The 2019 FIA Junior WRC Championship will continue to be managed by M-Sport Poland after the FIA agreed a one-year extension to the current contract. M-Sport’s European base will remain the single supplier of one-litre Ford Fiesta R2s to the cost-effective one-make Championship aimed at providing a platform for up and coming drivers to showcase their talent on the world stage.

Pirelli will remain a loyal partner to the series and variety will continue to be key in the selection of events making up the five-round Championship. The calendar, which will be revealed later in the year, will therefore provide a challenging mix of surfaces that test the contenders’ ability to compete on a diverse range of rallies. 

In line with this season, the best four scores will count towards the Championship title with all-important double points awarded on the final round, spicing up the action. Stage victories will also be rewarded with a bonus point, encouraging crews to push to the limit throughout the entire event.

At the end of the season, the FIA Junior WRC Champion will win a brand-new Ford Fiesta R5, one of the biggest prizes in world rallying. This will be supported by a free registration into the 2020 FIA WRC 2 Championship, as well as a tyre package from Pirelli to contest the series.

This year, an impressive 15 drivers from 12 different countries have registered for the Championship, which heads into its penultimate round on the high-speed stages of Rally Finland this weekend. The popular ‘arrive and drive’ series is open to drivers born on or after 1 January 1990 and has firmly demonstrated its status as rallying’s premiere stepping-stone to future stardom. Previous champions include Sébastien Loeb (2001), Dani Sordo (2005), Sébastien Ogier (2008), Craig Breen (2011) and Elfyn Evans (2012), all of whom have gone on to succeed at the highest level of the sport.