The 2020 FIA Junior WRC Championship was the eighth season of Junior WRC, a rallying championship governed by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, running in support of the World Rally Championship. The championship was open to drivers under the age of thirty—although no such restriction existed for co-drivers—competing in identical one-litre Ford Fiesta R2s built and maintained by M-Sport. The championship was contested over four selected WRC rounds with the winning crew awarded a new Ford Fiesta R5 car, 200 tyres, free registration into the 2021 WRC3 Championship and five free rally entries.[1][2] The championship offered an additional prize of €15,000 to the highest-placed rookie driver to fund a drive in the 2021 Junior WRC Championship.
Tom Kristensson and Joakim Sjöberg won the driver and co-driver championships, while Sweden sealed back-to-back Nations' Trophies.
Calendar
editThe 2020 Junior WRC Championship calendar consisted of four events taken from the 2020 World Rally Championship.[3]
| Round | Start date | Finish date | Rally | Rally headquarters | Surface | Stages | Distance | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 13 February | 16 February |  Rally Sweden
|
Torsby, Värmland | Snow | 11 | 171.64 km[a] | [5] |
| 2 | 4 September | 6 September |  Rally Estonia
|
Tartu, Tartu County | Gravel | 17 | 232.64 km | [6] |
| 3 | 8 October | 11 October |  Rally Italia Sardegna
|
Alghero, Sardinia | Gravel | 20 | 308.57 km | [7] |
| 4 | 3 December | 6 December | ACI Rally Monza
|
Monza, Brianza | Tarmac | 16 | 241.37 km | [8] |
| Source:[9][10][11] | ||||||||
Calendar changes
editThe 2020 calendar was revised from the 2019 schedule. The Tour de Corse and Wales Rally GB were removed from the calendar, while events in Chile and Germany were added in their place.[9] However, Rally Chile was later cancelled in the face of ongoing political unrest in the country,[12] and Wales Rally GB was added back onto the calendar.[3] Rally Italia Sardegna was postponed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.[13] A new calendar was revised after the championship was interrupted by six months.[10] Ypres Rally was set to be the season's finale,[14] but were unable to do so as the rally was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[15] The finale moved to Monza instead.[11]
Entries
editThe following crews entered into the championship:
| Entrant | Drivers | Co-drivers | Rounds | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fabio Andolfi | Fabio Andolfi
|
Savoia Stefano
|
All | |||
| Jon Armstrong |  Jon Armstrong
|
 Noel O'Sullivan
|
1 | |||
| Raul Baidu |  Raul Badiu
|
Gabriel Lazar
|
1–2 | |||
| Ruairi Bell | Ruairi Bell
|
Darren Garrod
|
1, 3-4 | |||
| Matthew Edwards
|
2 | |||||
| Tommaso Ciuffi | Tommaso Ciuffi
|
Nicolo Gonella
|
1 | |||
| Lauri Joona |  Lauri Joona
|
Ari Koponen
|
1 | |||
| Tom Kristensson Motorsport | Tom Kristensson
|
Joakim Sjöberg
|
All | |||
| Pontus Lönnström | Pontus Lönnström
|
Stefan Gustavsson
|
1–2 | |||
| Catie Munnings | Catie Munnings
|
Ida Lidebjer-Granberg
|
1 | |||
| Enrico Oldrati | Enrico Oldrati
|
Elia de Guio
|
1–3 | |||
| Team Flying Finn | Sami Pajari
|
Marko Salminen
|
All | |||
| Marco Pollara | Marco Pollara
|
Maurizio Messina
|
1–3 | |||
| LMT Autosporta Akademija |  Mārtiņš Sesks
|
Renars Francis
|
All | |||
| PS 110% AB |  Oscar Solberg
|
Jim Hjerpe
|
1 | |||
| Estonian Autosport Junior Team | Ken Torn
|
Kauri Pannas
|
1–2 | |||
| Robert Virves | Robert Virves
|
Sander Pruul
|
2 | |||
| Fabrizio Zaldivar |  Fabrizio Zaldívar
|
 Fernando Mussano
|
1–3 | |||
 Rogelio Peñate
|
4 | |||||
| Sources:[16][17][18][19][20] | ||||||
Results and standings
editSeason summary
edit| Round | Event | Winning driver | Winning co-driver | Winning time | Report | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rally Sweden
|
Tom Kristensson
|
Joakim Sjöberg
|
1:22:51.3 | Report | [21] |
| 2 | Rally Estonia
|
Mārtiņš Sesks
|
Renars Francis
|
2:21:20.5 | Report | [22] |
| 3 | Rally Italia Sardegna
|
Tom Kristensson
|
Joakim Sjöberg
|
3:07:49.1 | Report | [23] |
| 4 | ACI Rally Monza
|
Tom Kristensson
|
Joakim Sjöberg
|
2:35:21.4 | Report | [24] |
Scoring system
editPoints are awarded to the top ten classified finishers. An additional point is given for every stage win. 1.5-time bonus points were awarded for both drivers' and co-drivers' championships at the season's finale.
