Few moments scream ‘welcome to the big time’ more than having your nation’s sporting icon walk up and congratulate you on a job well done. Two years ago it was a fantasy that could only have existed in Romet Jürgenson’s head. Last week it became reality.
Ott Tänak approached Jürgenson mid-interview in the Acropolis Rally Greece media zone, congratulating his younger compatriot on winning the Junior WRC title.
Tänak cracked a joke after applauding Jürgenson for his title: “Now there’s no coming back,” he quipped. He was, in effect, suggesting that Jürgenson now belonged.
“He was once and still he’s one of my idols,” said Jürgenson. “I was just spectating him and actually watched him become world champion in 2019 in Spain. So I was the fan there with the flag, you know, waving. And now he’s here congratulating me.
“Yeah, it’s mad. This life is mad.”
Jürgenson has swapped gaming chair for driver's seat
He’s right to feel a sense of disbelief. Two years earlier, he’d been sitting at home putting in hours upon hours of runs on the WRC 9 video game, trying to qualify for the FIA Rally Star’s European continental final. Unlike those who had travelled as part of an ASN delegation, he’d flown from Estonia to Germany on his own to try and make it.
Everyone knows who he is now. And he knows the company he’s joined puts him in the same sentence as rallying greats, even if he’s still barely into his journey to try and reach the highest echelons of motorsport.
“I think I’m most proud of the fact that so many other legends have won this category,” he added. “Sébastien Ogier, Craig Breen, Sébastien Loeb, and so many others, To be in between them… it’s great.
“I’m a bit lost for words, to be honest.”
As Tänak’s interruption asserted, Jürgenson is no longer the plucky youngster thrust from his living room into the global rallying stratosphere. He’s about to move just one step away from the gilded ranks of Rally1 manufacturer teams. A prize drive in WRC2 beckons.
As Yohan Rossel, one of the protagonists of this year’s WRC2 title fight, attested after finishing third due to a puncture costing him precious time: “It’s the elite, it’s normal.”
That is Jürgenson’s new reality, suddenly thrust upon him by the outstretching of Tänak’s hand. But the man himself is being careful not to get carried away with his success.
“As an Estonian, I like to keep my feet on the ground, so definitely if I have the WRC2 season next year, then I have to take it as a learning year,” he said. “Maybe as well at some point [I will] show my speed but obviously to do anything big next year is difficult. We have to think about the long run as well.”
What Junior WRC has done is thrown the full gamut of situations at the new champion in a single season.
He went off early on and laid down a marker, scoring a podium on his debut and a win immediately afterwards. It put him through two gut-wrenching retirements that allowed the chasing pack to catch up. And on the roughest, toughest rally of the year, he kept his cool and remained at the sharp end of the field throughout.
Come the season’s end, he’d been the fastest driver of all, racking up 29 stage wins, defying any notion that slow and steady would win the championship.
“That was one of the goals as well, to show the speed and potential and I think we have showed it many times now, so that’s good,” he said. “I think all of the goals were accomplished.”
He won’t be in the top class next year but such is the bottleneck of talent caused by the lack of free seats at the very top, he’ll still be facing some of the world’s best rally drivers, regardless. An ex-factory driver here and there, a few of the current stars of the class and others with several years of experience at Rally2 level. It’s another huge step up.
If Jürgenson ever has to check himself and wonder how on earth he ended up here, Tänak will be there to remind him. He’s one of them now.
