2019 Junior WRC Championship

The 2019 FIA Junior WRC Championship was the seventh season of Junior WRC, a rallying championship governed by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, running in support of the World Rally Championship.

The championship was open to drivers under the age of thirty with no such restriction for co-drivers. Crews competed in identical one-litre Ford Fiesta R2s built and maintained by M-Sport. The championship was contested over five selected WRC rounds with the winning crew awarded a new Ford Fiesta R5 car, tyre package, free fuel and a registration to compete in the 2020 WRC3 Championship.[a]

Jan Solans and Mauro Barreiro won the drivers' and co-drivers' championships, beating Tom Kristensson and Henrik Appelskog by eighteen points. In the Trophy of Nations, Sweden beat Spain by six point to become the inaugural winners.

Calendar

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The final 2019 Junior WRC Championship calendar consisted of five events of the 2019 World Rally Championship.

Round Dates Rally Rally headquarters Rally details
Start Finish Surface Stages Distance
1 14 February 17 February   Rally Sweden Torsby, Värmland Snow 19 316.80 km
2 28 March 31 March   Tour de Corse Bastia, Haute-Corse Tarmac 14 347.51 km
3 13 June 16 June   Rally Italia Sardegna Alghero, Sardinia Gravel 19 313.44 km
4 1 August 4 August   Rally Finland Jyväskylä, Keski-Suomi Gravel 23 307.58 km
5 3 October 6 October   Wales Rally GB Deeside, Flintshire Gravel 22 312.75 km
Source:[2][3]

Calendar changes

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The 2019 calendar was heavily revised from the 2018 schedule. The championship dropped from six rounds to five.[2] The Rallies of Portugal and Turkey were removed from the calendar, while events in Italy and Wales were added in their place.

Route changes

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Organisers of the Tour de Corse announced plans for a new route, with up to three-quarters of the 2019 route being revised from the 2018 rally.[4]

Entries

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The following crews were entered into the championship:

Entrant Drivers Co-drivers Rounds
ADAC Sachsen   Julius Tannert   Helmar Hinneberg 1
  Jürgen Heigl 2–4
ADAC Weiser-Ems   Nico Knacker   Tobias Braun 1
  Michael Wenzel 2, 4–5
  Anne Katharina Stein 3
Aleksi Röyhkiö   Aleksi Röyhkiö   Ville Mannisenmäki 4
Dennis Rådström   Dennis Rådström   Johan Johansson All
Enrico Oldrati   Enrico Oldrati   Elia De Guio All
Fabrizio Zaldívar   Fabrizio Zaldívar   Fernando Mussano All
OT Racing   Ken Torn   Kuldar Sikk 1
  Kauri Pannas 2
Keanna Erickson-Chang   Keanna Erickson-Chang   Martin Brady 5
Rally Team Spain   Jan Solans   Mauro Barreiro All
LMT Autosporta Akadēmija   Mārtiņš Sesks   Krišjānis Caune 1–4
Raul Badiu   Raul Badiu   Gabriel Lazăr 1–4
Roland Poom   Roland Poom   Ken Järveoja 1–2, 4–5
Ryan Booth   Ryan Booth   Rhianon Smyth-Gelsomino 5
Sean Johnston   Sean Johnston   Alex Kihurani All
Team Flying Finn   Sami Pajari   Antti Haapala 4
Tom Kristensson   Tom Kristensson   Henrik Appelskog All
Tom Williams   Tom Williams   Phil Hall All
Source:[5][6][7][8][9]

Changes

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All teams competed with an identical car built by M-Sport. The team announced that a new model of Ford Fiesta was introduced for 2019, one that was still built to R2 specifications, but featured a new engine and drivetrain. The new engine package was capable of producing 149 kW (199.8 bhp) of power, up from the 127 kW (170.3 bhp) produced by the engine used in 2018.[10]

Crews were no longer eligible to score points in WRC3 as the series was discontinued in 2019.[11]