| Position | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Points | 25 | 18 | 15 | 12 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 1 |
FIA Junior WRC Championship for Drivers
edit| Pos. | Driver | SWE
|
EST
|
ITA
|
MNZ
|
Points | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tom Kristensson
|
13 | Ret1 | 14 | 17 | 100.5 | ||
| 2 | Mārtiņš Sesks
|
21 | 13 | 35 | Ret1 | 69 | ||
| 3 | Sami Pajari
|
41 | 28 | 56 | 44 | 66 | ||
| 4 | Fabrizio Zaldívar
|
6 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 53 | ||
| 5 | Ruairi Bell
|
7 | 4 | Ret | 32 | 42.5 | ||
| 6 | Marco Pollara
|
10 | 5 | 6 | 19 | |||
| 7 | Ken Torn
|
3 | Ret3 | 18 | ||||
| 8 | Enrico Oldrati
|
11 | 7 | 4 | 18 | |||
| 9 | Robert Virves
|
32 | 17 | |||||
| 10 | Raul Badiu
|
52 | 8 | 16 | ||||
| 11 | Pontus Lönnström
|
82 | Ret | 6 | ||||
| 12 | Lauri Joona
|
9 | 2 | |||||
| – | Tommaso Ciuffi
|
12 | – | |||||
| – | Oscar Solberg
|
13 | – | |||||
| – | Catie Munnings
|
14 | – | |||||
| – | Fabio Andolfi
|
Ret | Ret | DNS | Ret | – | ||
| – | Jon Armstrong
|
Ret | – | |||||
| Pos. | Driver | SWE
|
EST
|
ITA
|
MNZ
|
Points | ||
Source:[25]
| ||||||||
FIA Junior WRC Championship for Co-Drivers
edit| Pos. | Co-Driver | SWE
|
EST
|
ITA
|
MNZ
|
Points | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Joakim Sjöberg
|
13 | Ret1 | 14 | 17 | 100.5 | ||
| 2 | Renars Francis
|
21 | 13 | 35 | Ret1 | 69 | ||
| 3 | Marko Salminen
|
41 | 28 | 56 | 44 | 66 | ||
| 4 | Fernando Mussano
|
6 | 6 | 2 | 34 | |||
| 5 | Darren Garrod
|
7 | Ret | 32 | 30.5 | |||
| 6 | Maurizio Messina
|
10 | 5 | 6 | 19 | |||
| 7 | Rogelio Peñate
|
2 | 18 | |||||
| 8 | Kauri Pannas
|
3 | Ret3 | 18 | ||||
| 9 | Elia de Guio
|
11 | 7 | 4 | 18 | |||
| 10 | Sander Pruul
|
32 | 17 | |||||
| 11 | Gabriel Lazar
|
52 | 8 | 16 | ||||
| 12 | Matthew Edwards
|
4 | 12 | |||||
| 13 | Stefan Gustavsson
|
82 | Ret | 6 | ||||
| 14 | Ari Koponen
|
9 | 2 | |||||
| – | Nicolo Gonella
|
12 | – | |||||
| – | Jim Hjerpe
|
13 | – | |||||
| – | Ida Lidebjer-Granberg
|
14 | – | |||||
| – | Stefano Savoia
|
Ret | Ret | DNS | Ret | – | ||
| – | Noel O'Sullivan
|
Ret | – | |||||
| Pos. | Co-Driver | SWE
|
EST
|
ITA
|
MNZ
|
Points | ||
Source:[25]
| ||||||||
FIA Junior WRC Trophy for Nations
edit| Pos. | Nation | SWE
|
EST
|
ITA
|
MNZ
|
Points | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sweden
|
1 | Ret | 1 | 1 | 75 | ||
| 2 | Latvia
|
2 | 1 | 3 | Ret | 58 | ||
| 3 | Paraguay
|
6 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 52 | ||
| 4 | Finland
|
4 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 52 | ||
| 5 | United Kingdom
|
7 | 4 | Ret | 3 | 33 | ||
| 6 | Estonia
|
3 | 3 | 30 | ||||
| 7 | Italy
|
8 | 5 | 4 | Ret | 26 | ||
| 8 | Romania
|
5 | 7 | 16 | ||||
| 9 | Norway
|
9 | 2 | |||||
| Pos. | Nation | SWE
|
EST
|
ITA
|
MNZ
|
Points | ||
Source:[25]
| ||||||||
Notes
edit- ^ The route of Rally Sweden was shortened from 301.26 km over 19 stages to 11 stages totalling 171.64 km. The route was shortened due to a lack of snow.[4]
References
edit- ^ "FIA Junior WRC championship goes global in 2020". fia.com. Federation Internationale de l'Automobile. 29 October 2019.
