Taylor Gill, Romet Jürgenson and Max Smart will continue their rise from virtual novices to future FIA World Rally Championship title contenders with confirmation that they will remain part of the FIA Rally Star talent development programme for the 2025 season.
Having analysed extensive data and considered the recommendations of the FIA Rally Star team of experts, the FIA Rally Star Committee agreed that Gill and Smart will embark on their second seasons in the FIA Junior WRC Championship in 2025.
Jürgenson, who exceeded all expectations by winning the FIA Junior WRC title in 2024 during what was intended as a learning year, will receive FIA Rally Star support to extend his FIA WRC2 prize drive for winning the Junior WRC title from four to six events.
The Estonian will also benefit from the same training and support initiatives provided through the FIA Rally Star programme and will undertake a test ahead of each FIA WRC2 round he contests alongside co-driver Siim Oja.
Jose ‘Abito’ Caparó, who won the FIA Rally Star America Final to secure a place in the FIA Rally Star Training Season in 2023 ahead of being selected for a FIA Junior WRC season in 2024, will no longer be part of the FIA Rally Star programme. Every good wish is extended to the Peruvian and his Spanish co-driver Esther Gutiérrez for their future endeavours.
The adventure continues for talented FIA Rally Star trio
Having progressed through national selection events organised by their respective FIA Member Clubs, Taylor Gill, Romet Jürgenson and Max Smart won their continental finals to earn their places in the FIA Rally Star Training Season in 2023. They were then selected for a season in FIA Junior WRC in 2024 and will continue their FIA Rally Star adventures in 2025.
Estonian Jürgenson won the 2024 FIA Junior WRC title after finishing second in Sweden and Greece and winning in Croatia. Gill who, along with co-driver Daniel Brkic, was a title contender starting the final round in Greece, finished fourth in the final standings with second place in Croatia and victory in Finland the highlights of an impressive campaign from the Australian. South Africa Smart, who placed seventh in the final standings, completed the podium in Sardinia. Co-driven by Cameron Fair, the gravel event marked his seventh rally and took place one year on from his rally debut.
Commenting on the FIA Rally Star Committee’s decision, FIA Deputy President for Sport Robert Reid said: “Since they were selected for the FIA Rally Star programme, Max, Romet and Taylor have not only demonstrated their talent but also their determination and it’s only right they have been rewarded with further opportunities to learn and progress in 2025. At the same time, it’s a further demonstration of the success of FIA Rally Star that young hopefuls with limited experience who came through from grassroots level via selection events organised by FIA Member Clubs are preparing to embark on their second seasons in the FIA World Rally Championship. This will incentivise other aspiring WRC champions to start their motor sport adventures by joining their FIA Member Club and discovering the possibilities that exist. I’d also like to thank Abito and Esther for their contributions to FIA Rally Star and I look forward to seeing how the learnings and experience from this programme help them in their future motor sport journeys.”
FIA Rally Star Project Leader Jérôme Roussel said: “It’s an important milestone to reveal the drivers who will carry the FIA Rally star colours next season. Romet achieved our objective of winning the Junior WRC title one year ahead of schedule so he will step up to Rally2 level with M-Sport. His programme will allow him to develop in a very competitive category, which is the ideal platform for a talented driver to get prepared for the highest level. We’ll select the WRC2 rounds that are most suitable for his development. With his network of partners, Romet will look to compete also on other selected events, which will also be key to his progression, just like it was in 2024. His performance on Saaremaa Rally recently, when he was leading the overall classification before he got a puncture, was incredible and I’m very excited to watch him in action next season.
“Retaining Taylor was an obvious choice. He was in the fight for the Junior WRC title until the last event. I am sure with what he learned this year he will be ready to fight for the title again next season. He will have to raise his level against some very competitive drivers to be even better next year and it will be interesting to see how he can use all his experience from 2024 in 2025.
“Max was also a straightforward choice because he impressed us this year. In his second year of rallying, he was already able to achieve a podium. Sardinia was a very impressive result but, beyond this, on many rallies he was the quickest on some split times, so it shows the speed is there. He knows what he has to work on, and I am sure he will show a higher level next year.
“The choice of Taylor and Max means we are saying goodbye to one of our drivers and I would like to thank Abito for his commitment during the last two seasons. He will be missed because he was always bringing a lot of positive energy and was a very important part of the team. Abito has potential, he has the talent and passion for the sport, and I am sure he can achieve great success in the future. Once you have been part of the FIA Rally Star family, you are part of the family forever and thank you to him and to Esther also. She has been a great professional co-driver for Abito this season and I also wish her the best for the future.”
Romet Jürgenson (24, Estonia) / Co-driver: Siim Oja (EST)
Stands out as the most consistent and fastest FIA Rally Star performer across almost all FIA Junior WRC events he contested in 2024. As well as claiming the title at his first attempt, Jürgensson achieved the highest percentage of fastest splits and the smallest average gap.
Romet Jürgenson: “We were already looking forward to doing four WRC2 events with M-Sport as our prize for winning the Junior WRC title but to get two extra events thanks to the support of FIA Rally Star is really great and I can’t thank the FIA enough. As in 2024, I am trying my best to add some events with my own sponsors, but the overall target is to get the maximum out of the year in terms of experience and developing as a Rally2 driver. It’s a new category for me, new car, new speeds, new events… Everything is different, but I still want to show my potential at some point in the year so it’s not all about gaining experience, but also to show my speed, which is really important for continuing my career.”
Taylor Gill (21, Australia) /Co-driver: Daniel Brkic (AUS)
Completed all stages and challenged for the Junior WRC title on the season-closing EKO Acropolis Rally. His Secto Rally Finland win was the highlight of an impressive campaign for a driver who relocated from his home in Australia to Finland in pursuit of his WRC dream.
Taylor Gill: “It’s mega to be going again for a second year in the FIA Junior WRC. It will be really cool to capitalise on our experience of 2024 and hopefully we can turn that into more good results in 2025. Our goal is to win the championship so all our focus will be towards achieving that. We feel we’ve done our learning year in the championship and gained a lot of knowledge. We’ve made some mistakes but learned from those and also had some good moments that we can benefit from next year. It’s great we’re going back to a few events we know but to also mix that with some brand-new events in Portugal and Central Europe. We’ve put in a lot of work and made a lot of sacrifices to get to this point because this means the world to us. Thank you to the FIA and everyone behind the FIA Rally Star programme who has given us this opportunity. I hope I can do everyone proud next year.”
Max Smart (22, South Africa) Co-driver: Cameron Fair (GBR)
Demonstrated a consistent and progressive level of improvement throughout the season and belied his lack of experience by completing the Junior WRC podium on Rally Italia Sardegna.
Max Smart: “I’m super-happy to have secured my seat for the 2025 FIA Junior WRC Championship with FIA Rally Star. It’s the gift and opportunity of a lifetime. Nobody knows how hard you have to work to keep an opportunity like this as your own and I’m ecstatic to have done just that. All the hard work that I put in last year and this year has paid off and now we have a shot to go into a championship with experience of being there before. After lots of learning this year, I hope to be able to pull everything together and go in for the win. It’s a dream so let’s keep chasing it.”
The 2025 FIA Junior WRC season begins with Rally Sweden from February 13-16. Romet Jürgenson’s FIA WRC2 Championship schedule will be announced in due course.
Source : Fia
