The FIA Rally Star crews delivered another standout performance as the 2025 FIA Junior WRC Championship got underway at Rally Sweden. Taylor Gill and Dan Brkic secured a stunning victory, while Max Smart and Cameron Fair showed flashes of brilliance despite a challenging weekend.

Making his WRC2 debut, reigning Junior WRC champion Romet Jürgenson, co-driven by Siim Oja, adapted quickly to the step up in machinery. He piloted his M-Sport-run Ford Fiesta Rally2 to an impressive seventh overall and sixth in the WRC2 Challenger Championship. Despite limited experience with the car, the Estonian improved steadily throughout the weekend. He particularly excelled on Sunday’s long 30-kilometre stages. His ability to manage pace and work with his M-Sport team to extract more performance from his car highlighted his potential in this competitive category.

Meanwhile, Taylor Gill stormed to his second Junior WRC victory, handling the treacherous conditions with remarkable composure. Although the initial objective was to secure a podium spot, an off-road excursion for local favourite Mille Johansson opened the door for Gill to take the lead. From that point on, the Australian delivered a flawless drive, expertly managing his advantage and ultimately securing the win with a 22.8-second lead.

Taylor Gill and co-driver Dan Brkic are quickly becoming Nordic favourites after relocating to Finland to advance their FIA Rally Star training. The Aussie duo has proven their ability to excel in the region, securing a second Nordic victory following their breakthrough win at Rally Finland in 2024. 

Max Smart endured a weekend of highs and lows, starting in a strong position with a stage win on Friday before a difficult Saturday saw him retire due to a meeting with the snowbank. Despite the setback, he rebounded on Sunday with an impressive performance, narrowly missing out on the fastest time in the Power Stage by just 0.068 seconds. Although the final result did not reflect his outright speed, his ability to bounce back under challenging circumstances was a testament to his resilience and growth as a driver.

The FIA Rally Star programme’s meticulous preparation was evident in the performances of all three drivers, who continue to develop at an impressive rate. With Rally Sweden providing a valuable learning experience, the crews now look to their next rounds, with Taylor Gill and Max Smart focusing on the second round of the FIA Junior WRC Championship in Portugal from 15th-21st May. Portugal is no ordinary gravel event, with its rough, unpredictable terrain and ever-changing weather conditions promising to challenge both the drivers' skills and the resilience of their cars.

Meanwhile, Romet Jürgenson will take on the East Riding Stages on February 23rd in a Rally2 car as part of the British Rally Championship opener, supported by M-Sport. He will then continue his WRC2 campaign at Rally Islas Canarias in Spain from April 24th-27th.

FIA Rally Star Project Leader Jérôme Roussel said: “We can take a lot of positives from Rally Sweden, the first event of the season for our FIA Rally Star crews. Romet’s debut in WRC2 was particularly impressive. With almost no prior experience in a Rally2 car at this level, he showed remarkable maturity and progression throughout the weekend. His approach was clever, improving significantly between stages and managing his pace sensibly on the tricky icy sections. To finish sixth in the WRC2 Challenger category on his first attempt is a fantastic achievement. More importantly, he has demonstrated his ability to learn quickly and adapt. His collaboration with M-Sport has been very productive, and we are pleased with the way he worked with the team to refine the car’s setup. His next challenge on tarmac in the Canary Islands will be another big step, but we have every confidence in his ability to keep progressing.

Taylor’s victory in Junior WRC is a great achievement. Our original plan was to secure a podium spot, as we knew Mille Johansson would be dominant at this rally. However, after Mille finished in a snowbank and Taylor inherited the lead, he managed his pace brilliantly and brought the car home with minimal risk, showing the intelligence and composure needed to fight for a championship. He has made a very strong start. It's still a long way to go, but winning on the first rally is always the best way to start a championship.

Max had his share of challenges, but his performance on Friday, taking a stage win, was a clear sign of his potential. While his retirement on Saturday was disappointing, he showed resilience by coming back strong on Sunday, missing the fastest time on the Power Stage by just 68 thousandths of a second. He is still gaining experience at this level, and every rally is a step forward for him. His progression over the weekend was encouraging, and we know he will continue to grow.

As planned before the start of the season, Rally Sweden also marked the end of the association between Max Smart and his co-driver Cameron Fair, who has supported Max over the past two seasons. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Cameron for what he brought to the team and to Max specifically.

A huge thank you to the M-Sport teams and the Rally Sweden organisers for their hard work in tough conditions. It was a very positive start to the season, and we look forward to seeing how our drivers continue to develop in the coming events.”

Romet Jürgenson stated: “It’s been amazing to get the first WRC2 event done this weekend, and I think it’s been a success. The speed has certainly been there. We saw so many different conditions and learned a lot about the car and our driving, so we can only improve from here. Going into the season, my target is to show more speed towards the end of the year. We still need a bit of time to get adjusted to the car and the category, but for this event, it was exactly what we planned. We set ourselves the goal of finishing between 6th and 8th position, and I think we achieved it by finishing 7th.

It’s a big step up to WRC2. It’s a new car, a new setup, and there are so many more possibilities. So, at this event, we really had to understand what we were doing, but luckily, we have a very good team at M-Sport with us, who have really supported us to get the most out of the car with the right setup.”

Taylor Gill commented: “It’s been an incredible weekend. You always hope to win the rally, but to come home with the win is more than we could have asked for. I knew we had a chance to be on the podium, but we also knew that, realistically, Mille was going to be pretty unbeatable, so we were happy to be the best of the rest and sit second next to him. That was the plan we were following, with the odd stage win here and there. Then we got the lead. Once we had it, we knew what we had to do to manage it to the end, and I think we managed it well.

I want to say thank you to everyone for the support. It’s been unbelievable to receive the messages, the calls, and the comments. Both Dan and I really feel the support pushing us along, and hearing the Australian national anthem on the podium here today was something really special."

Max Smart added: "It’s been a long weekend, and unfortunately not the way we would have wanted it to go, having to retire on Saturday morning. But we showed good pace throughout the weekend, securing our first stage win on Friday and building on that in the final stage on Sunday, where we were incredibly close to the stage win. So, it’s been good to end on a high note like that. Sweden is also the last time Cameron Fair, and I will be driving together. It’s been an amazing two years, and I’ve learned an incredible amount from him.” 

FIA Junior WRC Championship Event Schedule Refresher

The 2025 FIA Junior WRC Championship consists of five rounds as follows:
•    Rally Sweden: 13-16 February
•    Vodafone Rally de Portugal: 15-18 April
•    EKO Acropolis Rally Greece: 26-29 June
•    Secto Rally Finland: 31 July – 3 August
•    Central European Rally: 16-19 October

To know more about the FIA Rally Star programme, visit https://www.fia.com/fia-rally-star and follow @FIARallyStar on social media.