This weekend, Rally Portugal hosted the latest round of the FIA World Rally Championship, where Mille Johansson and co-driver Johan Grönvall delivered their strongest performance of the season so far, finishing sixth in the WRC2 category.
The event marked the first gravel rally of the year for Mille and Johan, and their fourth WRC2 start of the season. The Swedish duo competed with M-Sport Ford in a Ford Fiesta Rally2.
Across the rally’s 23 stages, they finished inside the top 10 in WRC2 on all but three stages, while also setting two top-three stage times against a highly competitive field featuring 32 entries.
“We showed really good pace in the dry conditions, but the rain made it very difficult to find a good rhythm and build confidence. We exceeded our expectations for this rally, especially on dry gravel, and I’m happy with that. There are still a few things we need to work on, but overall it was a very positive rally for us,” says Mille Johansson.
After a challenging start to the WRC2 season — the second-highest category in the FIA World Rally Championship — Mille and Johan have bounced back strongly with two solid performances in recent events, including a 10th-place finish and a stage win in the Canary Islands, followed by sixth place in Portugal.
Mille and Johan will now enjoy a short break after completing three rallies in six weeks. Their next WRC2 appearance will be Rally Acropolis in Greece at the end of June, where they will once again compete for MS Munaretto in a Škoda Fabia Rally2.