JWRC 2024 is full of competitors

Could the future be on the move? The list of candidates revealed by the organizers of this secondary championship is, it must be admitted, the pleasant surprise of the start of the year. Since the choice to use a 4-wheel drive car was made in 2021, this had no impact on the series. On the contrary. Having struggled to bring together 10 Fiesta Rally3s over the last three years, the JWRC had considerably lost its interest and the level was generally very low. Only one or two drivers were able to fight for the title and we will have to watch the performances of William Creighton, the 2023 champion who will ride in a Fiesta Rally2.

It is difficult to explain why such enthusiasm is occurring this year, because nothing has changed in this promotional formula. Are the increasingly insistent rumors concerning the shelving of Rally1 (2025?, 26?) and the induction of Rally2 as the premier category the reasons for this appeal? The price of a season with a Rally2 having suffered inflation, is it more “reasonable” to start with a Rally3? Could this influx be one of the rewards of the FIA ​​Rally Star operation? Has the latter sparked vocations? Ultimately whatever the causes, what is pleasant is to see that the JWRC will finally resemble a real championship.

The origin of the competitors is also interesting with several South Americans (6), others from Eastern Europe (Estonia, Romania, Poland, etc.) and some nationalities not usually present such as a Kazakh, a South African or a pilot from Oman. If countries with a strong rallying tradition are on the list (Belgium, Spain, Germany, etc.), it is regrettable to see that there are no French. France is not the only one absent, Finland, England and Italy will also take their turn in 2024. In this list, it is already possible to identify several candidates.

Vice-champion in 2023, Diego Dominguez is the favorite. He will have to deal with repeaters Eamonn Kelly and Tom Rensonnet. Champion ERC Junior 2023, Norbert Maior goes up one floor in the same way as Roberto Blach. Having passed the selection organized in 2023, 4 FIA Rally Star crews (Romet Jürgenson, Taylor Gil, José Caparo and Max Smart) are joining the ranks of the JWRC. They will have a good opportunity to show whether this detection program was relevant or not. Finally, among the notable names, there is that of Fabio Schwarz who spent his 2023 season training, or that of Bruno Bulacia who should be able to benefit from the advice of Daniel Elena, winner of this championship in 2001.

The principle of the JWRC is identical to previous years. Pilots must be born on 1^er January 1995 or later. They must not have participated as a designated P1 priority driver to score Manufacturer points in WRC before the first rally of the 2024 JWRC. 5 rounds are on the program (Sweden, Croatia, Sardinia, Finland, Acropolis) and the 4 best results are retained. Each special victory also earns a point which is added to the total at the end of a round. The final meeting in Greece has a coefficient of 2 and generally calls everything into question. The prize consists of participations in WRC2 2025.

The entry list for the JWRC 2024

Diego Dominguez (Paraguay, 23 years old)

Norbert Maior (Romania, 25 years old)

Eamonn Kelly (Ireland, 25 years old)

Romet Jürgenson (Estonia, 24 years old)

Bruno Bulacia (Bolivia, 21 years old)

Jakub Matulka (Poland, 23 years old)

Mille Johansson (Sweden, 18 years old)

Fabio Schwarz (Germany, 18 years old)

Roberto Blach (Spain, 27 years old)

Tom Rensonnet (Belgium, 25 years old)

Taylor Gil (Australia, 20 years old)

Raul Hernandez (Spain, 22 years old)

Nataniel Bruun (Bolivia, 18 years old)

Abdullah Al-Rawahi (Oman, 26 years old)

Petr Borodin (Kazakhstan, 28 years old)

Gerardo V. Rosselot (Chile, 22 years old)

José Caparo (Peru, 26 years old)

Max Smart (South Africa, 21 years old)

André Martinez (Peru, 26 years old)