- ^ "Superb entry for Junior opener". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH.
- ^ a b "Junior WRC Calendar 2020". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. Retrieved 24 August 2020.
- ^ "Green light for Rally Sweden". rallysweden.com. Rally Sweden. 4 February 2020. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
- ^ "The race". rallysweden.com. Rally Sweden. Archived from the original on 30 January 2019. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
- ^ "Appendix 1 Timetable" (PDF). rallyestonia.com. Rally Estonia. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
- ^ "Itinerary". rallyitaliasardegna.com. Rally Italia Sardegna. Retrieved 25 March 2020.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Itinerary". acirallymonza.com. Monza Rally Show. Retrieved 6 November 2020.
- ^ a b "Chile added to Junior WRC calendar". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. 30 October 2018. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
- ^ a b "Junior WRC announces amended calendar". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. 14 July 2020. Retrieved 24 August 2020.
- ^ a b "FIA Junior WRC title to be decided in Monza". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. 5 November 2020. Retrieved 6 November 2020.
- ^ Evans, David (29 November 2019). "WRC's 2020 Rally Chile cancelled due to political and social unrest". autosport.com. Motorsport Network. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
- ^ Elizalde, Pablo (25 March 2020). "WRC 2020 season hit by more rally postponements due to coronavirus". autosport.com. Motorsport Network. Retrieved 25 March 2020.
- ^ "Ypres added to Junior WRC Calendar". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. 30 September 2020. Retrieved 1 October 2020.
- ^ "Belgium's Ypres rally off as coronavirus numbers rise". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. 30 October 2020. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
- ^ "Competitive field entered for 2020 FIA Junior WRC". m-sport.co.uk. M-Sport World Rally Team. 17 January 2020.
- ^ "Rally Sweden 2020 Entry List" (PDF). rallysweden.com. Rally Sweden. 27 January 2020. Retrieved 27 January 2020.
- ^ "Rally Estonia 2020 Entry List" (PDF). rallyestonia.com. Rally Estonia. 3 September 2020. Retrieved 6 September 2020.
- ^ "Rally Italia Sardegna 2020 Entry List". rallyitaliasardegna.com. Rally Italia Sardegna. 25 September 2020. Retrieved 28 September 2020.
- ^ "Rally Monza 2020 Entry List". acirallymonza.com. Monza Rally Show. 26 November 2020. Retrieved 26 November 2020.
- ^ "Sunday in Sweden: Tom tops junior standings". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. 16 February 2020. Retrieved 17 February 2020.
- ^ "Sunday in Estonia: Junior success for Sesks after Virves heartbreak". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. 6 September 2020. Retrieved 6 September 2020.
- ^ "Kristensson cruises to emphatic victory". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. 11 October 2020. Retrieved 12 October 2020.
- ^ "Kristensson seals junior world title". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. 6 December 2020. Retrieved 6 December 2020.
- ^ a b c "Standings". Federation Internationale de l'Automobile. 22 January 2021.
External links
edit- Official website
- FIA Junior WRC Championship 2020 at ewrc-results.com