ERC
Johansson goes from Junior ERC to WRC2 in two years
Mille Johansson is preparing to embark on his maiden FIA WRC2 Championship campaign in 2026, two years after he became Junior ERC champion.
Twenty-year-old Johansson steps up to the FIA World Rally Championship’s second tier as his prize for landing the Junior WRC crown in 2025 following a dramatic Central European Rally finale last October. His Junior WRC season was his reward for claiming Junior ERC title glory the previous year.
While career progression of this nature is highly impressive and underlines Johansson’s talent behind the wheel, it also highlights the level of the Hankook-supplied Junior ERC category, which will hand its eventual champion a Junior WRC prize drive in 2027.
Johansson was rapid in Sweden at Junior WRC level
© Red Bull Content Pool
Speaking ahead of his WRC2 debut on Rally Sweden, which gets under way in Umeå today (Thursday), Johansson said: “I’m incredibly excited to step up to WRC2, it’s a very big step in the right direction for my career. Now we have to work extremely hard to deliver results against the best drivers in the world, and that gives me a lot of motivation and determination.”
Having won Junior WRC on Rally Sweden in 2024, a one-off outing at the time, Johansson admits there’s an element of expectation on his shoulders.
“Expectations will naturally vary from event to event,” he said. “At some rallies I want to make a real impact, while others will be more about gaining mileage and building experience with both the car and myself.”
Grönvall and Johansson celebrate 2025 Junior WRC joy
© Red Bull Content Pool
Busy season in store for Johansson and wingman Grönvall
Mille Johansson and co-driver Johan Grönvall are set for a busy 2026. As well as their WRC2 campaign in a Hankook-equipped Ford Fiesta Rally2 run by M-Sport Ford World Rally Team – which consists of the events in Sweden, Croatia, Portugal and Finland, plus four further rounds – selected FIA European Rally Championship events are being planned. Johansson and Grönvall also completed the reconnaissance for last month’s WRC season-opening Rallye Monte-Carlo.
Of the opportunity to drive for M-Sport, which guided Jon Armstrong and Shane Byrne to second place in last season’s ERC standings, Johansson said: “M-Sport is a very professional team, and it’s exciting to start working with them. We’ve spent four days at the team’s base in the UK, where we also completed our first tests in the car, and the feeling was very positive.”
Selected ERC outings are being planned in 2026
© ERC
Co-driver and fellow Swede Grönvall added: “It feels like the right time for us to take another step forward in our careers, and I’m grateful that we had the opportunity to gain valuable experience in a Rally2 car during 2025. Having that knowledge already gives me a clearer understanding of the work and preparation required at this level.”
Rally Sweden will be live on Rally.TV from today until Sunday. BAUHAUS Royal Rally of Scandinavia hosts the 2026 FIA Junior ERC opening round from 22 - 24 May.
