Romet Jürgenson delivered his most impressive WRC2 performance to date with a mature and calculated run to fifth overall in the ultra-competitive WRC2 category at Rally Italia Sardegna—his best result of the season so far. Alongside co-driver Siim Oja, the Estonian pairing steered clear of the chaos on Sardegna’s notoriously punishing gravel stages to secure a top-five finish among a stacked line-up of 43 Rally2 entries.

The result came despite a series of setbacks, beginning with a power steering issue on Friday that dropped the duo from fifth in WRC2 (third in WRC2 Challenger) down to 11th overall. Then, on the penultimate stage, Jürgenson was forced to drive the final 10 kilometres without third gear—a mechanical issue that made a gearbox change unavoidable. The M-Sport team impressively completed the swap in just 17 minutes, but the crew exceeded the allotted service time by two minutes, resulting in a 20-second penalty. Unfazed, Jürgenson clawed his way back up the leaderboard across the weekend, narrowly missing out on fourth place by just 8.2 seconds.

“In general, the weekend was really positive,” said Jürgenson. “Compared to Portugal, we stepped up quite a bit and were consistently faster. Sardinia has a very unique driving style—you have to be straight and accurate because there are rocks everywhere. It’s not like driving in Estonia at all. But we adapted, stayed clean, and I’m proud of that.”

Key to the duo’s performance was staying out of trouble in conditions that caught out many more experienced competitors. While others rolled or retired, Jürgenson and Oja kept their Ford Fiesta Rally2 steady through Friday’s carnage, notably delivering strong times on stages 2 and 5, which were among the rally’s trickiest.

Sunday’s performance was another highlight, despite losing third gear late in the day. The Estonian pairing showed impressive composure in managing both the technical issues and the searing heat, while also navigating demanding tyre strategy choices and rough terrain.

“We had to manage a lot: heat, tyres, car wear,” he explained. “No punctures all rally shows the Hankook tyres held up well, and we didn’t take unnecessary risks. Where we did have issues, the team responded swiftly—after the gearbox problem, they managed to change it in under 17 minutes during service. That was an unbelievable effort and key to keeping us in the fight!”

A defining factor of Rally Italia Sardegna was the addition of many new stages, neutralising the advantage more experienced crews may have had and forcing everyone to rely solely on pace notes. This allowed Jürgenson and Oja to close the gap to the frontrunners. “The big difference was that many of the stages were new and everybody had to drive by pace notes, which made it more equal,” said Jürgenson. “We could actually show some really decent speed.”

Reflecting on the progress made, Jürgenson acknowledged the impact of growing experience and familiarity with the car and surroundings. “There was so much more confidence going into Sardinia,” he said. “I told the team before the rally I felt better already—just knowing the roads a bit and having more seat time is incredibly helpful. We’re getting to the point in the season where I can really rely on that experience, and it’s helping.”

FIA Rally Star Project Leader Jérôme Roussel praised the result as a strong indicator of Jürgenson’s upward trajectory. “Unlike Portugal or Canarias, where the conditions were new to them, Sardinia was a rally where we knew Romet and Siim had a solid foundation. It’s where we first gathered the Rally Star drivers for their training in 2023, including a recce of the WRC event, and they’d already shown their speed here in Junior WRC last year, so we believed the building blocks were in place for a solid result, and this weekend they all came together.

Romet and Siim demonstrated that they can combine all the skills needed at the highest level, and we can only be proud of this. Their ability to manage the rally from start to finish, balancing pace with control and showing resilience through setbacks, was a sign of true maturity. To fight back from 11th to 5th in such a competitive WRC2 field was an exceptional achievement.”

The rally’s outcome has bolstered Jürgenson’s belief heading into his home event, Rally Estonia. “The main thing I take away is that I now know I can fight with the top guys if everything clicks,” he said. “That belief is important. And now, going home to Estonia, I want to build on that and show what we can do.”

To know more about the FIA Rally Star programme, visit https://www.fia.com/fia-rally-star and follow @FIARallyStar on social media.