Magical Maior takes breakthrough WRC3 victory in Greece

The 26-year-old Romanian, co-driven by his younger sister Francesca and coached by former Junior WRC champion Simone Tempestini, reached the finish line 1min 6sec ahead of Estonia’s Romet Jürgenson, with Belgian Tom Rensonnet trailing more than six minutes behind in third. It marked a perfect podium sweep for M-Sport Poland Ford Fiesta Rally3 cars.

Maior started the final day’s treacherous stages with a comfortable two-minute buffer over Jürgenson, allowing him to manage his pace without taking unnecessary risks. While his lead shrank, it was never truly under threat. Reflecting on the win, Maior credited a mix of skill, luck, and trust in his co-driver.

“It has been an incredible weekend, it was difficult to get here but then everything was perfect, I didn’t expect it.
“It was really rough, maybe the roughest I have seen. I thought Sardinia was a disaster but this was something else,” he added, laughing.

Punctures plagued most of the field, including Maior, though his came at an opportune moment during Saturday’s penultimate stage.

“We had a puncture 5km before the end. I asked Francesca what are we doing and should we stop but she told me: ‘no, no, no, let’s go let’s go,’ and I said: ‘OK I trust you.’ It was the right decision because Romet had the same situation 2km earlier and stopped.”

Maior’s victory catapults him from 14th to fourth in the overall WRC3 standings, now sitting 26 points behind championship leader Diego Dominguez, who opted not to score points in Greece. Jürgenson, meanwhile, climbs from fifth to second, while Australia’s Taylor Gill moves up to third.