Fresh from their breakthrough British Rally Championship victory at the Carlisle Stages, Romet Jürgenson and Siim Oja head to Gran Canaria for round four of the 2025 FIA World Rally Championship. It marks the Estonian pairing’s second WRC2 appearance as part of the FIA Rally Star programme, following an impressive debut in Sweden where they finished seventh overall.
After mastering the snowbanks of Sweden, the 2024 Junior WRC Champions now face a contrasting challenge on the flowing, high-grip asphalt of the Canary Islands. Rally Islas Canarias makes its debut on the WRC calendar this year, having long been a staple of the FIA European Rally Championship. Based in Las Palmas, the event covers 301.3 kilometres over 18 stages, renowned for their smooth surface, circuit-like grip and punishing Armco-lined mountain roads, where even the smallest mistake can carry heavy consequences.
“It’s going to be a nice event,” said Jürgenson. “Looking at the stage videos, I can say it’s going to be really enjoyable, just really a track kind of rally, which is nice. It’s our second WRC2 event with the Rally2 car, so we definitely have a bit more experience, but this is something new and I’m looking forward to it.”
Jürgenson heads into the event full of confidence after a string of promising results in the British Rally Championship. He claimed sixth on his Rally2 Tarmac debut at the East Riding Stages, before securing his first BRC win in Carlisle.
“East Riding was a good start. It could have been better, but it was our first event with the Rally2 on Tarmac, against really strong competition in the UK. I’m really happy with the result at Carlisle, everything we’ve been working on finally came together. It’s our first win and a really cool feeling. Hopefully, we can keep building and prove ourselves even more.”
Maintaining a grounded outlook in the fiercely competitive WRC2 field – which features 38 entries this weekend – Jürgenson remains focused on progression rather than results.
“WRC2 is a different league. The competition is going to be huge, so I’m not expecting too much from myself. It’s again the same approach I think as Sweden. We get going and try to improve. But I’m definitely feeling better acquainted with the car already. I have had more seat time in the car, which has really grown my confidence.”
A key learning point this weekend will be Jürgenson’s first competitive outing on Hankook’s Tarmac tyres, having previously only used the studded snow tyre.
“To be honest with you, it’s going to be quite a lot of learning,” Jürgenson admitted. “I haven’t tried the Hankook tyre on Tarmac before, so the pre-event test is going to give us a lot of data. I’ll also be relying on asking the team to give me as much input as possible, so I can get to know the tyres a bit better and extract the most performance from them.”
In preparation, the young Estonian has been working closely with his M-Sport team to study onboard footage and refine his driving approach – recognising that a ‘track mindset’ will be crucial on these roads.
“I’ve looked into more of the theory of driving on track, which is really important here. It goes away from traditional rallying, where you deal with cuts, dirt and mud. It’s more consistent, more technical—you just have to focus on hitting your lines and trusting the grip.”
