Aussies taste milestone JWRC victory at Rally Finland

The Australians were the quickest crew through the fast Finnish stages and took significant points to set up a title-deciding final round.

Gill and Brkic won the category by just 2.1 seconds, but they would have been further ahead had it not been for engine issues and punctures during the weekend.

It was simply a rollercoaster weekend that had the Aussies going up and down the leaderboard.

After leading midway through Friday, the Aussies developed an engine issue and got a puncture, which dropped them down to sixth at the first overnight halt.

Then, after a blistering time on the opening stage of Saturday, another puncture dropped them to eighth.

They persevered, though, and were rewarded with the category lead with just a day to spare.

From there, it was a case of holding onto their slim lead to lock in the win and the all-important championship points.

Gill’s main championship rival, Romet Jurgenson, went off the road on Friday and failed to finish high up the leaderboard, while fellow rival, Paraguayan Diego Dominguez Jr, could only manage sixth.

The historic win means Gill and Brkic are the first Australians to win in the Junior World Rally Championship, and it puts them into second in the championship standings with just one round to go.

The final round of the Junior World Rally Championship takes place at the Acropolis Rally in Greece, where competitors will fight for double points in what’s poised to be a winner-takes-all battle.

Gill and Brkic begin their preparations for the Acropolis Rally immediately, with the rally taking place in five weeks’ time.