At 25, Munster is in his first full season in the top class of the World Rally Championship. It has been a challenging year, as the Luxembourger has often lagged behind the leaders in terms of speed, and mistakes have been frequent.
At the end of September in Rally Chile, there were glimpses of improvement. Munster stayed in contention on the gravel rally’s opening day, though he had to drop back over the following two days as conditions worsened due to rain and fog. Nevertheless, the gap to the front remained manageable, and he finished in seventh place.
Munster made his Rally1 debut in Rally Chile last year. Now, he has demonstrated that he has made progress over the past year.
Munster hopes his development has been sufficient to secure him a spot as a Rally1 driver next season as well.
“I think we have shown to everyone that, when we know the stage and that we’ve done them with a Rally1 car, that we can fight at the top, or very close to it at least,” Munster emphasised on the WRC’s website.
“We have shown the progress we have made compared to last year in Chile when we drove this car for the first time. Chile was positive for me,” Munster summed up.
M-Sport Ford does not pay Munster a salary; the Luxembourger has secured his seat with the help of his supporters. But not just anyone gets to be an official driver for M-Sport. A driver has to prove his worth. In the championship’s top class, there are only three teams, and seats are limited.
“We’re doing everything we can to try to stay in the Puma for next season, but we know there are not so many seats. We’re competing against world champions in these cars, it’s not easy, but I think we’re showing some consistency,” Munster reflected.
Munster will have his next opportunity to showcase his skills in just over a week at Central European Rally. Last year, Munster managed the Central European tarmac stages well, finishing seventh in the rally.
“We go to Central Europe next which will be tricky with the conditions, but it’s my favourite surface, so I’m looking forward to that.”