Results and standings

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Season summary

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Round Event Winning driver Winning co-driver Nations' winner Winning time Report
1   Rally Sweden   Tom Kristensson   Henrik Appelskog   Sweden 3:14:48.9 Report
2   Tour de Corse   Julius Tannert   Jürgen Heigl   Germany 3:52:10.0 Report
3   Rally Italia Sardegna   Jan Solans   Mauro Barreiro   Spain 4:02:36.2 Report
4   Rally Finland   Tom Kristensson   Henrik Appelskog   Sweden 2:55:17.2 Report
5   Wales Rally GB   Jan Solans   Mauro Barreiro   Spain 3:30:05.0 Report

Scoring system

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Points are awarded to the top ten classified finishers. An additional point is given for every stage win. The best 4 classification results count towards the drivers’ and co-drivers’ totals, but stage points from all 5 rounds can be retained. Classification points for the last event are doubled for the drivers’ and co-drivers’ championship, but only if they have started at least 3 of the previous Junior WRC rounds. [12] For the FIA Junior WRC Trophy of Nations, only the highest-placed driver from each event received points for their nation. [13]

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

FIA Junior WRC Championship for Drivers

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Pos. Driver SWE
 
FRA
 
ITA
 
FIN
 
GBR
 
Drops Points
1   Jan Solans 31 46 112 25 17 12 139
2   Tom Kristensson 11 23 3 18 22 15 118
3   Dennis Rådström 812 31 26 Ret5 910 0 75
4   Sean Johnston 5 Ret Ret 5 3 0 50
5   Roland Poom 2 6 3 10 0 43
6   Enrico Oldrati 7 8 8 6 4 4 42
7   Julius Tannert 11 13 6 Ret1 0 37
8   Fabrizio Zaldívar 9 10 7 8 5 1 32
9   Tom Williams 4 5 Ret 10 8 0 31
10   Mārtiņš Sesks 63 Ret 5 92 0 25
11   Raul Badiu 13 7 4 Ret 0 18
12   Aleksi Röyhkiö 4 0 12
13   Nico Knacker 12 9 9 7 0 10
14   Ryan Booth 6 0 8
15   Keanna Erickson-Chang 7 0 6
16   Ken Torn 102 Ret 0 3
17   Sami Pajari Ret2 0 2
Pos. Driver SWE
 
FRA
 
ITA
 
FIN
 
GBR
 
Drops Points
Source:[12]
Key
Colour Result
Gold Winner
Silver 2nd place
Bronze 3rd place
Green Points finish
Blue Non-points finish
Non-classified finish (NC)
Purple Did not finish (Ret)
Black Excluded (EX)
Disqualified (DSQ)
White Did not start (DNS)
Cancelled (C)
Blank Withdrew entry from
the event (WD)

FIA Junior WRC Championship for Co-Drivers

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Pos. Co-Driver SWE
 
FRA
 
ITA
 
FIN
 
GBR
 
Drops Points
1   Mauro Barreiro 31 46 112 25 17 12 139
2   Henrik Appelskog 11 23 3 18 22 15 118
3   Johan Johansson 812 31 26 Ret5 910 0 75
4   Alex Kihurani 5 Ret Ret 5 3 0 50
5   Ken Järveoja 2 6 3 10 0 43
6   Elia De Guio 7 8 8 6 4 4 42
7   Jürgen Heigl 13 6 Ret1 0 37
8   Fernando Mussano 9 10 7 8 5 1 32
9   Phil Hall 4 5 Ret 10 8 0 31
10   Krišjānis Caune 63 Ret 5 92 0 21
11   Gabriel Lazăr 13 7 4 Ret 0 18
12   Ville Mannisenmäki 4 0 12
13   Rhianon Smyth-Gelsomino 6 0 8
14   Michael Wenzel 9 7 0 8
15   Martin Brady 7 0 6
16   Krišjānis Caune 92 0 4
17   Kuldar Sikk 102 0 3
17   Anne Katharina Stein 9 0 2
18   Antti Haapala Ret2 0 2
Pos. Co-Driver SWE
 
