The title was confirmed last weekend in Greece when Jürgenson finished second. Although last season’s European Rally Championship junior champion Norbert Maior won in Greece, second place was enough for Jürgenson to claim the title.
Jürgenson is the second Estonian to win the JWRC title. The last time an Estonian celebrated victory in the series was in 2022, when Robert Virves took the crown. Virves also competed in Greece, finishing second in the WRC2 class, tied on time with Sami Pajari, who was the junior champion in 2021.
The 24-year-old Jürgenson won in Croatia earlier this season in the JWRC class and, along with his second place in Greece, also made it onto the podium in Sweden. Over five events, he dominated by setting the most fastest stage times in the class, making his championship well-deserved.
“It is great to be on this table with historic names like (Sebastien) Ogier and (Craig) Breen and so many other great drivers that won the Junior WRC,” Jürgenson said enthusiastically.
“On this rally you have to drive with your eyes a lot – we had good instincts and we avoided quite a lot of big rocks – in the end it went well.”
Besides Ogier and the late Breen, drivers like Thierry Neuville, Sebastien Loeb, Dani Sordo, and Elfyn Evans also started their careers in the JWRC and won the championship.
Jürgenson was able to drive a Ford Fiesta Rally3 this season through the FIA’s Rally Star programme, which started with a virtual selection process. Next year, his championship prize will be four races in the WRC with an M-Sport Ford Fiesta Rally2. Additionally, he will receive free testing opportunities and tyre support from Pirelli.
Romanian driver Maior, who won in Greece, climbed from seventh to second in the final standings. Australian driver Taylor Gill finished just three points behind in third.
