The 2020
FIA Junior WRC Championship has accepted 16 entries for the opening round on
Rally Sweden, representing a diverse selection of rallying’s next generation of
superstars.
The 16 crews looking to be the next star of the FIA World Rally Championship represent
11 different countries across Europe and South America. Seven of 2019’s FIA
Junior WRC crews return for 2020 including 2019 championship runner-up and
Rookie Award winner, Tom Kristensson.
This year’s entrants will be vying for the biggest prize in rallying; the keys
to an Ecoboost-powered M-Sport Fiesta R5 Mk II, 200 Pirelli tyres, free
registration for WRC 3 in 2021 and five free WRC 3 entries in 2021. Should the
2020 champion go on to win the 2021 WRC 3 championship, they will then be
awarded two drives with the M-Sport Ford World Rally Team in 2022.
The prize package underlines FIA Junior WRC as a firm part M-Sport’s ‘Ladder of
Opportunity’ that provides young and budding rally drivers a clear path to
succeed in rallying on the world stage. Four of the 2020 FIA Junior WRC drivers
come by way of M-Sport’s FIA Junior WRC scholarship, which sees talented junior
drivers from national championships awarded a significant scholarship package
for the 2020 season. This year’s M-Sport FIA Junior WRC scholarship drivers
are: Ruairi Bell (Britain), Sami Pajari (Finland), Marco Pollara (Italy) and
Ken Torn (Estonia). To emphasise the importance of the ‘Ladder of Opportunity’
to M-Sport, this year’s FIA Junior WRC livery has taken inspiration from the
official livery of the M-Sport World Rally Team.
Of the nine new crews joining FIA Junior WRC for the first time in 2020, three
of which will be making their WRC event debuts in Sweden, five will be eligible
for the highly competitive Rookie Award. The Rookie Award will see the highest
placed rookie in the 2020 championship collect a €15,000 prize to go towards
their 2021 FIA Junior WRC campaign.
Fabio Andolfi IT /
Savoia Stefano IT
Andolfi is by far the most experienced driver in the 2020 FIA Junior WRC Championship,
with 33 WRC event starts. His career highlights include a WRC 2 victory on Tour
de Corse and a podium spot on Rally Turkey in 2019 which led to him finishing
fifth in the 2019 FIA WRC 2 Championship.
Jon Armstrong GB /
Noel O’Sullivan IE
With an impressive rally esports career, 2018 WRC eSports champion Armstrong is
no stranger to the real world of rallying with a strong resume heading
into the 2020 season. He has experience on WRC events, proving himself as a
competitive driver in two-wheel and four-wheel drive machinery thanks to a top
ten finish in WRC 2 on Rally Spain in 2017 and two Drive D-Mack Fiesta Trophy
victories in 2016.
Raul Badiu RO /
Gabriel Lazar RO
Badiu enters his second full season of FIA Junior WRC in 2020, after a cameo
appearance on Rally Turkey for the finale of the 2018 championship and
competing in four rounds of the 2019 championship. The Romanian demonstrated
raw speed on all three surfaces FIA Junior WRC competed on throughout
2019, posting top-three stage times and earning a career best of fourth on
Rally d’Italia Sardegna.
Ruairi Bell GB /
Darren Garrod GB
Bell might be used to the stop-start traffic of Central London, which is where
he currently calls home, but that somehow worked to his benefit in 2019 after
contesting a double championship campaign. He won the M-Sport Fiesta FIA Junior
WRC scholarship in the British Rally Championship and also finished top RC4
driver on Rally de Portugal.
Tommaso Ciuffi IT /
Nicolo Gonella IT
2019 saw Ciuffi produce an impressive set of results in the Italian national
championship, finishing top two-wheel drive car on six occasions including
Rally di Roma Capitale where he was first in the RC4 class. Ciuffi has three
WRC event starts to his name, all on Rally d’Italia Sardegna between 2017 and
2019.
Lauri Joona FI / Ari
Koponen FI*
Joona made his WRC debut in 2019 on Rally Finland and was able to demonstrate a
competitive pace against the FIA Junior WRC field, classifying third among all
RC4 class cars entered. In addition to having his first taste of a WRC event,
Joona finished second in the 2019 Finnish Junior Rally Championship. Prior to
his rallying career, Joona was a keen photographer on Finnish rallies.
Tom Kristensson SE /
Joakim Sjöberg SE
Kristensson was a consistent FIA Junior WRC title contender in 2019 and led the
championship for the majority of the season but ultimately finished second,
winning the 2019 Rookie Award. He seized a total of 14 stage wins and proved
his pace on all three surfaces that the championship competes on. His largest
strength was consistency, taking two victories (Sweden and Finland) and was the
only FIA Junior WRC driver to finish on the podium at every stop on the
calendar.
