Leg 3 Suzuki driver P-G Andersson has won the Junior Championship classification on the Catalunya Rally, setting up a thrilling title showdown with his team mate Urmo Aava on the final round in Corsica – which takes place in just one week’s time. Both Suzuki drivers are now tied on 38 points, meaning that it will be a straight fight to the finish. Aava was third in Catalunya, having led the event on the opening day despite mixed weather conditions. He then picked up a puncture on SS8, which cost nearly two minutes, and P-G took the lead. Both of the Suzuki Swift Super 1600s were entirely reliable throughout the 352 competitive kilometres of the rally.

News from P-G Andersson (S):
P-G Andersson (1st in JRC after SS18): “Today I concentrated on making it to the finish safely and keeping the car on the road. I didn’t want any more excitement than we had already! My chances of winning the championship are 50-50 now, so we have to be flat-out in Corsica. Urmo drove very well here: I did not actually expect him to be quite so quick. After he had his puncture on day two I was able to slow down a bit, and concentrate on refining some of my car settings for Corsica. After three days of asphalt driving here in Spain, we should be well-prepared for the challenge of Corsica. I think it will be an epic fight, which is great for the sport!”

News from Urmo Aava (EE):
Urmo Aava (3rd in JRC after SS18): “I started the day more than a minute behind
P-G but just 14 seconds off second place, so I knew that it would be possible to try and capture it. Unfortunately I had a spin on the second stage today that cost me about eight seconds. This made my job much harder for the two stages that remained. The 14-second gap made too risky to push really hard, so I just drove at my own pace to the end. It’s a pity that I had my puncture yesterday as things were looking good, but that’s just part of rallying so there’s no point in thinking much about it. Nothing is lost as now we go to Corsica with an equal chance of winning the championship.”

News from Nobuhiro ‘Monster' Tajima, team principal:
“Congratulations to P-G and Urmo, who have set up a thrilling finale to this year’s Junior Championship! It was a shame that Urmo had his puncture on Saturday, but this is what you risk when you push hard on a complex rally like Catalunya. Corsica could be even more difficult, and any mistake will certainly be even more costly. Both our drivers will be under a lot of pressure, but to triumph they need to finish: I wish them both luck and may the best man win!”

Junior Rally Championship classification after SS18, Catalunya Rally:
1 P-G Andersson (Suzuki Swift S1600) 3h44m24.5s
2 Martin Prokop (Citroen C2 S1600) +33.9s
3 Urmo Aava (Suzuki Swift S1600) +39.9s
4 Josef Beres (Renault Clio S1600) +3m39.4s
5 Conrad Rautenbach (Citroen C2 S1600) +4m59.8s
6 Jaan Molder (Suzuki Swift S1600) +8m59.5s
7 Aaron Burkart (Citroen C2 S1600) +10m39.6s
8 Yoann Bonato (Citroen C2-R2) +12m38.9s

Junior Rally Championship after Catalunya Rally (round 6 of 7):
1 P-G Andersson (Suzuki) 38
2 Urmo Aava (Suzuki) 38
3 Martin Prokop (Citroen) 24
4 Jaan Molder (Suzuki) 20
5 Patrick Sandell (Renault) 19
6 Josef Beres (Renault) 18
7 Aaron Burkart (Citroen) 16
8 Conrad Rautenbach (Citroen) 15

News from P-G Andersson (S):
P-G Andersson (1st in JRC after SS14): "It's been a good day: we're back where we wanted to be now, which is in the lead! However, the others are close enough to take advantage of any problems we might have. I had a really big scare on SS9 today: I misheard a pace note from my co-driver Jonas, and we ended up taking what should have been a second gear corner much too quickly in fourth gear! I pulled the handbrake and the car went up the bank by the side of the road - then luckily it came back down again. It just goes to show that anything can happen and that you have to concentrate all the time on a rally as complex as this one."

