Junior WRC
Carlberg takes early lead in Croatia Rally Junior WRC fight
Calle Carlberg headed the FIA Junior WRC field after Friday at Croatia Rally, ending the leg with a 35.7sec advantage after another authoritative display on the asphalt fixture.
The Swede, who arrived in Croatia carrying the momentum of a dream Junior WRC debut victory on the opening round in Sweden, backed that up with five fastest times from Friday’s eight stages to lead Ali Türkkan overnight. Craig Rahill completed the top three, 56.5sec off the lead, after claiming his maiden Junior WRC stage win on only his second start in the category.
Carlberg had already established himself as the benchmark in Sweden, where he converted a commanding run into victory on home snow, and he wasted little time asserting himself again on Croatia’s highly technical roads. He opened the day with back-to-back stage wins on SS1 and SS2 to build an early cushion, before Rahill hit back on the day’s longest test, SS3 Beram - Cerovlje, to slash the gap to just 6.9sec.
Any sense of a momentum swing was short-lived. Carlberg responded immediately with another fastest time on SS4 to complete the morning loop 17.1sec clear, then resumed control after service. Although Türkkan struck on SS5 to move himself into second overall, Carlberg’s response was emphatic. He topped SS6 and SS7 to stretch his lead beyond half a minute before Türkkan nicked the final stage of the day. Even then, Carlberg limited the damage to 2.8sec and reached the overnight halt firmly in charge.
© WRC
It was an especially impressive effort given his own admission earlier in the day that he had not sat in the car since Sweden. That lack of recent mileage showed little in the times, with Carlberg blending pace and composure on roads made especially demanding by changing grip, road pollution and the constant challenge of learning brand-new stages.
Behind him, Türkkan emerged as the closest challenger after building rhythm steadily through the day. The Turkish driver was only fifth after SS2 and sat third at the midday halt, but came alive on the second loop. Fastest times on SS5 and SS8, allied to consistent pace elsewhere, allowed him to pass Rahill and secure second overnight.
Rahill nonetheless produced one of the standout stories of the day. The Irishman had spoken at midday about focusing simply on a clean drive and being pleasantly surprised by how competitive his pace had been. That confidence translated into a breakthrough moment on SS3, where he claimed his first Junior WRC stage win. Although he could not quite hold off Türkkan through the afternoon, he remains well placed in third and still firmly in the fight for the podium.
© WRC
Gil Membrado ended the leg fourth after another mature performance. The Spaniard settled into a good rhythm through the morning without taking excessive risks, then used the afternoon to continue learning the hard compound Hankook tyres after starting the day on softs.
Kerem Kazaz completed the top five after a solid day that included a scare on the morning’s longest stage, where he hit something but escaped without lasting damage. He showed flashes of pace throughout, including a share of second fastest on SS6, and remains close enough to pressure Membrado if the opportunity comes.
Leevi Lassila and Raúl Hernández rounded out the order after both prioritised survival on a leg where that was no small achievement.
Saturday - billed by many drivers as the toughest leg of the rally - brings eight stages and more than 115km competitive kilometres.
Türkkan on top in WRC3
With Carlberg and Rahill not registered to score points in the separate WRC3 category, Türkkan topped the standings by 55.0sec from Membrado with Kazaz a further 4.9sec behind in third.
Defending champion Matteo Fontana had dominated proceedings until SS5, when the Italian beached his car off the road and lost almost 40 minutes.
