Late entry surge predicted for J-WRC

Organisers of the 2010 Junior World Rally Championship are expecting this year's 10th anniversary competition to feature as many as 15 entrants by the time of the first event, April's Rally of Turkey.

Marc de Jong, the man responsible for the commercial development of WRC support championships, believes an increase in the number cars eligible for the series and a new cost-effective calendar make the J-WRC especially appealing to drivers who fit the under-28 age criteria.

The FIA has already confirmed four entries for this year's J-WRC after the first entry deadline passed last week. De Jong, however, felt that number could more than triple by the time the opening round gets underway.

In the first of three articles about the FIA's trio of WRC support championships - the J-WRC, P-WRC and S-WRC - wrc.com spoke to de Jong about how the Junior series was shaping up.

What is the appeal of the J-WRC?
"The J-WRC has been a significant step in the career of many young drivers. Look around in the WRC and you will find people who've spent time in the J-WRC honing their skills. When [2005 J-WRC champion] Dani Sordo made the step up to the WRC he said fighting in the Juniors had prepared him for the pressure and work ethic of the WRC. The J-WRC is all about getting experience for the top level."

And how much does it cost a driver to participate?
"The J-WRC is the cheapest of the three FIA support series and for 2010 we've concentrated on lowering the costs even more. We recognise that at the moment it's financially extremely difficult for young drivers to raise funds, so over the last two years a number of new rules have been introduced to make the J-WRC significantly cheaper. Firstly we've introduced Group R cars, which are cheaper to buy, and now manufacturers like Ford, Renault, Abarth and Peugeot have each homologated Group R models offering good performance for a very reasonable price. The rookie trophy for drivers of R2 cars is an extra incentive.

Secondly, the calendar of events this year has been designed to save money. Entrants in the Junior Championship need to choose five rallies from a list of six, none of which are particularly rough or expensive to get to. The series is mainly comprised of asphalt events but the two gravel rounds in Turkey and Portugal are quite smooth as gravel events go."

So far the FIA has announced four entries for this year's series. What's the final deadline for entries?
"The entry deadline for all the FIA WRC support championships was 4 January, but there is a provision that says late entries can be accepted. With the first round of the Junior Championship not until April, it makes sense that entries will be accepted pretty much right up until the start of the first rally - Turkey."

How many additional entries are you expecting?
"I'm aware of five other solid entries which are imminent. In addition to these we're talking to a dozen or so drivers who are working to get their budgets together. I think that by the time Turkey comes around we will have 12 maybe 15 in the championship."

How does that compare with entries of previous years?
"Last year we started with 10 cars, while the average over the last eight years is closer to 18. Given the current economic environment these sorts of numbers are understandable."