| Junior WRC Champion Mille Johansson set for WRC2 campaign in 2026 |
Swedish rally talent Mille Johansson, 20, and co-driver Johan Grönvall secured the 2025 FIA Junior WRC title after a dramatic and hard-fought season, decided in an epic finale at the Central European Rally. Following the championship triumph, the Swedish duo will take the next major step in their careers by contesting the WRC2 Championship in 2026.
Following a highly successful junior career, Mille Johansson and Johan Grönvall will step up to full-time Rally2 competition in 2026, entering the FIA WRC2 Championship. As the prize for winning the FIA Junior WRC, the Swedish duo will join M-Sport Ford World Rally Team, with additional support from tire supplier Hankook.
The prize programme will begin at their home event, Rally Sweden in Umeå (12–15 February), followed by tarmac in Croatia and gravel rallies in Portugal and Finland. In addition to the four-event prize campaign, plans are in place to contest a further four WRC2 rounds, to be announced at a later date, along with selected events in the FIA European Rally Championship and potential additional Rally2 outings.
Preparations for the 2026 season are already well underway, with Mille and Johan completing reconnaissance for Rallye Monte-Carlo and becoming further integrated with the team during the event. Testing and additional preparations for Rally Sweden — an event Mille won in the Junior WRC in 2024 — will take place in the coming days.
Mille Johansson, driver, says:
”I’m incredibly excited to step up to WRC2 – it’s a very big step in the right direction for my career. Now we have to work extremely hard to deliver results against the best drivers in the world, and that gives me a lot of motivation and determination.”
”Expectations will naturally vary from event to event. At some rallies I want to make a real impact, while others will be more about gaining mileage and building experience with both the car and myself.”
”M-Sport is a very professional team, and it’s exciting to start working with them. We’ve just spent four days at the team’s base in the UK, where we also completed our first tests in the car, and the feeling was very positive.”
Johan Grönvall, co-driver, says:
“I’m really looking forward to a season in WRC2. It feels like the right time for us to take another step forward in our careers, and I’m grateful that we had the opportunity to gain valuable experience in a Rally2 car during 2025. Having that knowledge already gives me a clearer understanding of the work and preparation required at this level. Now I’m just hoping the time flies until we can get back in the car.”
Richard Millener, Team Principal of M-Sport World Rally Team, says:
“Welcoming the winner of the JWRC into the M-Sport team each year is always a very exciting time. It is a pleasure to see the guys rewarded with the next step in their career, thanks to the great prize offered by the championship. Although I am still getting to know Mille, my initial remarks are that he is super focused and looking to perform strongly in Sweden – I have no doubt this can be a realistic goal. There are no expectations from our side, we just want to provide him with the right tools and use the event to integrate him into the team so that we can get the best result possible. I am looking forward to watching his progress, not just in Sweden but over the course of the year”
Alain Penasse, Manager of Mille Johansson, says:
“Almasport has followed Mille closely after his brilliant victory in JWRC Sweden 2024. His successes and amazing progress throughout the last two years showed us his extreme potential. The surprising stage times in ERC Croatia and his outstanding last stage in WRC Germany, where Mille and Johan claimed the Junior World title, convinced me to help Mille to bring his career to a next chapter. We have no doubt that Mille will bring us huge emotions and beautiful trophies in the near future”
The road to the Junior WRC title
In 2025, Mille and Johan competed in the Junior WRC with a Ford Fiesta Rally3 run by M-Sport Poland, after claiming the Junior ERC title in 2024. While simultaneously gaining experience at the highest level of European rallying in both the FIA European Rally Championship and the Italian Gravel Championship with Italian team MS Munaretto, driving a Škoda Fabia Rally2. Across the season, the duo regularly fought for stage wins and podium positions outright.
The Junior WRC campaign showcased Johansson and Grönvall’s raw speed and consistency. They claimed more stage wins than any other crew in the championship and entered the Central European Rally finale firmly in contention for the title.
Ahead of the decisive final stage, Mille trailed championship rival Taylor Gill by seven seconds. Delivering a flawless and committed drive when it mattered most, Johansson set the fastest time on the final stage — 8.6 seconds quicker than Gill — securing both the rally victory and the Junior WRC crown in one of the closest finishes in recent championship history.
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