FIA Rally Star Crews Gear Up to Take on Finnish Gravel

Secto Rally Finland (31 July – 03 August) presents a high-speed challenge for the FIA Rally Star crews as the iconic gravel event returns for its 2025 edition. For Estonian duo Romet Jürgenson and Siim Oja, it marks their sixth WRC2 outing of the season, while Australian Taylor Gill and South African Max Smart head into their penultimate Junior WRC appearance, where every stage, split and second will be crucial in a tightly contested title fight.

Since joining the WRC calendar in 1973, Rally Finland has built a reputation as one of the most iconic rallies on the calendar. This year, it will test the FIA Rally Star crews as they aim to stay consistently quick through Finland’s fast, flowing gravel stages, balancing speed with precision over the event’s famous jumps and crests.

For the FIA Rally Star trio of Romet Jürgenson/Siim Oja, Taylor Gill/Dan Brkic, and Max Smart/Malcolm Read, this will be a true test of their capabilities. Competing in both Junior WRC and WRC2, the drivers will face fierce competition as they target top results. Each is eager to build on the lessons they’ve learned so far this season and make their mark on one of the sport’s most prestigious events.

Jürgenson targeting third top five finish.  

Fresh from an impressive home performance at Rally Estonia, Romet Jürgenson and Siim Oja are eager to keep the momentum going. The duo secured their best WRC2 result on home soil with a second top five finish of the season and head into Rally Finland with renewed confidence.

“Estonia gave us a lot to build on,” said Jürgenson. “We’re heading to Finland in a positive frame of mind and with confidence on our side. We did the rally last year, and although the surface differs from Estonia, the speed and rhythm are quite similar. We’re confident on fast gravel and aiming for another strong result.”

The WRC2 field in Finland, however, is among the most competitive of the season, with 27 Rally2 entries including local title challengers Roope Korhonen, Lauri Joona, and Emil Lindholm, who will no doubt benefit from their home field advantage. This means the Estonian duo will need to lean on every bit of experience and rallycraft they’ve accumulated in 2025 to secure a strong result here.

Gill Aiming for Fourth Consecutive Podium in Junior WRC Title Push

Taylor Gill and co-driver Daniel Brkic have been a standout force in the 2025 Junior WRC, taking two wins and a second place from three starts. Heading into Rally Finland, the Australian duo lead the championship by seven points and are targeting a fourth straight podium to strengthen their title bid.

Their last outing in Greece saw them deliver a composed and mature drive to finish second, despite multiple punctures on the event’s notoriously rough terrain. Now, Finland brings a very different challenge: flat out gravel speed, one the young Australian is embracing. “I’m really excited to get back to a rally where we can push from the start,” said Gill. “There’s still some puncture risk, as we learned last year, but overall, it’s about committing and driving flat out consistently, and that’s our plan.”

As a result of the pair’s strong run of form this season, they still have a drop-score round available, giving them the freedom to extract extra performance. As Gill explains, “Having a drop round still available gives us that extra bit of confidence to push harder. We know that even if we overstep a little, we can drop that result and play it safer in the next one. It gives us an edge over others who’ve already used theirs and now have to be a bit more cautious.”

The pair also have the benefit of past success in Finland, having previously won here in 2024. “It’s massively helpful to have that experience,” Gill added. “We’ve got all the data, onboards, and pace notes from last year, and I know exactly where we can improve on our performance, where we need to push and where we need to hold back, so hopefully that will give us an extra advantage in Finland and will help us to take another podium.”

Smart Targets Breakthrough Podium on Finnish Gravel

Max Smart and co-driver Malcolm Read head to Rally Finland sitting eighth in the Junior WRC standings, determined to secure their first podium of the 2025 season. The young South African came heartbreakingly close in Greece, running in second before a hidden rock ripped off a wheel and ended their podium charge.

Now back on more familiar ground, Smart is focused on delivering a “committed, confident and mature” drive to finally convert his potential into a top three result. “Finland poses less of a threat than Greece in terms of terrain,” he explained. “You can shift from preserving the car to focusing purely on pace, and that’s exactly what we’re aiming to do.”

Smart is particularly confident in Finland, where his natural driving style, shaped by a background in motocross, often shines. It’s an experience he believes gives him a unique edge in Finland. “It’s such a distinctive event because of the number of jumps,” he said. “I remember last year, I just instinctively knew how to handle the car in the air, and that definitely gave me an edge compared to the rest of the field.”

This will be Smart’s second time tackling Rally Finland, and that familiarity is another advantage on the young South African’s side. “Having done the event last year definitely gives us a boost,” he added. “We’ve reviewed all the onboards, looked at what worked and what didn’t, and refined our pace notes. That should help us push harder and aim for a strong result.”