
• Dennis Rådström and Jan Solans both have 19 stage wins this season, more than any other driver in FIA Junior WRC.
• Tom Kristensson is the only driver to finish on every FIA Junior WRC podium this season.
• It is the largest FIA Junior WRC entry of the 2019 season as the youngsters of AKK Sport’s Flying Finn Academy join the pack.

The need for ‘sisu’
‘Sisu’ is the word Finns use to describe courage and tenacity, which is something of a necessity to overcome Rally Finland’s challenges.
The majority of Finland’s stages are smooth gravel roads, allowing this year’s FIA Junior WRC drivers to push their cars in excess of 150 kph. Such high speeds mean there is little room for error as the majority of the flat-out sections are lined by rally-ending ditches and trees.
The jumps and speed of Rally Finland make it one of the most spectacular rallies of the season, attracting crowds from around the world. Drivers with experience on Rally Finland are certainly at an advantage here as smaller jumps aren’t so obvious during recce and have been known to catch inexperienced competitors out in previous years. Dennis Rådström, Julius Tannert, Tom Williams and Enrico Oldrati have all competed on Rally Finland in FIA Junior WRC in previous years.

Tyres
The power of the M-Sport Fiesta R2T is nothing without the control of its tyres. For Rally Finland, the future stars of WRC can use a maximum of 22 Pirelli tyres, including shakedown, and can choose from 10 hard and 16 soft compound tyres.

Finland’s Future Stars
This year’s AKK Flying Finn Future Star award winner, Sami Pajari, will join the FIA Junior WRC field and make his debut in the FIA World Rally Championship. Although new to FIA Junior WRC, Pajari is very accustomed to Finnish rallying and will be one to keep an eye on throughout the rally. Joining Pajari is 19-year-old co-patriot Aleksi Röyhkiö, who is also a member of the Finnish driver development program.

FIA JUNIOR WRC DRIVERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS

Rally d’Italia Sardegna results:
1. Jan Solans / Mauro Barreiro 4h02m36.2s
2. Dennis Rådström / Johan Johansson 00:14.9
3. Tom Kristensson / Henrik Appelskog 03:27.2
4. Raul Badiu / Gabriel Lazar 04:37.5
5. Martins Sesks / Krisjanis Caune 05:34.9
6. Julius Tannert / Jurgen Heigl 06:41.8
7. Fabrizio Zaldivar / Fernando Mussano 08:58.9
8. Enrico Oldrati / Elia de Guio 17:44.69.
9. Nico Knacker / Michael Wenzel 19:53.9

Retired:
Tom Williams / Phil Hall
Sean Johnston / Alex Kihurani

Tour de Corse results:
1. Julius Tannert / Jürgen Heigl 3h51m50.0s
2. Tom Kristensson / Henrik Appelskog 00:01.9
3. Dennis Rådström / Johan Johansson 00:25.8
4. Jan Solans / Mauro Barreiro 05:48.8
5. Tom Williams / Phil Hall 06:36.7
6. Roland Poom / Ken Jarveoja 07:35.3
7. Raul Badiu / Gabriel Lazar 08:00.3
8. Enrico Oldrati / Elia de Guio 08:30.5
9. Nico Knacker / Michael Wenzel 09:36.9
10. Fabrizio Zaldivar / Fernando Mussano 11:42.8

Retired:
Ken Torn / Kauri Pannas
Martins Sesks / Krisjanis Caune
Sean Johnston / Alex Kihurani

Rally Sweden results:
1. Tom Kristensson / Henrik Appelskog 3:14:48.9
2. Roland Poom / Ken Jarveoja 1:31.2
3. Jan Solans / Mauro Barreiro 4:09.2
4. Tom Williams / Phil Hall 6:53.4
5. Sean Johnston / Alex Kihurani 11:43.1
6. Martins Sesks / Krisjanis Caune 13:20.9
7. Enrico Oldrati / Elia de Guio 16:23.8
8. Dennis Rådström / Johan Johansson 23:31.1
9. Fabrizio Zaldivar / Fernando Mussano 23:47.0
10. Ken Torn / Kuldar Sikk 24:00.0
11. Julius Tannert / Helmar Hinneberg 41:24.8
12. Nico Knacker / Tobias Braun 49:09.3
13. Raul Badiu / Gabriel Lazar 53:38.8