FRA
 
ITA
 
FIN
 
GBR
 
Drops Points
Source:[12]
Key
Colour Result
Gold Winner
Silver 2nd place
Bronze 3rd place
Green Points finish
Blue Non-points finish
Non-classified finish (NC)
Purple Did not finish (Ret)
Black Excluded (EX)
Disqualified (DSQ)
White Did not start (DNS)
Cancelled (C)
Blank Withdrew entry from
the event (WD)

FIA Junior WRC Championship Trophy for Nations

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Pos. Nation SWE
 
FRA
 
ITA
 
FIN
 
GBR
 
Points
1   Sweden 1 2 2 1 2 104
2   Spain 3 3 1 2 1 98
3   Estonia 2 5 3 7 49
4   Germany 9 1 5 7 43
5   Italy 7 7 7 6 4 38
6   United States 5 Ret Ret 5 3 35
7   United Kingdom 4 4 10 6 33
8   Paraguay 8 8 6 8 5 30
9   Romania 10 6 3 Ret 24
10   Latvia 6 Ret 4 9 22
11   Finland 4 12
Pos. Nation SWE
 
FRA
 
ITA
 
FIN
 
GBR
 
Points
Source:[12]
Key
Colour Result
Gold Winner
Silver 2nd place
Bronze 3rd place
Green Points finish
Blue Non-points finish
Non-classified finish (NC)
Purple Did not finish (Ret)
Black Excluded (EX)
Disqualified (DSQ)
White Did not start (DNS)
Cancelled (C)
Blank Withdrew entry from
the event (WD)

Notes

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  1. ^ The prize was originally presented as registration to compete in the 2020 WRC2 Championship; however, the FIA restructured the support categories in October 2019 and the WRC2 for privateers became known as WRC3 for 2020.[1]

References

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  1. ^ Evans, David (8 October 2019). "FIA steps up plan to simplify WRC into five-tier career ladder". autosport.com. Motorsport Network. Retrieved 8 October 2019.
  2. ^ a b "Junior WRC Dates Revealed". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. 9 November 2018. Retrieved 16 November 2018.
  3. ^ "JWRC season 2019". eWRC-results.com.
  4. ^ Evans, David (12 October 2018). "Tour of Corsica announces 2019 World Rally Championship reprieve". autosport.com. Motorsport Network. Retrieved 14 October 2018.
  5. ^ "Rally Sweden 2019 Official Entry List" (PDF). rallysweden.com. Rally Sweden. 18 January 2019. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 January 2019. Retrieved 18 January 2019.
  6. ^ "Corsica linea Tour de Corse 2019 Entry List" (PDF). tourdecorse.com. tourdecorse.com. 2 March 2019. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 July 2019. Retrieved 25 March 2019.
  7. ^ "Rally Italia Sardegna 2019 Official Entry List". rallyitaliasardegna.com. Rally Italia Sardegna. 3 June 2019. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
  8. ^ "Rally Finland 2019 Official Entry List" (PDF). nesterallyfinland.fi. Rally Finland. 5 July 2019. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 July 2019. Retrieved 5 July 2019.
  9. ^ "Wales Rally GB 2019 Official Entry List" (PDF). walesrallygb.com. Wales Rally GB. 11 September 2019. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 October 2018. Retrieved 16 September 2019.
  10. ^ Evans, David. "M-Sport Poland reveals new Ford Fiesta R2 car for 2019 Junior WRC". autosport.com. Motorsport Network. Retrieved 22 December 2018.
  11. ^ Herrero, Daniel (13 October 2018). "Australia remains finale on 2019 WRC calendar". speedcafe.com. Speedcafe. Retrieved 13 October 2018.
  12. ^ a b c d "Standings". Federation Internationale de l'Automobile. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
  13. ^ "2019 FIA World Rally Championship Sporting Regulations" (PDF). fia.com. 2018-12-12. Retrieved 2019-03-10.
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