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february 17, 2019 - FIA Junior WRC

KRISTENSSON WINS ON JUNIOR WRC DEBUT

Press release available only in original language. 

om Kristensson sent a clear message to the rest of the FIA Junior WRC Championship field, winning on Rally #Sweden with a fine drive in his 200 horsepower EcoBoost-powered Ford Fiesta R2.

The top three is made up entirely of rookies to the Junior WRC championship, with Roland Poom and Jan Solans in second and third respectively.

Kristensson is the third Swede to win the Junior WRC on Rally #Sweden confirming his position as a championship contender.

The Swede's win is the tip of the iceberg when looking at the Junior WRC 2019 Rally #Sweden story.

The Junior WRC veteran Dennis Rådström had notched 10 impressive stage wins by the conclusion of stage 12, leading many to believe he was set to repeat his 2018 Rally #Sweden victory. He started stage 13 but wouldn't finish it thanks to a costly error and was forced to retire the car for the day.

Rådström returned to the stages on Sunday morning, grabbing two stage wins from an available three, bringing home a decent points haul thanks to the one point per stage win allocation in Junior WRC.

Kristensson inherited the lead from Rådström's stage 13 exit and took a calm and measured approach after experiencing a tight and competitive fight in section two. Knowing he had a comfortable 1m44.0s lead over Estonian rookie Roland Poom, Kristensson elected for mistake-free finishes over stage wins to deliver his first Junior WRC win.

Roland Poom had a steady start to Rally #Sweden and made great progress on Saturday thanks to increasing confidence and costly errors made by those further up the road. He claimed his best stage result of 2nd on stage 13 compounding Kristensson's winning philosophy of calm and cautious.

Jan Solans rounded out the top three, taking a stage win along the way after a successful Saturday when he climbed from fifth to third on his debut in the Junior WRC. Although for most of the day he adopted a similar approach to Poom and Kristensson, he was able to find astonishing pace on stage 16, thanks to its sprint style nature, claiming his maiden stage win of the year.

There were many favourites for the 2019 Junior WRC crown starting Rally, all of which having difficulties at some point along the way. 2018 Junior WRC Rally Finland winner Ken Torn was able to demonstrate his raw speed with two stage wins but several big mistakes removed him from podium contention. Junior WRC rookie Martins Sesks delivered times consistently in the top three with three stage wins. He was forced to retire due to a technical issue on Friday, surrendering second place and the chance for Junior WRC victory.
 
FIA Junior WRC Championship Manager, Maciej Woda, said:

"Following the Junior WRC on Rally #Sweden has been unbelievable and great to watch. I don't think anybody would have predicted our top three going into this rally, especially when you consider that they are all new to the Junior WRC Championship. We have had a very healthy spread of stage winners this weekend which is great for the season ahead and also the championship. Tom should be incredibly proud of his achievement, starting his first Junior WRC event and winning it on home soil is something very special. This rally has been a great test for the all-new Fiesta R2 car which has been majorly impressive from the feedback we have received so far. The car's exceptional pace and consistency could not have been achieved without the support we have received from Ford and our partners at Pirelli and Wolf Lubricants."Tom Kristensson sent a clear message to the rest of the FIA Junior WRC Championship field, winning on Rally #Sweden with a fine drive in his 200 horsepower EcoBoost-powered Ford Fiesta R2.

The top three is made up entirely of rookies to the Junior WRC championship, with Roland Poom and Jan Solans in second and third respectively.

Kristensson is the third Swede to win the Junior WRC on Rally #Sweden confirming his position as a championship contender.

The Swede's win is the tip of the iceberg when looking at the Junior WRC 2019 Rally #Sweden story.

The Junior WRC veteran Dennis Rådström had notched 10 impressive stage wins by the conclusion of stage 12, leading many to believe he was set to repeat his 2018 Rally #Sweden victory. He started stage 13 but wouldn't finish it thanks to a costly error and was forced to retire the car for the day.

Rådström returned to the stages on Sunday morning, grabbing two stage wins from an available three, bringing home a decent points haul thanks to the one point per stage win allocation in Junior WRC.

Kristensson inherited the lead from Rådström's stage 13 exit and took a calm and measured approach after experiencing a tight and competitive fight in section two. Knowing he had a comfortable 1m44.0s lead over Estonian rookie Roland Poom, Kristensson elected for mistake-free finishes over stage wins to deliver his first Junior WRC win.

Roland Poom had a steady start to Rally #Sweden and made great progress on Saturday thanks to increasing confidence and costly errors made by those further up the road. He claimed his best stage result of 2nd on stage 13 compounding Kristensson's winning philosophy of calm and cautious.

Jan Solans rounded out the top three, taking a stage win along the way after a successful Saturday when he climbed from fifth to third on his debut in the Junior WRC. Although for most of the day he adopted a similar approach to Poom and Kristensson, he was able to find astonishing pace on stage 16, thanks to its sprint style nature, claiming his maiden stage win of the year.

There were many favourites for the 2019 Junior WRC crown starting Rally, all of which having difficulties at some point along the way. 2018 Junior WRC Rally Finland winner Ken Torn was able to demonstrate his raw speed with two stage wins but several big mistakes removed him from podium contention. Junior WRC rookie Martins Sesks delivered times consistently in the top three with three stage wins. He was forced to retire due to a technical issue on Friday, surrendering second place and the chance for Junior WRC victory.
 
FIA Junior WRC Championship Manager, Maciej Woda, said:

"Following the Junior WRC on Rally #Sweden has been unbelievable and great to watch. I don't think anybody would have predicted our top three going into this rally, especially when you consider that they are all new to the Junior WRC Championship. We have had a very healthy spread of stage winners this weekend which is great for the season ahead and also the championship. Tom should be incredibly proud of his achievement, starting his first Junior WRC event and winning it on home soil is something very special. This rally has been a great test for the all-new Fiesta R2 car which has been majorly impressive from the feedback we have received so far. The car's exceptional pace and consistency could not have been achieved without the support we have received from Ford and our partners at Pirelli and Wolf Lubricants."

Further information in the press release to download