Junior WRC

Last updated
FIA Junior WRC
Category Group Rally3
CountryInternational
Inaugural season 2001
Drivers' champion Flag of Ireland.svg William Creighton
Co-Drivers' champion Flag of Ireland.svg Liam Regan
Official website www.wrc.com
Motorsport current event.svg Current season
Sebastien Loeb and Daniel Elena at the 2001 Rally Finland. Loeb elena.jpg
Sébastien Loeb and Daniel Elena at the 2001 Rally Finland.
P-G Andersson and Suzuki celebrating JWRC class victory at the 2004 Rally Finland. Per-Gunnar Andersson - 2004 Rally Finland.jpg
P-G Andersson and Suzuki celebrating JWRC class victory at the 2004 Rally Finland.

The FIA Junior WRC, also known as JWRC and previously known as Junior World Rally Championship, is an international rallying competition restricted to drivers under 29 years old. The championship currently consists of five select rallies of the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) calendar. The category has been a stepping stone in the careers of Sebastien Loeb and Sébastien Ogier (WRC Champions), Dani Sordo, Elfyn Evans, Craig Breen and Thierry Neuville. [1] [2] [3] [4]

Contents

Junior WRC differs from the WRC support championships, WRC2 and WRC3, as the competition is managed and promoted by M-Sport Poland under contract to the FIA. All cars are identical, provided and serviced by M-Sport on the entrants' behalf. [5] [6] The car used in 2022 was a Ford Fiesta Rally3. [7] 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 a rule in 2006 surrounding use of the word 'world' in championships, 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 to 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 
Points251815121086421

