Creighton Kicks Off WRC2 Campaign In Sweden

Reigning FIA Junior World Rally Champion William Creighton kicks off his WRC2 campaign this week as he tackles the high-speed snowy stages of the second round of the FIA World Rally Championship, Rally Sweden [15-18 February].

Creighton will tackle his first competitive event behind the wheel of an M-Sport Ford Fiesta Rally2 as he takes up his prize for winning last year's Junior WRC title. He and co-driver Liam Regan will begin their 2024 season in Sweden, the first of a seven-round World Rally Championship programme, supported by the Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy.

Last weekend [10 February] the pairing was able to head to Lima, to tackle LBC Ruschen as a warm-up for the WRC qualifier, tackling the event as an official opening car to enable them to recce the stages beforehand.

Bedding themselves into the super-fast stages, Creighton was able to acclimatise to the Fiesta on an unfamiliar surface and gain experience of the high snowbanks, lines required and handling characteristics of the Rally2 car on an icy surface.

Over 95 kilometres of special stages were covered during the day, enabling Creighton to grasp a good understanding of what's to come in the week ahead coupled with a pre-event test on Monday [12 February], Creighton feels ready to get stuck into one of the most specialist events in the WRC calendar.

“It's been really good to get some valuable seat time in the Fiesta on a surface that we only get to drive on once or twice a year,” said Creighton.

“Of course, it’s a big leap from the Fiesta Rally3 that we used last year but some things remain relatively similar so the last week or so has been all about finding out how to adapt my driving to the Rally2 Fiesta and see how to get the most out of myself and the car in the snow”.

Starting his WRC2 campaign on an unfamiliar surface carries its challenges, but Creighton secured the Junior WRC win in Sweden in 2023, proving that he is well-versed at adapting to the surroundings. However, going up against some of the fastest drivers in the world in the WRC2 category is a significant leap and his first round of the season will be all about learning for the Irishman.

“There is no doubt that the Fiesta Rally2 is a fantastic car, but Sweden will be all about learning for me. The WRC2 category is amazingly strong as it is but then you add the Scandinavians into the mix who drive on this stuff [snow] day in and day out and it becomes tough to fight for positions. So, in reality we are looking to just have a clean and consistent run over the course of the rally and put everything into practice that we have learnt with the tests. I've no real expectations and I just want to enjoy this one. I have some fantastic support from the Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy and a fantastic car underneath me, so a solid finish is the gameplan this time around.”

Rally Sweden offers around 300 kilometres of competitive action spread across four days. After Shakedown on Thursday [15 February] the opening super special stage kicks off the event, before two full days of high-speed driving provide the bulk of the mileage. Sunday houses just three stages, including the Wolf Power Stage to round out the event.

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