ERC
Junior ERC stars on a gravel mission
The FIA Junior ERC is back on gravel later this month as its young stars follow their more experienced overall championship counterparts by competing on loose-surface stages again.
Not since May’s BAUHAUS Royal Rally of Scandinavia have the Hankook-equipped talents competed on gravel. But that will change when Rally 6 Cities North of Portugal hosts the season decider from 23 - 25 October.
For Lancia Corse HF’s Francesco Dei Ceci, the chance to drive on the loose brings another opportunity to build experience.
“I’ve not got so much confidence on the gravel but I will do my best,” said Italian Dei Ceci, who’s fourth in the provisional standings after five rounds. “It’s a good opportunity for my kilometres and my experience for the next year.”
It’s a good opportunity for my kilometres and my experience for the next year
Timo Schulz leads the Junior ERC standings for ADAC Opel Rally Junior Team heading to Portugal and was the winner of the gravel-based season opener in Sweden in May.
Schulz heads the Junior ERC standings after five rounds
© ERC
“It will be a more tougher rally for us with the Rally4 cars on gravel, for the gravel it’s quite a rough rally,” German ace Schulz said. “I’ve not been there before but I’m really looking forward to it. The stages are really cool in WRC and I’m really happy to go there in ERC. It’s an historical rally.”
Asked if winning on gravel in Sweden provided a confidence boost for Portugal, Schulz added: “For sure [it does] and gravel in Portugal is a bit slower than the Scandinavian gravel, which is a lot better for us, I think. We’ve always struggled just a bit on the fast gravel we had in Sweden but we showed our pace was there in Sweden so I think for Portugal everything should be fine.”
What happened when the Junior ERC stars last rallied on gravel
Timo Schulz returned to the top step of the FIA Junior ERC podium for the first time since August 2023 after Aatu Hakalehto suffered BAUHAUS Royal Rally of Scandinavia heartbreak.
Hakalehto completed the opening leg 1min 08.3sec in front after he took a clean sweep of stage bests. But his hopes of winning the Hankook-supplied category turned to despair when his Lancia Ypsilon Rally4 HF was hit by a mechanical failure 2.9 kilometres into stage 13, forcing his retirement.
Hakalehto was in first until a mechanical failure put him out
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“We had some issues before service,” said Finn Hakalehto, who picked up front-right tyre damage hitting a rock on SS12. “We tried to repair as much as we could but just couldn’t get it done [in time] and a driveshaft broke, that’s why it ended. It’s very disappointing, it was going quite well, just driving very easy, trying to stay out of trouble. Still we couldn’t reach the finish, but it is what it is.”
The Finn’s misfortune left Schulz to win ahead of ADAC Opel Rally Junior Team team-mate Tom Heindrichs, who was making his Junior ERC debut. Davide Pesavento marked his Junior ERC return by completing the podium for Lancia Corse HF.
While Schulz’s triumph was somewhat fortuitous, he was a worthy winner on his least-favoured surface. After claiming victory alongside co-driver Maresa Lade by 16.7sec, German Schulz said: “It’s so great to win here. Sweden was a worst rally in the last years so I’m super-happy, I can’t get my words together. I just want to say thanks to Opel and all my partners who made it possible to get us back here. I think we’ve done our best to show them what we can do.”
Maresa Lade co-drpve Schulz to Swedish success
© ERC
Behind impressive rookie Heindrichs, the brother of FIA World Rally Championship star Thierry Neuville, Italian Pesavento reckoned his choice of soft-compound tyres during the morning loop had hampered his ultimate pace and allowed Heindrichs – on hard-compound tyres – to overtake on Sunday’s first stage.
Sixteen-year-old Swede Arvid Carlsson held third at one stage but dropped back following a trip into a ditch on SS8. Tyre damage caused more delay on Sunday morning, but the Junior ERC rookie impressed by finishing fourth.
Junior ERC newcomer Colin Dünker overtook Tommaso Sandrin on the Power Stage to finish fifth. But Sandrin moved to the top of the ERC4 standings after he finished the season opener in Spain last month in second place behind Hakalehto.
Marcel Neulinger, another Junior ERC newcomer, finished seventh with Lithuanian Rally4 Trophy champion Markas Buteikis fighting back to eighth after tyre damage dropped him out of second place on SS5. He claimed four wins on his Junior ERC debut to underline his talent.
Buteikis was a podium contender until tyre damage struck
© ERC
Sebastian Dellapiccola and Claire Schönborn, who were also competing in Junior ERC for the first time, finished ninth and 10th respectively as Francesco Dei Ceci and Reis Sulminen completed the event in 11th and 12th.
Martin Stenberg retired with mechanical issues on SS11, Kyle McBride was excluded for a rule infringement, while Karl Peder Nordstrand was a non-starter after he crashed heavily in Friday’s shakedown and damaged his car beyond repair.
