20-year-old rally driver Mille Johansson from Katrineholm and co-driver Johan Grönvall from Arvika finished 15th in the top category of the FIA European Rally Championship in Rome this past weekend – after a challenging event held in extreme temperatures.
Driving a Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo from Italian team MS Munaretto on Hankook tyres, Mille and Johan competed in one of the strongest ERC fields this year, with 46 Rally2 cars entered. Alongside the ERC elite, the event also featured Italy’s top asphalt drivers, as the rally also counted towards the Italian Asphalt Championship.
It was a weekend where Mille never quite found the right feeling with the car, despite several setup changes along the way.
– The ERC round in Italy was pretty tough for us, with the heat and the tyres not working as we wanted in those temperatures. I never got any grip in the front end throughout the rally even though we tried lots of different setups. It’s a bit frustrating that we never really found a good feeling, but with some changes for the next ERC asphalt round, I think we’ll be able to show better pace, says Mille Johansson.
The rally was run in up to 40°C heat, kicking off with a spectacular stage through central Rome on Friday and continuing with 13 special stages across the weekend.
The event in Italy also marked the end of a very intense run of events for Mille and Johan – starting back in May with the Italian Gravel Championship, and continuing with multiple rounds in both the ERC and the Junior WRC. With back-to-back rallies in Greece and Italy, the past two months have seen the duo compete almost every other weekend, in various types of cars and conditions.
Now follows a short recovery period before Mille and Johan return to Junior WRC action – where they currently sit second overall, seven points behind Australia’s Taylor Gill after three rounds.
The penultimate round of the Junior WRC season will take place in Finland on July 31–August 3, where Mille and Johan aim to strike back in the fight for the world title.