Junior ERC
Junior ERC champion Johansson to target maximum Finland points
Mille Johansson won’t be holding back when Secto Rally Finland hosts the penultimate round of the FIA Junior WRC Championship this week.
Having stepped up to Junior WRC as his prize for winning the FIA Junior ERC title in 2024 driving a Hankook-equipped Opel Corsa Rally4, Johansson is set to take the start in Jyväskylä on Thursday evening seven points behind leader Taylor Gill, who landed the Junior WRC victory in Finland 12 months ago.
Johansson, 20, said: “We have shown good pace in the championship but had some bad luck in Sweden, Portugal and Greece. We are second in the championship at the moment but it’s just seven points behind [Gill] so we can take it back in one rally if we want and that’s for sure the goal in Finland to go for maximum points. That’s the plan for sure and it will be a hard push from our side.”
Johansson has his eyes on the Junior WRC prize in Finland
© M-Sport/Junior WRC
While Gill and previous round winner Ali Türkkan – currently third in the standings – have previous Rally Finland knowledge from the Ford Fiesta Rally3-based Junior WRC to call on, Johansson is a newcomer to the high-speed gravel event, which takes place from 31 July - 3 August.
“I’ve done two rallies in Finland but in the winter in a Rally4 so I don’t know how much I can bring from that but one rally I did around Jyväskylä so I know the characteristic of the road a bit. It’s a lot of crests, very wide and fast roads, a bit similar to Sweden but with a lot more crests. Hopefully it will be a good rally for us.”
Johansson makes his point in ERC
Mille Johansson returns to Junior WRC duty having scored the final FIA European Rally Championship point on Rally di Roma Capitale earlier this month.
With Johan Grönvall co-driving, Johansson finished in 15th place on his first appearance driving his Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 on Tarmac.
“It’s been a really tough rally for us,” Johansson said. “We wish we could have found something to get better, but we didn’t. It’s a bit of a shame in that way but we have got some kilometres in this car on these tyres on Tarmac, it’s good in that way.”
Points scored on the ERC rallies in Spain, Sweden and Poland mean Johansson is seventh in the provisional standings having started four of the five rallies run so far.
Barum Czech Rally Zlín hosts round six of the 2025 ERC season from 15 - 17 August.
