ERC
Junior ERC champion Carlberg steps up in style
Calle Carlberg produced the ultimate FIA Junior WRC debut drive with victory on Rally Sweden, his first of five prize drives for winning the FIA Junior ERC Championship in 2025.
The 25-year-old Swede took the lead of the Hankook-supplied one-make category for Ford Fiesta Rally3s on stage four last Friday and never looked back, securing 12 stage win points and a winning margin of 1min52.5sec over fellow Junior ERC graduate Leevi Lassila.
Following the finish in Umeå yesterday afternoon, Carlberg said that without the path of progression created by the FIA and WRC Promoter, and supported by tyre company Hankook, his latest career success would not have been possible.
Swedish star Carlberg led from stage four onwards
© Red Bull Content Pool
“The ladder of opportunity that WRC Promoter, the FIA and Hankook are doing is crucial for me and that’s the reason I chose this career path,” Carlberg said. “I started in the ADAC Opel Electric Rally Cup and won that and a prize to drive in Junior ERC. After two years we were able to win that and get here to Junior WRC. I would never be able to do it without this prize drive and it’s amazing that you’re able to do it without having millions of euros in your pocket. It’s good also to show to younger drivers what is possible. When they have the same background as me that with hard work and good speed, they’re able to do this.”
The ladder of opportunity that WRC Promoter, the FIA and Hankook are doing is crucial for me and that’s the reason I chose this career path
Carlberg said the result on his home event alongside Norwegian co-driver Jørgen Eriksen had exceeded expectations after he opened up a 19-point championship lead ahead of Croatia Rally, round two of the season from 9 - 12 April.
“I think I could have dreamt this win happening so quickly but I could not have imagined it,” Carlberg said. “I’ve only tested 30 kilometres in the car before, it’s my second rally in a four-wheel-drive car and my second ever time on snow. It’s a lot of things that were against me before the rally. We started a bit slow, then we raised the speed and it looked to be enough so I’m just super-happy.”
Twelve stage wins were claimed by Carlberg during Rally Sweden
© Red Bull Content Pool
As well as the 25 points for his debut victory, Carlberg banked another 12 points to match his tally of stage wins. He explained how the Junior WRC’s bonus scoring system has meant a new approach for 2026.
“It’s completely different compared to last year in ERC,” Carlberg said. “Last year I had a good plan, I was quickest on the first day and we just managed on the second day. But here you can’t do it and that showed this weekend. We were fastest on Friday and we continued winning almost all the stages on Saturday and then two today as well. You have to keep it up much more and we saw Mille [Johansson] won it last year due to the stage wins. I don’t want to be in the same situation as Taylor [Gill] where you can lose the championship even though you were the most consistent. I want to show good speed and I want to show consistency. But even though this result was good I’m expecting more of a fight in Croatia.”
Eriksen and Carlberg hold their trophies aloft on the Rally Sweden podium
© Red Bull Content Pool
The 2026 FIA Junior ERC Championship, which offers a 2027 Junior WRC prize drive for the champion, begins on BAUHAUS Royal Rally of Scandinavia from 22 - 24 May.
