The 24-year-old Estonian rally talent, Robert Virves, finished sixth in the WRC2 category at the Rally Sardinia in early June and secured third place in the Rally Poland. In the Rally Finland, Virves was in contention for a podium finish, but during the second run of Ouninpohja, the bonnet flew open and slammed against the windscreen, causing a significant time loss to the leaders.
After the Rally Finland, Virves was still uncertain about how his season would continue, but supporters have come to his aid. Estonian rally fans have raised over €52,000 through crowdfunding, enabling Virves to participate in the Acropolis Rally in Greece at the beginning of September.
The fundraising effort is backed by the Estonian Next Rallystar NGO programme, created in 2022 by Urmo Aava, Kalev Kruus, and Janno Hert. Thanks to this support, it has been confirmed that Virves will compete in the legendary Acropolis Rally in a Skoda Fabia Rally2 car.
“The work that Kalev and Urmo have been doing for a few years is extremely grateful. Now they have come out to the public with it, and thanks to this, a lot of helpers have come. The fact that people care about what we do and want to help us means a lot. Both for me and my supporters,” Virves said.
“I know that Kalev and Urmo will continue to work to increase this circle. Hats off to them, this job is not easy. All I have to do now is to do my best, as always.”
In the 2022 season, Virves won the WRC3 Junior category in the World Rally Championship. However, a full breakthrough has yet to materialise.
This year, Virves has been competing in the WRC2 category. His best result so far is a third-place finish in Poland. Virves also competed in the Estonian ERC round at the beginning of July, but narrowly lost the battle for victory to his compatriot Georg Linnamäe by just 2.2 seconds.
