Romet Jürgenson and co-driver Siim Oja faced a steep learning curve at Rally Islas Canarias, as their FIA RallyStar campaign continued on asphalt. The Estonian crew were forced to retire early on Friday after a pace note error led to an off on Special Stage 1. Although the damage was minor, the car became stuck and the pair were unable to continue on Friday. Restarting on Saturday, Jürgenson and Oja completed the event and gathered valuable experience on what was their first all-Tarmac rally in the WRC2 category.
Despite the early setback, the pair steadily built pace over the weekend’s remaining stages, culminating in a measured run to the finish and encouraging times during the event’s second half.
“Yeah, we ended up in a barrier basically on the first stage,” explained Jürgenson. “We didn’t get to do the full day, which really hit our confidence. It was difficult to get going again, but Saturday helped us find a rhythm, and by Sunday—especially on the second pass and the Power Stage—I felt reasonably okay. There’s still a lot to learn, but we got within a second per kilometre of the top times, which is something to build on.”
Rally Islas Canarias marked Jürgenson’s second competitive outing on Tarmac in a Rally2 car, and his first on pure circuit-style asphalt. While the result wasn’t what the crew had hoped for, the rally served its developmental purpose within the FIA Rally Star programme.
