20-year-old Swede Mille Johansson and co-driver Johan Grönvall are the 2025 FIA Junior World Rally Champions.
The Swedish duo secured the title after a dramatic finish to the Central European Rally, claiming victory by just 1.6 seconds – a result that also sealed the world championship crown.
The rally, which took place across Germany, Austria and the Czech Republic, offered constantly changing conditions with both rain and sunshine.
After Saturday’s stages, Johansson and Grönvall were sitting third in the standings – a position that, at the time, would have earned them third place in the championship. But Sunday brought a dramatic turnaround.
On the opening stage of the final day, they were ten seconds faster than their championship rival Taylor Gill from Australia.
When Turkish driver Ali Türkan, who had been leading, went off on the penultimate stage, Mille and Johan moved up to second – just 7.0 seconds behind Gill before the decisive 26-kilometre Power Stage.
There, the Swedes delivered when it mattered most – 8.6 seconds faster than Gill, winning the rally by 1.6 seconds and with it, the Junior WRC title.
“It’s been a tough weekend, and we’ve made some mistakes. But it all came down to the final stage – we gave it absolutely everything. It’s such a relief, and it will take some time to sink in,” said Mille Johansson.
In total, Johansson and Grönvall won seven special stages during the rally, ending the season in the best possible way.
Throughout the year, they have shown outstanding speed on every surface – from snow and ice in Rally Sweden to gravel in Portugal, Greece and Finland – collecting more stage wins than any other crew in the championship.
With the Junior WRC title, Mille and Johan are awarded a four round WRC2 programme for 2026 with M-Sport and Hankook, including car, tyres and full service support.
Further details of their 2026 plans will be announced at a later stage.
The pair still have one rally left this year – the Italian Gravel Championship finale in November.