Rally Estonia always promises to be an adrenaline-fueled spectacle, featuring the future stars of WRC vying for glory on the demanding terrains of Estonia's iconic roads.
 
The talk of the town in Junior WRC is: What will Diego Dominguez and Laurent Pellier bring to the table this weekend in an effort to slash William Creighton’s points lead? The championship fight is certainly heating up with the pressure mounting on the top three drivers with one round remaining after Estonia. 
 
Known for its diverse and technical roads, Rally Estonia offers a formidable test of skill, courage, and adaptability. From fast-flowing gravel sections to treacherous narrow tracks, drivers must exhibit precision and composure to conquer the myriad challenges presented by Estonia's dynamic terrain.
 
The roads wind their way through lush forests and meander alongside serene lakes, providing a stunning backdrop for the intense competition. However, amidst the breath-taking scenery lie deceptive bends, jumps, and blind corners that demand utmost concentration, making Rally Estonia a true test of a driver's mettle.
 
The future stars of rallying will be guiding their recently updated M-Sport Poland Fiesta Rally3 Evos on Pirelli’s Scorpion gravel tyre, Junior WRC crews have the choice of 22 K6 (soft) and 6 K4 (medium) tyres. In total, crews are allowed to use a total of 22 tyres for the rally. Estonia’s road surfaces have low abrasive qualities, making the K6 tyre the favourite for most drivers, and given it is in abundance, tyre selection strategy won’t play a huge role in Estonia. The choice of taking one or two spares will be a difficult one though, especially at this critical point of the championship. One spare would help car performance but if you have any tyre problems, your driving performance is then compromised for the rest of the loop. Taking two spares means more security in case of any tyre issues but the weight significantly impacts weight transfer and car balance which can affect a driver’s confidence which is critical on such high-speed roads.
 
Maciej Woda, FIA Junior WRC Championship Manager, said: “Rally Estonia made its amazing debut in 2020 and we have been coming back ever since after the event rapidly establishing itself as a fan-favourite due to its captivating stages and vibrant atmosphere. The event's success is not just because of its fantastic stages, but also the passionate support of the Estonian fans, who come out in large numbers to see their rally heroes. This event has some proper driver’s stages and is always one we look forward to, the cream really does rise to the top here and it’s usually the best rally to see which driver really is the out and out fastest.”
 
52 William Creighton:
“[we could win the championship], maybe if nobody else finishes the rally but I am looking forward to the event. It’s high speed with a lot of jumps and crests over corners so it’s pretty exciting, I’m looking forward to it. The championship has been good, if you would have told me at the start of the year that we’d be leading at any point, we’d have taken it. To have a bit of a points gap is nice, but there’s a long way to go and a lot of points up for grabs. We are still taking it rally by rally and just aiming to get as many points as we can. Diego and Laurent are the guys to look out for right now, so for me it’s a case of decide your strategy for the rally as it goes on and where your championship rivals are.”
 
53 Diego Dominguez:
“I think overall everything has been good so far this season, I think the only mistake we have made so far was in Croatia so I hope it stays that way. We are doing better than we expected and we will see what we can do in this rally. It will be a tough one, especially considering Will already has experience here and it is the first time here for all of us except Will. It’s definitely an unfamiliar rally for me, it’s very, very fast with blind corners, a lot of crests and jumps. It will be interesting, and I cannot wait for the rally to start!”

54 Laurent Pellier:
“The season started very well in Sweden for me with second place and then we were very unlucky in Croatia with an issue, in Sardinia we made a mistake and we hit a tree, so we finished fourth. Ok, we are not in a very good position for the championship, but here we are with one goal, simply to win. We need to start from Tartu with lots of points.”
 
55 Roberto Blach:
“The season is really good, two podiums in three rallies, I think that we are working a lot. The World Rally Championship is very difficult but the level we are working at is good for me, we are learning a lot in all the rallies on the different surfaces. This rally will be very difficult, but I really want another podium even though I know it is very difficult here with a lot of high speed, a lot of fast jumps but I will try to do my best.”

56 Tom Rensonnet:
“I hope the rally is going to be exciting, we are being positive for this event, we are here to learn as it is my first season in Junior WRC. We will stay on the road and take points and experience, that’s the most important goal. It is only my second rally on gravel, so it’s not easy for me I noticed, and I think I’m the only one in this position so we will see.”

57 Eamonn Kelly:
“The season so far has been up and down, we have shown speed in places and then like anything when it’s learning you make mistakes in other places. We have taken a lot away from every rally and we’ve tried to build it into the second half of the season. It’s a clean slate in Estonia but it’s really, really fast and hopefully we can show some more of that speed that we’ve shown but ultimately it will have to be fairly flat out.”

58 Gregoire Munster:
“The aim is to prepare for Rally Finland, we will drive there with the Fiesta Rally2, so we thought it was a good idea to come here in Estonia and drive the Fiesta Rally3 on these fast stages. My aim is more for a win than a top three, we didn’t test and things like that, but we have the shakedown to get used to the car on this surface and we will see. Hopefully we can have some good pace and some good stage times.”

59 Hamza Anwar:
“It is my first time in Estonia, and I am really looking forward to it. I had a pre-event test and wow, these roads are fast here! They are nothing like I have ever experienced before so it is definitely going to be a learning experience. I will have Alex Kihurani sat with me this weekend, which is really cool, Alex is really experienced and knows Junior WRC quite well. He’s also half Kenyan so it’s great that we’re still a Kenyan crew!”