Junior ERC
Junior ERC round-up: Young stars use final opportunity to shine
Croatia Rally hosted the finale to another all-action FIA Junior ERC season. Here’s a recap of some of what happened for the Hankook-equipped young stars.
Lloyd beats Rahill to number two spot: Despite going off the road on the final morning, Ioan Lloyd secured the runner-up spot in the Junior ERC standings after Craig Rahill crashed out. Barum Czech Rally Zlín winner Rahill was 13.9s behind Carlberg he hit trouble on SS3. “About 10 kilometres in we just got caught out over a crest and the back of the car hit the gravel, slid wide and hit a tree,” Rahill explained. “That was it, rally over unfortunately. It just shows the fine line we’re on to be on the pace. I thought I was driving within myself, I wasn’t pushing and to get caught out is down to the nature of these stages.” Lloyd, who was third in Junior ERC when he retired, said: “We had a really slow speed spin on a six-left. There was a lot of gravel pulled out of the cut and it was so narrow there. The front wheels dropped off the edge of the road and couldn't get enough traction to get out. We were just unlucky.”
Tuukka Kauppinen was in the top two when he dropped back
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Kauppinen comes close: Driving a Lancia Ypsilon Rally4 HF, Finn Tuukka Kauppinen took fourth having held second prior to Saturday’s final stage when a deflated tyre and a spin dropped him down the order. Meanwhile, Craig Rahill’s Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy team-mate Keelan Grogan, who turned 25 on the eve of the rally, was on course for his maiden Junior ERC podium. Like Ioan Lloyd, however, Grogan lost out in the slippery Sunday conditions and got stuck off the road on the penultimate stage.
Karl Peder Nordstrand finished on the podium again
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Five-star Nordstrand at the double: Karl Peder Nordstrand made it two second place finishes in as many Junior ERC starts following his debut podium on Barum Czech Rally Zlín in August. He further underlined his potential with the fastest time on five stages across the weekend.
Luca Pröglhöf banked a breakthrough Junior ERC podium
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Perseverance pays off for Pröglhöf: Austrian Luca Pröglhöf banked his maiden podium on his final prize drive for winning the ADAC Opel e-Rally Cup in 2024. “I’m super-happy about it,” he said. “It was a really tough rally, maybe the toughest rally in my life. The difficult thing was to stay on the road but now I am lucky to share the podium at least once in the year with Calle.”
Francesco Dei Ceci set a top-three stage time on his Lancia debut
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Dei Ceci shows more promise on first Lancia run: ACI Team Italia star Francesco Dei Ceci showed more promise by setting the third fastest time on only his second stage driving a Lancia Ypsilon Rally4 HF. Unfortunately for Dei Ceci, an accident on next stage – the same point where Craig Rahill also crashed – led to his early exit.
Click HERE for the provisional FIA Junior ERC Championship standings following the Croatia Rally season finale.
