19-year-old Swedish rally driver Mille Johansson showed strong pace at Rally Sweden, winning 12 out of 18 special stages over the weekend. His performance puts him at the top of the Junior WRC standings after the first of five rounds in this year’s championship. Mille and his co-driver Johan Grönvall secured second place in the season opener in Umeå.
Heading into the rally, Mille and Johan had high expectations after winning Junior WRC in Sweden during their guest appearance last year. Their weekend started strong, building a lead of nearly a minute by midday on Saturday. However, on stage 11, they entered a junction too fast and lost nearly three minutes in a snowbank.
After that setback, Mille and Johan fought back, winning all but one of the remaining stages and finishing just 22 seconds behind the winner. Thanks to Junior WRC’s bonus points for stage wins, they leave Umeå as championship leaders.
“This weekend didn’t go exactly as we had hoped, but it was still a good one. After my mistake, we just kept pushing, winning stage after stage. It’s a bit frustrating, but at the end of the day, we’re leading the championship. Johan and the team have done an amazing job, and I want to give a huge thanks to all our sponsors,” says Mille Johansson.
Mille and Johan earned a full Junior WRC season after winning the FIA Junior European Rally Championship (Junior ERC) last year. In JWRC, all competitors race in identical four-wheel-drive Ford Fiesta Rally3 cars from M-Sport Poland. The Rally Sweden victory went to Australia’s Taylor Gill, who finished 22 seconds ahead of Mille and Johan.
The next Junior WRC round takes place in Portugal on May 15-18. Before that, Mille and Johan will compete in the Italian Gravel Championship with MS Munaretto, driving a Škoda Fabia Rally2.