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

YearSeries nameUpper Age Limit [lower-alpha 1] ChampionCar2nd placeCar3rd placeCarRounds
2023 FIA Junior WRC29 Flag of Ireland.svg William Creighton Ford Fiesta Rally3 Flag of Paraguay.svg Diego Dominguez Ford Fiesta Rally3 Flag of France.svg Laurent Pellier Ford Fiesta Rally3 5
2022 FIA WRC3 Junior Flag of Estonia.svg Robert Virves Ford Fiesta Rally3 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Jon Armstrong Ford Fiesta Rally3 Flag of Finland.svg Sami Pajari Ford Fiesta Rally3 5
2021 FIA Junior WRC Flag of Finland.svg Sami Pajari Ford Fiesta Rally4 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Jon Armstrong Ford Fiesta Rally4 Flag of Latvia.svg Mārtiņš Sesks Ford Fiesta Rally4 5
2020 Flag of Sweden.svg Tom Kristensson Ford Fiesta Rally4 Flag of Latvia.svg Mārtiņš Sesks Ford Fiesta Rally4 Flag of Finland.svg Sami Pajari Ford Fiesta Rally4 4
2019 Flag of Spain.svg Jan Solans Ford Fiesta R2 Flag of Sweden.svg Tom Kristensson Ford Fiesta R2 Flag of Sweden.svg Dennis Rådström Ford Fiesta R2 5
2018 Flag of Sweden.svg Emil Bergkvist Ford Fiesta R2 Flag of Sweden.svg Dennis Rådström Ford Fiesta R2 Flag of France.svg Jean-Baptiste Franceschi Ford Fiesta R2 5
2017 Flag of Spain.svg Nil Solans Ford Fiesta R2 Flag of France.svg Nicolas Ciamin Ford Fiesta R2 Flag of France.svg Terry Folb Ford Fiesta R2 6
2016 28 Flag of Romania.svg Simone Tempestini Citroën DS3 R3T Flag of Slovakia.svg Martin Koči Citroën DS3 R3T Flag of France.svg Vincent Dubert Citroën DS3 R3T 6
2015 Flag of France.svg Quentin Gilbert Citroën DS3 R3T Flag of Norway.svg Ole Christian Veiby Citroën DS3 R3T Flag of France.svg Terry Folb Citroën DS3 R3T 7
2014 Flag of France.svg Stéphane Lefebvre Citroën DS3 R3T Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Alastair Fisher Citroën DS3 R3T Flag of Slovakia.svg Martin Koči Citroën DS3 R3T 6
2013 27 Flag of Sweden.svg Pontus Tidemand Ford Fiesta R2 Flag of Spain.svg Yeray Lemes Ford Fiesta R2 Flag of Estonia.svg Sander Pärn Ford Fiesta R2 6
2012 WRC Academy Cup25 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Elfyn Evans Ford Fiesta R2 Flag of Spain.svg José Antonio Suárez Ford Fiesta R2 Flag of Sweden.svg Pontus Tidemand Ford Fiesta R2 6
2011 Flag of Ireland.svg Craig Breen Ford Fiesta R2 Flag of Estonia.svg Egon Kaur Ford Fiesta R2 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Alastair Fisher Ford Fiesta R2 6
2010 FIA Junior World Rally Championship29 Flag of Germany.svg Aaron Burkart Suzuki Swift S1600 Flag of the Netherlands.svg Hans Weijs, Jr. Citroën C2 S1600 Flag of Bulgaria.svg Todor Slavov Renault Clio R3 6
2009 Flag of the Czech Republic.svg Martin Prokop Citroën C2 S1600 Flag of Poland.svg Michał Kościuszko Suzuki Swift S1600 Flag of Germany.svg Aaron Burkart Suzuki Swift S1600 8
2008 Flag of France.svg Sébastien Ogier Citroën C2 S1600 Flag of Germany.svg Aaron Burkart Citroën C2 S1600 Flag of the Czech Republic.svg Martin Prokop Citroën C2 S1600 7
2007 FIA Junior Rally Championship Flag of Sweden.svg Per-Gunnar Andersson Suzuki Swift S1600 Flag of Estonia.svg Urmo Aava Suzuki Swift S1600 Flag of the Czech Republic.svg Martin Prokop Citroën C2 S1600 7
2006 FIA Junior World Rally Championship Flag of Sweden.svg Patrik Sandell Renault Clio S1600 Flag of Estonia.svg Urmo Aava Suzuki Swift S1600 Flag of Sweden.svg Per-Gunnar Andersson Suzuki Swift S1600 9
2005 Flag of Spain.svg Dani Sordo Citroën C2 S1600 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Kris Meeke Citroën C2 S1600 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Guy Wilks Suzuki Ignis S1600 8
2004 Flag of Sweden.svg Per-Gunnar Andersson Suzuki Ignis S1600 Flag of France.svg Nicolas Bernardi Renault Clio S1600 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Guy Wilks Suzuki Ignis S1600 7
2003 Flag of France.svg Brice Tirabassi Renault Clio S1600 Flag of Spain.svg Salvador Cañellas Jr. Suzuki Ignis S1600 Flag of Sweden.svg Daniel Carlsson Suzuki Ignis S1600 7
2002 n/a Flag of Spain.svg Daniel Solà Citroën Saxo VTS S1600 Flag of Italy.svg Andrea Dallavilla Citroën Saxo VTS S1600 Flag of Finland.svg Janne Tuohino Citroën Saxo VTS S1600 6
2001 FIA Super 1600 Championship for Drivers Flag of France.svg Sébastien Loeb Citroën Saxo VTS S1600 Flag of Italy.svg Andrea Dallavilla Fiat Punto S1600 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Niall McShea Ford Puma S1600
Citroën Saxo VTS S1600 		6

Statistics

Updated after the 2023 season.

See also

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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. Retrieved 2023-01-01.
  5. ↑ "M-SPORT REVEALS NEW JUNIOR WRC R2 CAR".
  6. ↑ "JUNIOR WRC". M-Sport. Retrieved 2023-01-01.
  7. 1 2 "Junior WRC". WRC - World Rally Championship. Retrieved 2021-03-03.
  8. 1 2 "APPLICATIONS OPEN FOR JUNIOR WRC DRIVE DAY".
  9. 1 2 "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. "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. 1 2 3 "2021 FIA WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP – SPORTING REGULATIONS" (PDF).
  20. 1 2 "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
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