Rally driver Mille Johansson from Sweden made his Swedish championship debut on Saturday, when he and co-driver Johan Grönvall drove the sprint event Hovdalasprinten in Hässleholm. Despite tough competition in the almost 40-car-big class, Mille and Johan managed to finish fifth.

Mille and Johan opened with a ninth time on the first of a total of three turns on the six kilometer stage. They picked up the pace on stage two, and were fifth among the two-wheel drive cars in their GN Motorsport Ford Fiesta Rally4. On the last stage, they were able to advance to fifth place in the largest class in the championship with a margin of 0.6 seconds.

– We have done our best, it is tough to keep up with the top drivers. I think we did well, it’s only our second race on gravel in this car, so we have to be satisfied. It was fun to drive a bit in Sweden again, says Mille.

The two-wheel drive class was won by championship-leader Mattias Adielsson from Gothenburg, ahead of Daniel Röjsel and Joacim Kristiansson.

Next up is the second round in the Junior-ERC for Mille and Johan, which will be held on June 17-18 in Latvia. Where Mille and Johan compete for the Slovenian team IKsport.