Catie Munnings GB /
TBC*
Munnings will make her WRC event debut on Rally Sweden after a total of 18
starts in the European Rally Championship between 2016 and 2019. She has a
total of seven ERC Ladies victories as well as the 2016 ERC Ladies
Championship.
Pontus Lönnström SE
/ Stefan Gustavsson SE*
Lonnstrom will make his FIA Junior WRC debut in 2020 after winning back to back
Swedish Junior Rally Championships in 2018 and 2019. He already has two WRC
events under his belt, most recently on Rally Spain in 2019 to help him gain
WRC tarmac experience in preparation for his 2020 FIA Junior WRC campaign.
Marco Pollara IT
/Maurizio Messina IT*
Pollara enters the 2020 FIA Junior WRC Championship as the 2019 Italian Junior
Champion, taking four victories and a total of five podiums out of six rounds
in 2019. His one and only WRC event start was on Rally d’Italia Sardegna in
2019 which was part of the 2019 Italian Junior championship in which he won his
category.
Sami Pajari FI /
Antti Haapala FI*
At just 18 years old Pajari is entering his first full season of FIA Junior WRC
in 2020 after winning both parts of the 2019 AKK Flying Finn Future Star Award.
Despite his young age, Pajari won back to back Finnish Rally Championships; U18
Champion in 2018 and Finnish Junior Champion in 2019. Pajari has one FIA Junior
WRC start to his name already after entering Rally Finland in 2019 where he
took two stage wins.
Enrico Oldrati IT /
Elia de Guio IT
Oldrati will embark upon his third season in FIA Junior WRC in 2020, but it is
also only his third season of rallying to date. His FIA Junior WRC highlight so
far came on 2018 Rally de Portugal where he scored an impressive second
place demonstrating extraordinary progress in such a short space of time. This
season, Oldrati is focussed on improving his pace and securing top-five
results.
Oscar Solberg NO /
Jim Hjerpe SE
The son of Henning Solberg and nephew to Petter Solberg, 2003 World Rally
Champion, rallying is certainly a way of life for Oscar Solberg. He has seven
previous WRC event starts, all in a Fiesta R2, and he finished third in the 2017
British Junior Rally Championship, picking up one victory and nine stage wins
along the way.
Martins Sesks LV /
Renars Francis LV
Sesks had a difficult rookie season in the 2019 FIA Junior WRC Championship,
despite setting fastest stage times on two out of the four rounds he contested.
He established himself as an early championship contender during Rally Sweden,
taking the fight to hometown hero Dennis Radstrom, but his best result of the
season came by way of fifth on Rally d’Italia Sardegna.
Ken Torn EE / Kauri
Pannas EE
With a rallying career that began in the 2008 Estonian Youth Rally
championship, Torn had an impressive debut FIA Junior WRC season in 2018,
finishing fifth in the championship. 2018 saw him take victory on Rally Finland
with stage wins on four out of five rallies. Torn’s 2019 campaign was
short-lived, taking two stage wins on his way to tenth place on Rally Sweden
and retiring from Tour de Corse before calling time on his 2019 FIA Junior WRC
campaign.
Fabrizio Zaldivar PY
/ Fernando Mussano AR
2019 Rally Sweden was an event of many firsts for Zaldivar, he celebrated his
eighteenth birthday just days before the start of the event and it was his
first time driving on snow and ice. The Paraguayan improved his pace on every
rally and by the last round of the season was able to secure fifth on Wales
Rally GB, the best result of his FIA Junior WRC career to date.
*eligible
for Rookie Award
Maciej Woda, FIA
Junior WRC Team Director, said: “This amount of entries
for the start of the season in Junior WRC speaks volumes about the success of
the championship. With the biggest prize package in rallying for the 2020
champion, FIA Junior WRC is the perfect stepping stone for any driver wishing
to establish themselves in the FIA World Rally Championship. With our key
partners Ford, Pirelli and Wolf Lubricants all heavily engaged in rally
activities throughout every level of the sport, FIA Junior WRC is the most
accessible championship that gives a great introduction to all aspects of the WRC.
We have a very impressive lineup of entries for the opening round of the season
in Sweden that is also balanced in terms of returning and fresh faces. I am
really excited about the championship fight ahead having followed all of the
this year’s crews closely in previous years. I know what each driver is capable
of which should make the 2020 FIA Junior WRC Championship fight the most
competitive yet.”