Three talented drivers ready to make their WRC debuts in identical Ford Fiesta Rally3 cars.
Three talented female rally drivers are poised to compete in a thrilling head-to-head battle this weekend (October 17 - 20) as they vie for the ultimate prize: a full season in the FIA Junior WRC.
The finalists, selected from the Beyond Rally Women's Driver Development Programme, will showcase their skills and resilience on the challenging stages of the Central European Rally (CER), the penultimate round of the FIA World Rally Championship.
Lyssia Baudet (Belgium), Suvi Jyrkiäinen (Finland), and Claire Schönborn (Germany) will each take the wheel of identical M-Sport Ford Fiesta Rally3 cars for over 300km of gruelling Tarmac stages spread across Austria, the Czech Republic and Germany.
Launched earlier this year by WRC Promoter, the Beyond Rally initiative aims to increase female participation in the highest levels of rally sport and offer a pathway for aspiring female drivers.
From an impressive list of applicants, 15 females were selected to take part in a shootout at M-Sport Poland's Krakow headquarters in September, which saw the three finalists selected to go through to the next phase of the competition.
Preparations have been intense but rewarding for the finalists, starting with a pre-event test on Monday (14 October) to fully acclimatise to the Ford Fiesta Rally3 and Pirelli’s asphalt tyres. The conditions were representative of what they will encounter later this week, mirroring the rally's typical weather patterns as the morning session took place on dry, short woodland stages, while the afternoon brought heavy rainfall, allowing the drivers to experience full wet conditions.
Two arduous days of recce followed across each of the three countries, where the finalists would sample the stages for the first time. They would have to call on all their experience gained at the bootcamp last month to create a perfect set of pace notes for the next four days which follow.
Adding to the already tricky rally, a distinguished panel of judges, headed by WRC Promoter’s Senior Director of Sport Peter Thul, will be closely observing the competitors throughout the week. Their difficult task will be to select the driver who demonstrates the potential to take their career to the next level in 2025.
Speaking ahead of the rally, Thul believes that such is the high quality of the candidates, it will be a difficult task for the judges.
“These three incredibly talented drivers are being delivered the ultimate test this weekend,” he stressed. “Central European Rally, logistically, in terms of stages and in terms of weather, is undoubtedly among the most challenging even for our top-level drivers. Therefore, we will not necessarily only be focusing on overall results of the three competitors but their increased performance across the weekend, already beginning with testing and their recce readiness. Sunday’s decision will by no means be a simple one.”
Follow the WRC's social channels for updates as the rally progresses and the winner, selected by the panel, will be unveiled on Sunday evening.
What the drivers said:
Lyssia Baudet (Belgium)
“My primary goal is to finish the rally, so we'll need to find a pace where we're committed while still feeling safe and not taking too many risks. We were able to make adjustments [to the Fiesta] on Monday with the help of the M-Sport engineer, which allowed us to have a car that suits us perfectly and aligns well with my driving style. The main challenge will be finding a good rhythm, avoiding overdriving and mistakes, because there will be many traps.”
Suvi Jyrkiäinen (Finland)
“The roads in all three countries are diverse, very fast and flowing but also many very tight and narrow corners. It will be a challenge for me to adapt to a Tarmac rally but I really like the Fiesta Rally3, it's purely amazing to drive with it. I’m happy with the test we had on Monday and I'm looking forward to the rally, I’m feeling excited!”
Claire Schönborn (Germany)
“I feel really good. Everything has gone according to plan at the recce so far and the test also gave me a great feeling and we worked out a good set-up. I find the car super intuitive to drive and we've done a lot of set-up work. The weather of the test was changing a lot in the day, which is perfect for the rally.
“The rally has a bit of everything: different asphalt surfaces, different grip levels, fast uphill and downhill sections and very technical sections. I'm looking forward to the start and can’t wait to start driving with Jara [Hain, co-driver].”
