The Junior World Rally Championship was open to drivers under the age of 30—although no such restriction existed for co-drivers—and they were competing in identical one-litre Ford Fiesta R2s built and maintained by M-Sport. Crews who contested the Junior World Rally Championship were also eligible to score points in the World Rally Championship-3. The championship was competed over five selected WRC rounds with the winning crew awarded a new Ford Fiesta R5 car, tyre package, free fuel and a registration to compete in the 2019 World Rally Championship-2.[1][2][3]
The championship started in Sweden for the first time since 2006.[2] The Rally of Poland was removed from the calendar after the event was taken off the World Championship schedule,[5] while the Rallies of Deutschland and Rally Catalunya were also removed from the schedule and replaced by the Rally of Turkey.[4] The changes were made to create a more compact championship with an earlier end date whilst giving drivers experience on a wider range of surface types.[2]
The final round of the championship was worth double points to encourage crews to contest all five events of the championship.[2]Pirelli tyres replaced the DMACK tyres.[11]
Points are awarded to the top ten classified finishers. An additional point is given for every stage win. The best 4 classification results count towards the drivers’ and co-drivers’ totals, but stage points from all 5 rounds can be retained. [12]
Position
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
6th
7th
8th
9th
10th
Points
25
18
15
12
10
8
6
4
2
1
FIA Junior World Rally Championship for Drivers[edit]