The 2017 FIA Junior WRC Championship was the fifth season of Junior WRC, a rallying championship governed by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, running in support of the World Rally Championship.
The championship was open to drivers born after 1 January 1988, although no such restriction existed for co-drivers. They competed in identical one-litre Ford Fiesta R2s built and maintained by M-Sport, with DMACK tyres. Crews were also eligible to score points in WRC3. The championship was competed over six European WRC rounds.[1] Nil Solans was crowned champion at the end of the season.[2]
The final 2017 Junior WRC Championship calendar consisted of six European events, taken from the 2017 World Rally Championship.[3]
| Round | Dates | Rally name | Rally headquarters | Rally details | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Start | Finish | Surface | Stages | Distance | ||||
| 1 | 7 April | 9 April | Bastia, Haute-Corse | Tarmac | 10 | 316.76 km | ||
| 2 | 9 June | 11 June |  Rally Italia Sardegna | Alghero, Sardinia | Gravel | 19 | 312.66 km | |
| 3 | 30 June | 2 July |  Rally Poland | Gravel | 23 | 318.47 km | ||
| 4 | 28 July | 30 July |  Rally Finland | Jyväskylä, Keski-Suomi | Gravel | 25 | 314.20 km | |
| 5 | Tarmac | 21 | 309.17 km | |||||
| 6 | 6 October | 8 October | Salou, Tarragona | 19 | 312.02 km | |||
| Source: | ||||||||
The following crews competed in the championship.
| Rounds | ||
|---|---|---|
 Sebastian Careaga |  Claudio Bustos | 1 |
| Rodrigo Sanjuan | 2–3 | |
 Nicolas Ciamin | 1–6 | |
| Robert Duggan | Gerard Conway | 1 |
 Tom Woodburn | 2 | |
| Terry Folb | Christopher Guieu | 1–6 |
| Emil Lindholm | Tomi Tuominen | 3–4 |
 Martin Valter | 1–2 | |
 Dennis Rådström | Johan Johansson | 1–4, 6 |
| Nil Solans | Miquel Ibáñez | 1–6 |
| Julius Tannert |  Jürgen Heigl | 1–6 |
 William Wagner | Kévin Parent | 1 |
 Dillon van Way | Dai Roberts | 1–4 |
| Source:[4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] | ||
The series will change from using Citroën DS3 R3Ts with Michelin tyres, to use Ford Fiesta R2 prepared by M-Sport with DMACK tyres.[1]
The championship will also adopt the prize format of the Drive DMACK Fiesta Trophy in which the season will be divided into "stages" and a prize awarded to the top-placed driver in each stage (contrary to the previous Junior WRC Championship, in which there was only one prize). The driver with most points after the first two rallies will be awarded two drives in the 2018 WRC2 in a Ford Fiesta R5. The driver with most points scored in the second pair of rallies will win an equal prize, as will the top-placed driver in the third pair of rallies. Additionally, an extra prize drive will be awarded to the overall winner of the category.[1]
The season started with the Tour de Corse where Nil Solans won the event from start to finish. After building a lead of more than 40 seconds in the first Leg, he managed he was chased by local Terry Folb, until a driveshaft problem made him lost his second place to fellow Frenchman Nicolas Ciamin.[10]
| Round | Event name | Winning driver | Winning co-driver | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tour de Corse | 3:53:44.4 | Report | ||
| 2 | Rally Italia Sardegna | 4:00:07.8 | Report | ||
| 3 | Rally Poland | Nil Solans | Miquel Ibáñez | 3:17:47.0 | Report |
| 4 | Rally Finland | 2:57:23.4 | Report | ||
| 5 | Rallye Deutschland | Julius Tannert | Jürgen Heigl | 3:30:54.4 | Report |
| 6 | Nil Solans | Miquel Ibáñez | 3:29:02.3 | Report | |
Points are awarded to the top ten classified finishers. An additional point is given for every stage win. The best 5 classification results count towards the drivers’ and co-drivers’ totals, but stage points from all 6 rounds can be retained. [11]
| Position | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9th | 10th | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Points | 25 | 18 | 15 | 12 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 1 |
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