The 17-year-old rally talent Mille Johansson from Sweden is driving the third round of the Finnish Rally Championship this weekend, when he, together with experienced co-driver Christer Carlsson, will line up in Jyväskylän Talviralli in their Ford Fiesta Rally4 from GN Motorsport. The rally is lined with star status as the reigning world champion, 22-year-old Kalle Rovanperä, drives the competition in the same rally car he got as an 8-year-old.
– It will be fun to race in Finland again this winter. I have a new co-driver with me this time in Christer Carlsson, who comes in with a lot of experience. The rally goes around Jyväskylä, where the Finnish WRC-round is run, so it will probably be really challenging roads to drive on, says Mille.
In the beginning of January, Mille drove the first rally in the Finnish championship, the Arctic Lapland Rally, where he set several top times in the two-wheel drive class but also suffered from engine problems throughout the competition. Despite that, he claimed third place in the tough competition. In Jyväskylä, Mille and Christer are set against a total of 20 other cars in the class, where former F1-World Champion Kimi Räikkönen’s nephew, Justus, comes to the event as championship leader.
– We come to the rally with a good feeling from last time, and with the goal to get km in the body and build up a high and safe pace during the course of the competition, concludes Mille.
Mille and Christer will run the rally in Finland together with their team GN Motorsport, to gain important experience on snow and ice for the future, and prepare for Mille’s main venture. That will be presented later on.
The Jyväskylän Talviralli starts with a super special stage on Friday evening, and continues with another six stages on Saturday.