FIA Rally star Taylor Gill achieved a sensational victory in the FIA Junior WRC Championship yesterday (August 4), with a superb comeback performance on the Secto Rally Finland, made even more difficult by intermittent rain and damp conditions.
The 20-year-old Australian driver will therefore start next month’s title decider in Greece in second place alongside compatriot Daniel Brkić, eight points behind FIA Rally Star team-mate Romet Jurgenson.
Estonia’s Jurgensen was leading until he went off the road on a slippery section of stage six, adjusting his line to avoid a rock that was partially submerged in the road. He recovered to finish 12th, recording the ninth fastest stage time.
Gill’s victory follows Jürgensen’s maiden win at Rally Croatia in April, and the FIA Rally Star Team continues its streak of podium finishes in this season’s highly competitive Junior WRC, starting with Jürgensen’s second place in Sweden and continuing with Max Smart’s third place at the previous round in Sardinia.
Like Jürgenson, Smart also failed to qualify for stage one after damaging his wheel hub while running over a pothole in stage eight. The South African returned to speed in stage two and finished 11th.
Peru’s Jose ‘Avito’ Caparo earned his second Junior WRC point with a ninth-place finish, despite his lack of experience, in challenging conditions.
FIA European Vice President Sport Anna Nordqvist, WRC Commission President Pernilla Solberg and FIA Road Sport Director Andrew Whitley travelled to Finland to follow the impressive progress of the FIA Rally Star drivers in the Pirelli-equipped Ford Fiesta Rally 3 driven by M-Sport Poland.
The FIA Road Sport Department, which designs and manages the FIA Rally Stars programme, receives extensive support from FIA member club AKK and the Sector Rally Finland organisers before, during and after the event.
FIA Rally Star Project Leader Jerome Roussel said: “It wasn’t a huge surprise to see Taylor win. He’s worked hard and prepared for this event with his co-driver Dan. He came back from a previous delay and managed the final day under a lot of pressure from behind. Winning a rally by a narrow margin is what you have to do to become a world champion and I’m really proud of Taylor and Dan. Sadly Romet was very unlucky once again as he was very fast and probably the fastest driver of all. He had a stone stuck in his note that he wanted to avoid a puncture but just 10cm off the line the rear of his car broke and he became a passenger. It was really frustrating because there was no way to get the car out of the ditch even though it was intact. But he’s still leading the championship and that’s the most important thing to him. We’ve had at least one car on the podium in each event and have won twice and are delighted to have Romet and Taylor, both FIA Rally Star drivers, competing for the title in Greece. We know this rally will be a huge challenge for ‘Abito’ and Max because of the speed and the special nature of the stages. We knew it was going to be tough. The conditions made it even more challenging, but they were able to cover a lot of kilometres, which was really important and will make them better drivers. I would like to thank Miikka Anttila, who joined the FIA Rally Star Team as sports adviser for Rally Finland. He was really important for the team’s performance, worked really hard to explain the details of the stages before the rally, and during the rally he was able to know the conditions well enough and provide valuable information about the stages.”
FIA Rally Star Secto Rally Finland Driver Summary (listed in seed order)
#64 Romet Jurgenson (24, Estonia) Co-Driver: Siim Oja (EST)
Jürgenson was 10.2 seconds ahead when he veered off the road to avoid a partially submerged rock in the slippery conditions. The Croatian Rally winner retired from the first stage when his Ford Fiesta Rally3 got stuck in a ditch. After the restart on Saturday, Jürgenson rallied back to finish 12th overall. The Estonian scored nine Wolf Stage Win points, leaving him eight points clear at next month’s season-deciding EKO Acropolis Rally Greece.
Romet Jurgensen: “I have mixed feelings. I’m disappointed with the result because of the mistakes on Friday. On the other hand, we had a great pace to win nine stage wins. That helped the championship and we didn’t do well this time, but in Greece everything is still open. What happened on Friday is that now you know what you can’t do in the wet and damp because once you get off the line there’s so much mud on the outside of the corners that you can’t do anything. Now we’re heading to Greece where there’s double points. The winner takes all, so whoever is the best can win.”
#66 Taylor Gill (20, Australia) Co-Driver: Daniel Brkić (Australia)
Gil, who moved to Finland after being crowned Asia-Pacific winner of the 2023 FIA Rally Star Training Season, led by 5.0s after six stages, but suffered overheating issues due to two flat tyres and a partially blocked radiator, dropping him to eighth before enduring intense pressure from rival Ali Turkan to take his maiden Junior WRC win. Gil enters the Acropolis title decider eight points clear of the leaders on 27 points.
Taylor Gill: “I still can’t believe what has happened in the past few weeks. It has been an incredible weekend. A lot has been thrown at us but we never gave up, we always kept our eyes on the top and didn’t look back. I just kept trying to keep a good rhythm, set stage times and see where it would take us. Coming out as the winner has been a whirlwind but this result is the culmination of all the training with the FIA Rally Star program and the guys at ESP and everything I have done directly alongside. It all came together and it will take a lot to surpass this result. To win Rally Finland at my first attempt means a lot to me. I live here and my dad and Dan’s dad were here this weekend too so it’s really touching. We picked up a lot of points this weekend and now we have a much better chance of winning the championship than we did before this rally.”
#68 Max Smart (21, South Africa) Co-Driver: Cameron Fair (GBR)
Despite a disappointing exit on stage 8 due to a damaged wheel hub after a puncture in difficult weather conditions, Smart rallied back to finish 11th and gain some important experience.
Max Smart: “This event was very tough because I had to commit to a really fast stage. With the rain, very low visibility and constantly changing grip, it was really tough and it became one of the hardest rallies I’ve ever done. I was disappointed when I locked up my wheel too much and the bolt came off the hub, hit a really small hole on the inside of a very slow square left corner and had to retire on Friday. That made me even more determined to finish this famous rally. I really didn’t want it to end because at every stage I learned, got better, faster and gained confidence. Taking part in Rally Finland really allows me to improve as a driver because it demands a lot from me, it demands the trust and faith that I need. It can help me in the final round in Greece.”
#76 Jose ‘Avito’ Caparo (27, Peru) Co-Driver: Esther Gutiérrez (ESP)
Caparo took the Junior WRC points after a determined drive in the second difficult weather of the season. He worked hard to stay focused and gained a lot of knowledge.
Jose ‘Avito’ Caparo: “It was my first time at Rally Finland and I am really happy to have gained a lot from this event and to have gained more championship points. It was an amazing rally with very famous and historic stages. The jumps were very different from anything I have done before and because of the rain it was more difficult than I expected. In the muddy conditions I just tried to relax. After the crucial moment after the jump in Ouninpohja I tried to keep the pace even. We did it by improving, learning and avoiding mistakes. It was only my fourth event with Esther but she was amazing, very professional and each of us added something good to the car. The next rally in Greece will definitely be very different but I took 1000 from this event for my experience.”
FIA Junior WRC Championship Event Calendar Refresher
The 2024 FIA Junior WRC Championship will consist of five rounds as follows:
Rally Sweden (snow/ice), February 15-18
Croatia Rally (Tarmac), April 18-21
Rally Italia Sardinia (Gravel), May 30-June 2
SECTOR RALLY FINLAND (Gravel), 1-4 August
EKO Acropolis Rally Greece (Gravel), 5-8 September
What’s next?
The EKO Acropolis Rally Greece is the fifth and final round of the 2024 FIA Junior WRC Championship, taking place from 5-8 September. Based in the central city of Lamia, this gravel race is one of the toughest on the calendar due to its combination of rocky roads, high ambient and ground temperatures, and the potential for dust.
