Leader Creighton bids to tighten Junior WRC stronghold

Creighton, who is co-driven by Liam Regan, starts the fast-paced gravel road fixture carrying a 32-point lead over closest championship challenger Diego Dominguez. And although the Irishman could mathematically seal the deal this week, it’s most likely that EKO Acropolis Rally Greece - where double points are up for grabs - will be the decider.

Experience is on the side of 25-year-old Creighton, who has contested Rally Estonia twice previously. Dominguez and third-placed Laurent Pellier, on the other hand, are starting the Baltic fixture for the first time.

“We could win the championship - maybe if nobody else finishes the rally,” he said. “We are still taking it rally by rally and just aiming to get as many points as we can. Diego and Laurent are the guys to look out for right now, so for me it’s a case of decide your strategy for the rally as it goes on and where your championship rivals are.

“To have a bit of a points gap is nice, but there’s a long way to go and a lot of points up for grabs.”

Seven of the eight M-Sport Poland Ford Fiesta Rally3 entrants remain in mathematical contention for the title, the anomaly being Luxembourg’s Grégoire Munster. He is simply out to gain valuable seat time to bolster his WRC2 campaign with M-Sport Ford.

Roberto Blach, Tom Rensonnet and Eamonn Kelly are all Estonia debutants, as is Hamza Anwar, who has called on experienced co-driver Alex Kihurani for the four-day fixture.