In the FIA Rally Star competition, six driver and co-driver pairings from regional finals worldwide will participate in six European rallies this year, driving an M-Sport Ford Fiesta Rally3 car.
The top four crews at the end of these six rallies will receive a fully funded two-year program in the Junior WRC starting in 2024. Additionally, if one of the finalists secures victory in the JWRC title, they will earn a coveted WRC2 campaign for the year 2026.
After previously tackling the gravel terrain at the San Marino Rally, the crews recently competed on asphalt for the first time at Rallye Weiz, the fifth round of the Austrian national rally championship.
In the Rally3 class, the European final winners from San Marino, Jurgenson and co-driver Oja Siim, emerged as the overall champions at Rallye Weiz, finishing the event in eighth place overall. This result marks the best performance by any FIA Rally Star pairing in the two events held so far, surpassing the 10th-place finish achieved by the Australian duo Taylor Gill and Daniel Brkic in San Marino.
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Jurgenson and Siim secured a 13.1-second lead over their nearest FIA Rally Star rivals, Jose Caparo and Guillermo Sierra Ovalle from Peru, who secured the ninth position.
Jurgenson expressed his delight with the result, emphasizing that their goal was to maintain a comfortable speed and reach the finish line without any incidents. He acknowledged the healthy competition with Taylor and Jose, which allowed them to compare speeds and improve their performance.
Gill and Brkic, competing on tarmac for the first time, secured 10th place overall and third in the Rally3 class, obtaining two stage wins. They finished 16.3 seconds behind Jurgenson and Siim.
The fourth position in the Rally3 class was secured by Oman’s Abdullah Al-Tawqi and Irish co-driver Ronan Comerford, who were the only other Rally Star pairing to successfully complete the event.
Unfortunately, Annia Cilloniz and Esther Gutierrez were in fourth place in Rally3 before a roll incident ended their rally prematurely. However, both driver and co-driver emerged uninjured from the incident.
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A significant crash during testing prior to the event caused substantial damage to the Ford Fiesta Rally3 of Max Smart and Lorcan Moore, leading to their withdrawal from the competition before it began.
The FIA Rally Star competition will continue at the Slovenia Rally Nova Gorica event, taking place from 22nd to 24th September
Featured Image Credit: FIA
