The competition took place on tarmac roads around the city of Karlovac, some of which will also be used in the upcoming Croatia Rally next week. It’s no surprise that the event attracted familiar names from the WRC series.
While the main class stars were absent in Karlovac, WRC2 drivers Nikolay Gryazin, Pepe Lopez, and Lauri Joona lined up to start. The rally also featured several JWRC junior class drivers.
Now competing under the Bulgarian flag, Gryazin was the anticipated winner of the rally, which included 12 special stages. Gryazin set a total of ten fastest times and defeated the second-placed Spanish driver Lopez by a margin of just over a minute.
Finnish driver Joona and co-driver Janni Hussi finished third in their Skoda Fabia RS Rally2 car, trailing the leader by just over two minutes.
Estonian hopeful Romet Jürgenson finished fourth overall in a Ford Fiesta Rally3 car. Jürgenson competes in the JWRC class of the WRC series this season.
The fourth round of the WRC season will take place in Croatia next week, from April 18th to 21st.
