No-one in rallying has a stronger track record of developing top-level World Rally Championship drivers than M-Sport managing director Malcolm Wilson. Ott Tänak, Elfyn Evans and Adrien Fourmaux; they all made their WRC debuts in top-level equipment at the wheel of M-Sport machines.
There’d been hopes at Dovenby Hall that Fourmaux would deliver wins and, someday, a world championship back to Cumbria. Then Hyundai came calling. M-Sport’s hopes of reaping the rewards off its development efforts were seemingly gone when Fourmaux hopped on a plane to Frankfurt.
Josh McErlean is M-Sport’s main recruit for 2025. But there’s another recent addition to the squad who, on his track record so far, could end up being Fourmaux’s longer-term successor – at least based on his rise up the ranks.
M-Sport alumni Evans and Fourmaux were dispatched to the British Rally Championship to accrue more experience and score some confidence-boosting wins when their early days in the WRC proved difficult. Both won the British title and immediately stepped up to the WRC thereafter.
Fourmaux flew to the British title in 2023, and was back in Rally1 the year after
That familiar pattern has the potential to repeat itself again; but it’s slightly different this time: the driver has never competed at the top level of rallying. A star of the junior ranks is being entrusted with leading M-Sport’s charge on home shores.
Step forward FIA Rally Star talent search graduate, and Junior WRC champion, Romet Jürgenson.
“Malcolm is a massive fan of Romet and was one of the people that picked him in the Rally Star tryout of that period,” Richard Millener, M-Sport team principal, told DirtFish. “And ever since then, he’s been very, very impressed with his approach. His speed and what he’s achieved in a short space of time has been incredible, really.”
Jürgenson is taking on his debut WRC2 campaign at the wheel of a factory-run Fiesta Rally2, finishing seventh in Sweden on his category debut. That doesn’t sound particularly impressive on paper – but in a field stacked with more experienced Nordic drivers piloting the more highly-fancied Toyota GR Yaris and Škoda Fabia RS Rally2s, M-Sport is content with his work so far.
WRC2 wins in year one are unlikely. Progress is good – but keeping self-belief high after a blockbuster Junior WRC title campaign is also important. It’s one of several reasons M-Sport have backed him in Britain.
“As we saw with Adrien,” continued Millener, “I also firmly believe that if drivers win events, regardless of the level or the status, it really helps them with their confidence. And I think that is a great opportunity for him and something that he could do.
“I think WRC2 is so competitive, it’s going to be hard for him to make his mark at the beginning. You’ve got to remember where he’s at on the ladder and winning the Junior WRC automatically puts pressure on you and people expect you to be right there, but it can be so difficult.
“So slowly with him, but he’s doing all the right things and the BRC is that opportunity just to give him a little bit of extra time and see if we can get his confidence growing as he goes along as well.”
It’s going to be far from straightforward for Jürgenson to achieve what Fourmaux and Evans did before him. This is only his fourth year competing in fully-fledged stage rallying and will be squaring up against Keith Cronin and Max McRae in Citroën C3 Rally2s and William Creighton in an Melvyn Evans-run GR Yaris – starting at tomorrow’s opening round, the East Riding Stages.
Jürgenson has a big chance this year - he says it's up to him to prove he's worth it
“I think it’s now time to stop the dreaming and live in the real life, which will definitely help,” concedes Jürgenson.
After a fairytale end to 2024, this year is about rolling up his sleeves and delivering where he can. His task in the UK is fairly straightforward: demonstrate the Fiesta Rally2 is still a winning package in national championships.
Wilson’s backing him to do exactly that. And Wilson has a habit of backing drivers who have the potential to go far.
“We can see that the support is there,” said Jürgenson of his BRC shot with M-Sport. “It’s just up to us now to prove that we are worth it.”
