Ralfs Sirmacis won the ERC Junior category for the first time on the auto24 Rally Estonia, giving the Sport Racing Technologies team cause for celebration after a difficult week.
It was the third time the 21-year old Latvian driver had done the event, and he used his experience to secure a magnificent victory in his Peugeot 208 R2 – and 10th overall. A heavy landing after a jump on SS8 had given him a small engine problem to worry about, but nothing was going to stop him claiming victory – for himself, the team and for his team-mate, Vasily Gryazin, who is recovering in hospital following a serious road accident. The result sees Sirmacis move up to second in the championship.
Emil Bergkvist finished second, which following the retirement of Chris Ingram, was sufficient to give him an unassailable lead in the ERC Junior championship. The ADAC Opel Rallye Junior Team drove brilliantly and never put a foot wrong in his Adam R2, to secure the ERC Junior title. Ingram had been his closest title challenger, but his good run came to an end with fuel pump failure on his Peugeot UK-supported on SS12. The retirement also sees him drop from second to fourth in the points table.
Miko Niinemäe looked set to finish second in Estonia, until the annoying crankshaft sensor problem, which had seen his 208 lose power intermittently throughout the entire event, cut the engine out completely on the final stage, costing him 10 seconds and dropping him behind Bergkvist. The young Estonian driver had certainly proven his pace at ERC level, even with his co-driver, Martin Valter, suffering with a heavy cold.
Steve Røkland was delighted to finish fourth after a mistake-free run in his 208. The stages were significantly faster than anything he had experienced in Norway, yet he set a super fast and consistent pace to move up to third in the series. Sweden’s Mattias Ledin enjoyed an excellent international rally debut in his Peugeot, saying that the ERC crowds were much bigger and the atmosphere much better than he’d even imagined they would be.
Marijan Griebel was pleased to be the first non-Scandinavia/Baltic driver home in his ADAC Opel Rallye Junior Team Adam. His speed and confidence on gravel has increased rapidly in just a few events, and he finished an excellent fifth. Much the same can be said of Diogo Gago in his Peugeot Rally Academy, who grew in speed as the event progressed. Mattias Adielsson did well to finish, after rolling his 208 at high speed on SS5.
