Nationality | EST |
Date of birth | 18.08.1987 |
Birthplace | Elva, Estonia |
Driver | Ott Tänak |
First WRC rally | 2010, Jordan Rally |
First WRC stage win | 2017, Rallye Monte-Carlo SS3 |
WRC stage wins | 334 |
First WRC podium | 2017, Rallye Monte-Carlo |
WRC podiums | 48 |
First WRC win | 2017, Rally d'Italia Sardegna |
WRC wins | 21 |
First WRC Wolf Power Stage win | 2017, Rally de Portugal |
WRC Wolf Power Stage wins | 20 |
WRC titles | 1 (2019) |
Previous teams | M-Sport Ford, Toyota |
Martin Järveoja
One of the most successful co-drivers currently competing in the WRC. Järveoja won the 2019 world title with Ott Tänak and co-drives for the Estonian at Hyundai Motorsport.
Prior to beginning his co-driving career, Järveoja was a championship-winning judo player. He switched to rallying in 2006 and tackled a selection of Estonian regional and national championship events alongside a variety of drivers in the following two seasons.
One of those was fellow Estonian Karl Kruuda, and in 2008 the pair began a long and fruitful partnership that took them to Junior WRC and IRC level in 2010, to WRC S2000 events in 2011 and 2012 and WRC2 in 2013.
In 2014, he and Kruuda finished fifth in WRC2 after wins in Finland and Sweden. The pair managed only a handful of WRC2 appearances in 2015 and 2016 and results were largely disappointing.
In 2017, a new opportunity with Estonia's highest-profile WRC driver, Ott Tänak, propelled Järveoja straight to the top level, as team-mates to world champions Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia at the M-Sport World Rally Team. It proved to be a breakthrough year. Järveoja and Tänak claimed two rally wins and seven podiums and were duly snapped up by Toyota for 2018. Four victories gave them a chance to win the title, but their challenge faded during the final rallies of the season.
There were no such mistakes in 2019. Six wins from 13 rounds sealed the title before the duo left Toyota to join arch-rivals Hyundai Motorsport for 2020.
After crashing out of the season-opening Rallye Monte-Carlo in dramatic style, they lost the crown to Sébastien Ogier. Their 2021 title hopes were dented by a series of car troubles and they finished a lowly fifth in the championship, while in 2022 they finished a distant second behind Kalle Rovanperä.
Järveoja and Tänak returned to M-Sport Ford for 2023 but, despite taking wins in Sweden and Chile, mechanical gremlins plagued the pair. They returned to Hyundai Motorsport in 2024 alongside full-time teammates Thierry Neville and Martijn Wydaeghe.