By RaceScene Publisher on Sunday, 23 October 2022
Category: The Checkered Flag

Lauri Joona becomes the 2022 WRC3 champion after victory in Spain

The young flying Finn Lauri Joona was on top over the weekend in RallyRACC Catalunya – Costa Daurada as he clinched the 2022 WRC3 driver’s championship and became the fifth Finn this season to take a title after Kalle Rovanperä and co-driver Jonne Halttunen won the FIA World Rally Championship title for driver and co-driver in New Zealand. Emil Lindholm took the WRC2 Junior title most recently and Enni Mälkönen became the first female in three decades to take a co-driver title in WRC3, however, she´s the co-driver for Sami Pajari.

But the WRC3 title fight was quite a challenge for Joona as the other title contender Czech´s Jan Cerny started the Spanish rally in the lead and had a 2.5 seconds advantage heading to Sunday but later he went down to the second place and was constantly putting Joona under pressure after the Finn passed him. Joona managed to win the rally and the title by just 9 seconds dead.

“It was a big relief we didn’t have to drive that stage, I think we would have had to go through in three wheel drive and we would have lost 20sec. Of course our main target was Junior WRC but when we realised we had a possibility to be world champion in this series, we put our focus here. It was a risk coming to Spain where I do not have too much experience on Tarmac, but it has worked.” Joona said.

Official 2022 WRC3 Driver´s Championship standings

Pos.DriverNat.TeamCarTotal
1.Lauri JoonaFinlandPrintsportFord Fiesta Rally3111
2.Jan CernyCzech RepublicAll RacingFord Fiesta Rally3104
3.Sami PajariFinlandM-Sport PolandFord Fiesta Rally387
4.Zoltan LaszloHungaryTopp-Cars Rally TeamFord Fiesta Rally373
5.William CreightonIrelandMotorsport Ireland Rally AcademyFord Fiesta Rally363
6.McRae KimathiKenyaM-Sport PolandFord Fiesta Rally357
7.Enrico BrazzoliItalyG.B. Motors RacingFord Fiesta Rally348
8.Diego Dominguez Jr.ParaguayM-Sport PolandFord Fiesta Rally340
9.Maxine WahomeKenyaSafaricom PLCFord Fiesta Rally325
10.Jeremy WahomeKenyaSafaricom PLCFord Fiesta Rally318
11.Ivica SiladicCroatiaIK SportFord Fiesta Rally315
12.Henri TimonenFinlandDogbox OyFord Fiesta Rally315
13.Epaminodas KaranikolasGreeceM-Sport PolandFord Fiesta Rally315
14.Toni HerranenFinlandKMS RacingFord Fiesta Rally312
15.Panos IsmailosGreeceTopp-Cars Rally TeamFord Fiesta Rally312
16.Roope KorhonenFinlandRalrent OyFord Fiesta Rally310
17,Hamza AnwarKenyaSafaricom PLCFord Fiesta Rally30
18.Tommi HeinoFinlandKMS RacingFord Fiesta Rally30
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