After finishing third in the opening round of the FIA ERC in Hungary, tarmac awaits on the Spanish Canary Islands this weekend for Swede Mille Johansson and his co-driver Johan Grönvall.
After losing nearly nine minutes due to two punctures in the opening round of the FIA Junior European Rally Championship, Mille and Johan redeemed themselves to take third place in Hungary in mid-April, securing their first podium in the ERC.
This weekend marks the first round on asphalt.
”Our goal for the weekend is to continue building speed on the asphalt. We will drive smart and collect points in the championship. It’s going to be fun to drive on asphalt again; it’s been six months since the last time, and it has its charm. It feels like we’ve found a good setup on the car, and we are ready to tackle the second round of the Junior European Championship,” says Mille.
Since finishing in Hungary, Mille and Johan have conducted several tests on asphalt to be as prepared as possible for the Canary Islands, where they will compete in an Opel Corsa Rally4 for the Slovenian team IKsport.
The Canary Islands are known for their challenging asphalt stages and numerous curves.
”I can say that there are quite a few thoughts swirling around before this weekend. After seeing the stages during reconnaissance, I can only conclude that it will be a really tough job with a lot of work to reach the podium,” says Johan.
In the FIA Junior ERC, where all participants compete in two-wheel-drive cars with Hankook tires, 14 cars will start in this weekend’s round. Mille and Johan face tough competition from, among others, championship leader Max McRae and Swedish national team colleague Calle Carlberg.
”Our goal for the weekend is to continue picking up important points in the championship and to drive as fast as we feel comfortable,” concludes Mille.
Rally Islas Canarias begins on Thursday evening with a super special stage in Las Palmas. Thirteen stages will be run over the weekend, with the finish on Saturday evening.