Finnish Lauri Joona has announced he will compete in another full season in the WRC2 category of the World Rally Championship.
Joona confirmed on Wednesday that he will participate in seven WRC2 events, marking his third season in the category. Last season, the Finnish driver finished sixth in the final WRC2 standings.
“Our WRC2 campaign starts at Rally Sweden but before that we will join Arctic Lapland Rally in Rovaniemi area to ensure proper taste of snowy stages,”
“I am really excited to announce that we will be running a full WRC2 season this year!
Together with the team MS Munaretto and Co-Driver Samu Vaaleri we are ready to give our maximum this season, it’s going to be big one for sure,” Joona wrote.
Last season, Joona partnered with Janni Hussi in the WRC, but their collaboration ended after Rally Finland in August. In September’s Acropolis Rally, Ville Mannisenmäki joined as Joona’s co-driver. Later in the year, Samu Vaaleri sat alongside Joona during the La Nucia Rally in Spain, marking the start of their partnership.
Vaaleri, 27, won the Finnish Rally Championship with Mikko Heikkilä in 2022. Last season, he co-drove for Niclas Grönholm in the Finnish Rally Championship and Jaakko Lavio in Italy’s gravel rally series.
Joona’s career highlight so far is his WRC3 title in 2022. In 2023, he secured bronze in the Finnish Rally Championship.
Rally Sweden will take place on 13–16 February, preceded by the Arctic Lapland Rally, also known as Tunturiralli, two weeks earlier.
