Maior siblings win FIA Junior ERC title in Hankook’s first season

Norbert Maior at Nyiregyhaza, Hungary (Photo: @World / Red Bull Content Pool)

Hankook concluded its first FIA Junior European Rally Championship (JERC) season at Rally Hungary at the start of October. After success on the final special stage, Romanian siblings Norbert and Frencesca Maior secured both their first win of the season and the European rally championship for juniors. The JERC has been an important pillar in developing younger rally drivers. Four different manufacturers from the Rally4 class feature in the championship, supplying production-based, front-wheel drive cars generating roughly 210 hp. All cars start on Hankook tyres.

In the 2023 season, the JERC visited six different countries, with several different winners demonstrating the championship’s strength. Norway’s Ola Nore Junior started the season strongly, winning rallies in Poland and Latvia. In Sweden, local favourite Isak Reiersen won, while Roberto Daprá also won his home event in Italy. Germany’s Timo Schulz dominated in the Czech Republic. Coming into the finale in Hungary, Maior topped the overall standings with 106 points, only four points ahead of second-placed Daprá. Nore Junior was also poised to pounce, just twelve points behind the leader. In the end, the Maior siblings won the rally and the championship by a mere 7.1 seconds.

Hankook was the exclusive tyre partner of JERC for the first time in 2023, as the series embarked on a new chapter. Hankook supplied the competitors with the Hankook Ventus Z215 (asphalt) and the Hankook Dynapro R211 (gravel) for the two different surfaces; both tyres performed strongly in diverse conditions.

Manfred Sandbichler, Hankook motorsport director Europe, said: “Congratulations to the worthy winners, who once again showed their strength at the finale in Hungary. However, I would also like to thank all the other competitors and the organisers of this year’s FIA Junior ERC. They showed the quality of young rally crews in Europe. We at Hankook are delighted that the drivers consistently benefitted from the high performance of our premium tyres on such a wide range of surfaces. The trust in this quality is hugely important for all drivers, but particularly the youngsters, and that will continue to be the case in the coming season.”

Norbert Maior in Rome, Italy on July 28, 2023 (Photo: @World / Red Bull Content Pool)