CHAMPIONSHIP CULMINATES ON ACROPOLIS RALLY GREECE
The 2023 FIA Junior WRC Championship is gearing up for a thrilling conclusion at the historic Acropolis Rally Greece.
The iconic event, with a rich history spanning decades, promises to test the mettle of the young, aspiring drivers like never before.
The Acropolis Rally Greece is a historically significant event which is over 70 years old and was one of the original staples of the inaugural World Rally Championship calendar. The rally is renowned for its gruelling stages, unforgiving terrain, and scorching summer temperatures, that when combined have a reputation for pushing both man and machine to their limits.
Drivers must demonstrate not only their speed but also their endurance and adaptability. The rally’s rough gravel stages combined with unpredictable weather conditions, ensure that competitors must be prepared for anything. The rocky and abrasive roads can be particularly punishing on tyres adding an extra layer of complexity to the event.
Making his Junior WRC debut this weekend is Nataniel Bruun from Bolivia who is competing outside of South America for the first time in his career. Bruun is just 18 years old and has competed on just 18 rallies, all but one in his home nation of Bolivia. The Bolivian youngster is keeping his expectations realistic and focussed on maximising every opportunity available to him during his first WRC experience.
The final round presents an opportunity for one crew to add their name to the history books and set themselves on a trajectory with the potential to transform their careers. While the star names like Sebastien Loeb, Sebastien Ogier, Dani Sordo, Elfyn Evans and Craig Breen went onto the sport’s highest level, it’s names like Sami Pajari and Robert Virves who are underlining what could be next for this year’s champion. The pride of becoming champion isn’t all that’s at stake, the biggest prize package in rallying is up for grabs with 4 fully funded prize drives in an M-Sport Fiesta Rally2 including 200 Pirelli tyres.
While on paper William Creighton has a mammoth 29-point lead over Laurent Pellier, his lead isn’t as significant when factoring in a total of 65 points that are up for grabs thanks to double classification points and one point per stage win. Not only that, but each crew’s best four classification scores count. It means in total, six different drivers have a mathematical chance of clinching the title, but the three main contenders are William Creighton, Laurent Pellier and Diego Dominguez.
Maciej Woda, FIA Junior WRC Championship Manager, said: “We have got a very interesting week ahead of us. The crews have already had a difficult start to the event with the tricky recce conditions which I think will affect those coming here for the first time more than those who have competed on the rally before. We saw the title fight go down to the final stage of the rally and I expect the same this year. On their best days and without any external factors, not much separates Willian, Laurent and Diego. I think they are more than aware of this too so I am particularly interested to see just how much they try and push at the start of this rally.”
60 William Creighton
“I think the rally’s quite different to last year, but yeah, generally we know what we’re in for, so it’s nice to come back to somewhere familiar. In terms of performance, I’m not so sure. There are a lot of points available this weekend so it’s far from a done deal but, yes, I know I am a contender as I am leading the championship.”
59 Diego Dominguez
“Yeah, this is definitely a very tricky event, it is very rough. Hopefully this year we can be again, on Will’s pace, or a little bit in front of him. We are going to try to focus on our pace notes and push from the first stage.”
61 Laurent Pellier
“We will see, for sure we attend a difficult race with lots of rocks and, some strange things, but okay, we are still in the fight for the championship, and we will try until the end. I have not so much experience on this kind of, surface with lots of rocks, but we will try.”
62 Tom Rensonnet
“Our aim is to finish the rally. We didn’t test before this event, so it’s the last event of the year for me with M-Sport and Junior WRC so yes, finish the rally.”
63 Roberto Blach
“To be honest, I’m not concentrating properly because I am pretty sad. Yesterday two of my friends, had a big crash in a rally in Spain and the co-driver died and the driver is in the hospital. I want to send, my support, my strength, and my love to, to the families of the co-driver.”
64 Eamonn Kelly
“Well, considering I’ve lacked a lot of consistency so far this year, I’ll try and get round and finish and be tidy is the main one. And to be honest, that’s got to be the aim coming here anyway, given how rough it is, it looks relentless. We know we need to keep our noses clean, and I think that’ll warrant a good result.”
65 Hamza Anwar
“It’s been a bit of a funny season, but a lot of learning and still a learning one. In my mind, my strategy and what I’m calculating, I really want to touch that podium which to that I need to be consistent and quick at the same time.”
66 Nataniel Bruun
“My expectations are to finish the rally; I have heard a lot about it. It’s a very difficult rally, very long and nothing gets decided until the very end. We are here in Junior WRC as more of a testing ground for how the World Rally Championship works. We are not competing for the championship or trying to win anything, just to gain experience and go from there.”