The 26-year-old from Romania stepped up to the FIA Junior WRC Championship for 2024 after winning the ERC equivalent in 2023, with his reward a fully-funded Junior WRC season in a Pirelli-equipped Ford Fiesta Rally3 run by M-Sport Poland.
Having netted a third and a fifth-place finish so far, Maior starts EKO Acropolis Rally tomorrow (Thursday) in seventh position in the provisional standings as one of an incredible 11 drivers still in contention for the coveted FIA world title and accompanying WRC2 prize drive in 2025.
Maior is making his Acropolis debut on the back of a class victory on Raliul Iașului in his homeland last weekend alongside his co-driving sister Francesca.
“We’re really happy with our pace in Iași, finishing third overall and P3 on the Powerstage – a great result for us and our little Fiesta Rally3 Evo. But most importantly, all the kilometres we covered on gravel will be a huge help for EKO Acropolis Rally,” Maior said. “It was really tough getting to this point after our crash in Finland. We almost lost hope, but here we are, we couldn't be more happy about this opportunity.”
Maciej Woda, the FIA Junior WRC Championship manager, said: “This promises to be one of the most thrilling Junior WRC finales in history, with so many drivers still in the hunt for the title. The unforgiving Greek stages demand patience and mechanical sympathy; as past years have shown, it's not always the fastest driver who prevails. I want to wish the best of luck to all the competitors – may the best crew win.”
EKO Acropolis Rally runs from 5 - 8 September. Meanwhile, Mille Johansson from Sweden will follow in Maior’s wheel tracks after clinching the Junior ERC title on JDS Machinery Rali Ceredigion last weekend to secure the 2025 Junior WRC prize drive.
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