One of the finest events in world rallying, Rally Finland hosts the third of the six rounds in the 2014 Junior WRC.The line-up features ten crews, each with drivers born after 1st January 1986, all competing in DS3 R3s.Winner of the first two rounds, the Frenchman Stéphane Lefebvre currently leads the overall standings, ahead of the German Christian Riedemann, the Slovakian Martin Koci and the Briton Alastair Fisher.At the end of the season, the Junior WRC champion will earn the chance to compete in six rounds of the 2015 WRC2 in a DS3 R5 and succeed Sébastien Chardonnet, the winner of last year’s Citroën Top Driver series.
The first half of the season, contested exclusively on gravel, is set to conclude at very high speed on roads through the Finnish forests and lakes. Junior WRC leader, having claimed two successive wins in Portugal and Poland, Stéphane Lefebvre will be one of the few drivers in the category never to have competed at Rally Finland before. Along with fellow debutants Aron Domzala, Quentin Giordano and Kornel Lukacs, the Frenchman will be looking to acquire experience quickly, against rivals who already have several appearances under their belt.
Runners-up at the first two events, the German Christian Riedemann and the Briton Alastair Fisher will benefit from having racked up the miles here already. With three appearances apiece in Finland, they even did battle in the WRC3 class last year in DS3 R3s. However, both drivers had to retire on the second leg. Fisher was, at the time, the category leader.
Federico Della Casa and Molly Taylor also competed in Finland last year in DS3 R3s, a considerable advantage on a course where experience counts. Martin Koci, who competed here in 2012 and 2013, and Simone Tempestini, who lined up at the start last year, will also be able to get their bearings quickly on the Finnish roads despite the route having undergone extensive changes.
With two drivers finishing on the podium in Poland (Stéphane Lefebvre and Quentin Giordano), France holds first place in the Nations Trophy, with a 38-point lead over Germany in second, and a 39-point lead over Slovakia. Great Britain, Switzerland, Romania, Hungary and Australia complete the standings.
“We know that Rally Finland is particularly demanding,” emphasized Marek Nawarecki, Customer Racing Manager at Citroën Racing. “The crews that already have some experience of the event are certainly going to benefit. But it will just make the competition at the front even closer. The drivers are all well prepared. Domzala, Giordano and Tempestini even went to Estonia to get up to speed for the rally.”
SÉBASTIEN CHARDONNET READY FOR FINLAND IN WRC2WRC3 champions and winners of last season’s Citroën Top Driver series in a DS3 R3, Sébastien Chardonnet and Thibault de la Haye are this year competing in the WRC2. Runner-up in Italy, the talented young Frenchman was forced to retire in Poland. Having recently competed in Estonia in the ERC, the DS3 R5 crew were able to prepare for Rally Finland on very similar road surfaces thanks to the support of the organisers and the local importer. After finishing in the points, they will be able to use the experience in Estonia to head into Rally Finland full of confidence in the DS3 R5.
“Sébastien showed his qualities in Finland last year in the DS3 R3,” added Marek Nawarecki. “This time, he’ll be getting his first experience of driving a four-wheel drive car with the new DS3 R5. After driving in Estonia, Finland will give him the chance to keep improving. The goal will be to start at a good pace and get among the leaders to give him a chance of recording the best possible result in the WRC2.”
THE TEN CREWS ENTERED52 – Simone Tempestini (ITA) / Dorin Pulpea (ROU)
Driver date of birth: 12 August, 1994
Team: Napoca Rally Team
Last result: Portugal, 6th – Poland, retirement
53 – Aron Domzala (POL) / Zawada Przemyslaw (POL)
Driver date of birth: 1 August, 1989
Team: Creative Rally Solutions
Last result: Portugal, retired – Poland, 7th
54 – Christian Riedemann (DEU) / Lara Vanneste (BEL)
Date of birth: 27 August, 1987
Team: MY Racing
Last result: Portugal, 2nd – Poland, 5th
55 – Quentin Giordano (FRA) / Guillaume Duval (FRA)
Date of birth: 10 June, 1986
Team: PH Sport
Last result: Portugal, 10th – Poland, 3rd
56 – Martin Koci (CZE) / Lukas Kostka (SVK)
Date of birth: 5 April, 1993
Team: Gekon Racing
Last result: Portugal, 3rd – Poland, 4th
57 – Stéphane Lefebvre (FRA) / Thomas Dubois (FRA)
Date of birth: 16 March, 1992
Team: PH Sport
Last result: Portugal, 1st – Poland, 1st
58 – Molly Taylor (AUS) / Coral Taylor (AUS)
Date of birth: 6 May, 1988
Team: D Max Rally Team
Last result: Portugal, 8th – Poland, 8th
61 – Federico Della Casa (CHE) / Domenico Pozzi (ITA)
Date of birth: 17 July, 1991
Team: D Max Rally Team
Last result: Portugal, 4th – Poland, 9th
62 – Alastair Fisher (GBR) / Gordon Noble (GBR)
Date of birth: 30 July, 1988
Team: DGM
Last result: Portugal, retirement – Poland, 2nd
63 – Kornel Lukacs (HUN) / Mark Mesterhazi (HUN)
Date of birth: 5 September, 1991
Team: Wurmbrandt Racing
Last result: Portugal, 11th – Poland, 6th
2014 JUNIOR WRC DRIVERS’ STANDINGS
1 Stéphane Lefebvre 50 points2 Christian Riedemann 28 points3 Martin Koci 27 points4 Alastair Fisher 18 points5 Quentin Giordano 16 points6 Federico Della Casa 14 points7 Simone Tempestini 8 points8 Molly Taylor 8 points9 Kornel Lukacs 8 points10 Jan Cerny 6 points11 Aron Domzala 6 points12 Panikos Polykarpou 2 points
NATIONS TROPHY
1 France 66 points2 Germany 28 points3 Slovakia 27 points4 Great Britain 18 points5 Switzerland 14 points6 Romania 8 points7 Hungary 8 points8 Australia 8 points9 Czech Republic 6 points10 Poland 6 points11 Cyprus 2 points
