Junior ERC
Junior ERC round-up: Rookies rise but bad luck strikes
There were mixed fortunes when the Hankook-supplied FIA Junior ERC Championship made an action-packed return to Barum Czech Rally Zlín. Here’s a recap of some key talking points.
Newcomers Nordstrand and Lichtenegger excel: Norwegian Karl Peder Nordstrand and Austrian Maximilian Lichtenegger made light of their absence of experience to finish second and third respectively as they tried the Junior ERC for size for the first time. Nordstrand, who achieved success in cross-kart earlier in his career, said: “At the start of the rally everyone told me this is an incredible hard rally for a debut but me and my coach Roy sat down and said, ‘if we come through to the finish it will still be a great result’.” Former alpine skier Lichtenegger, who was contesting his ninth rally, said: “It’s just experience for me, the other guys are really fast.”
Ex-alpine skiier Lichtenegger finished third on Junior ERC debut
© ERC
Vaher vows to come back stronger: Jaspar Vaher has vowed to “come back stronger” after his Barum Czech Rally Zlín victory bid ended in a huge crash on the opening leg. Although their Lancia Ypsilon Rally4 HF suffered extensive damage, Vaher and co-driver Sander Pruul joined Calle Carlberg’s title-winning celebrations at the finish in Zlín. “Basically we went off on the third stage of the day, quite in the middle of the stage,” said the 18-year-old Estonian. “Looking at the splits we were on a very good pace and the car felt very good. But in one corner I carried too much speed, it was a high-speed corner, and the car just washed-out and we went with my side straight into the tree. That was it. The car is very damaged but we are okay, just some minor things. The pace was good but as we saw the rally is so demanding and so challenging and it caught us early on. It’s a very big shame. The points situation was already very bad but still we wanted the experience and I’m very sorry for the team. We try to comeback stronger sometime.”
Estonian Vaher had led and was rapid prior to his rally-ending crash
© ERC
Lassila shows great promise but lucks out: After dropping out of a career-best second when he stopped to change a damaged tyre early on stage six, Leevi Lassila suffered more misfortune when he went off the road on Sunday’s opening run and retired. The AKK Flying Finn Academy member said: “It was downhill and I couldn’t do anything. We hit a ditch and broke the suspension. I was really happy with my pace this weekend, a big improvement from Rome so, after all, a positive weekend for us even though we had a lot of issues.”
Second place was Lassila's until misfortune struck
© ERC
Dei Ceci on a season high: While fellow Italian Tomasso Sandrin’s true pace was masked by several issues, Francesco Dei Ceci scored a Junior ERC career-best fourth following his switch to the Vieffecorse team. “It’s not a simple rally because the stages are very difficult but I improved and finished the race,” ACI Team Italia-backed Dei Ceci said. “Thank you to my new team and to everyone who believes in me.”
Fourth place was a personal best for Dei Ceci
© ERC
Champion Carlberg gets praised by the boss: Manfred Stohl, a WRC podium finisher turned successful team boss, has spent the last two seasons running Calle Carlberg’s Hankook-equipped Opel Corsa Rally4 under the ADAC Opel Rally Junior Team banner. After the Swedish talent became provisional champion on Barum Czech Rally Zlín, Stohl was quick to heap praise. “It’s impressive,” said Stohl. “He learned so much last year and he improved himself. He gets so experienced now and he’s such a nice guy, his interviews, his attitude, the way how he is acting with the team and with the sponsors. He’s a great guy and I wish him all the best for his future and I hope he will make the way. For sure he has the potential [to make it], always you need to have a bit of luck [in the world championship] because the stages are really hard in some rallies. From the speed I have no doubt he is the man to win the championship and I am looking forward, I wish the best for him that he wins this championship.”
Carlberg earned big praise for his big title win
© ERC
Croatia Rally is next up on the Junior ERC schedule from 3 - 5 October.