News from Urmo Aava (EE):
Urmo Aava (3rd in JRC after SS14): "We were unlucky today: we started off well but then we collected a front-left puncture on SS8 that we were forced to stop and change, which cost us about two minutes. It's disappointing but these things happen in rallying: they are just part of the game. I think the puncture occurred when I cut a corner a bit too sharply - but if you want to go quickly here you have to cut the corners: there's no choice. I'm a minute off second place but as always I'm not going to give up. Tomorrow I will keep on pushing hard to make up places."

News from Nobuhiro ‘Monster' Tajima, team principal:
"Both P-G and Urmo had incidents today that highlighted the risks of this very fast rally. These illustrate the importance of being as careful as possible while keeping a consistent speed. Nonetheless, I am happy that we have two cars on the podium and four in the top eight - and that we have won all the stages apart from three on this rally so far, with no mechanical problems. Tomorrow's stages are nearly as long as today's distance, so we need to make sure that we bring all our cars to the finish."

Junior Rally Championship classification after SS14, Catalunya Rally:
1 P-G Andersson (Suzuki Swift S1600) 2h46m49.6s
2 Martin Prokop (Citroen C2 S1600) +55.5s
3 Urmo Aava (Suzuki Swift S1600) +1m09.6s
4 Josef Beres (Renault Clio S1600) +2m39.0s
5 Conrad Rautenbach (Citroen C2 S1600) +4m59.4s
6 Michal Kosciuszko (Suzuki Swift S1600) +7m35.4s
7 Jaan Molder (Suzuki Swift S1600) +7m39.0s
8 Yoann Bonato (Citroen C2-R2) +9m46.8s

Leg 1: Suzuki drivers Urmo Aava and P-G Andersson have enjoyed a titanic battle throughout the opening leg of the Catalunya Rally, the penultimate round of seven in this year's Junior Championship. Between them, the Suzuki drivers claimed first and second places on every one of the day's six stages, and they are now more than a minute clear of the third-placed competitor. After the first loop of stages P-G Andersson was in the lead, before his team mate went in front over the next loop of stages. At the end of leg one, which was characterised by uncertain weather conditions in the afternoon, Urmo leads P-G by just 10 seconds. Both Suzuki Swifts encountered no mechanical problems throughout the day.

News from Urmo Aava (EE):
Urmo Aava (1st in JRC after SS6): "Today has been a very good day - where we won five out of the six stages - and I've really enjoyed the battle with P-G. During the last loop of stages there were many damp patches after it had rained, and I was forced to run intermediate tyres on the front wheels and slick tyres on the back. That made everything very lively, and I had a bit of a moment on the final stage that slowed me down slightly. I'm very motivated to try and win, so we will keep on pushing tomorrow as I am sure that P-G will attack - but I don't want to take too many risks."

News from P-G Andersson (S):
P-G Andersson (2nd in JRC after SS6): "I had the same tyre situation as Urmo on the final stages, with intermediates on the front and slicks on the rear. It wasn't actually raining when we went through, but there was a lot of spray and we had the windscreen wipers on throughout all of the final stage. Urmo has driven very well today, but it's still extremely close between us and I've got a little bit left in reserve. Tomorrow should be another very exciting battle: I'm looking forward to it!"

News from Nobuhiro 'Monster' Tajima, team principal:
"Our drivers have dominated the action today, but this is now a very delicate situation for them. They are both fighting for the championship in tricky conditions, and any lapse in concentration could be costly. I wish them luck, but I also urge them to be cautious, as there is a long way to go and it would be very easy to make a mistake."

Junior Rally Championship classification after SS6, Catalunya Rally:
1 Urmo Aava (Suzuki Swift S1600) 1h31m06.2s
2 P-G Andersson (Suzuki Swift S1600) +10.1s
3 Martin Prokop (Citroen C2 S1600) +1m14.9s
4 Kalle Pinomaki (Renault Clio R3) +1m47.6s
5 Josef Beres (Renault Clio S1600) +2m34.5s
6 Conrad Rautenbach (Citroen C2 S1600) +3m36.6s
7 Yeray Lemes (Citroen C2 S1600) +3m44.2s
8 Michal Kosciuszko (Suzuki Swift S1600) +4m44.0s