JWRC Champion Tom Kristensson is on his way to WRC

Det råder rallyfeber i Sverige trots att Rally Sweden ersatts med WRC Arctic Rally Finland. Oliver Solberg debuterar som fabriksförare i WRC, multiföraren Mattias Ekström gör rallycomeback i WRC3, och i den klassen får han även konkurrens av rallycrossvärldsmästaren Johan Kristoffersson när VM-rallyt inleds på fredagen i Rovaniemi. 

Missing from the starting field though is JWRC champion Tom Kristensson from Hörby, however if everything goes as planned the Swede will be found on the starting line when WRC Croatia starts on the 22nd of April.

- It's like a hundred-piece puzzle where 95 of them are in the right place, says 29-year old Tom Kristensson happily.

It's no secret he has decided to take the step up to WRC from JWRC which he won by a fair margin last year and just missed out on the win in 2019.

- I am working hard to make this work, it's basically a full time job to make everything come together, but I have an understanding employer who gives me these opportunities, Tom says.

As a winner of JWRC 2020 he has a WRC2-car at his disposal, five WRC entry-fees free of charge and 200 tires. A good basis for a step up to the 4WD category of WRC. Negotiations are in the final stages.

At the end of january David Arhusiander from Östersund was announced as co-driver for Tom's 2021 season. David has read pacenotes in both the Swedish and German rally championship. Tom has also built a network of knowledgeable and experienced individuals to get the best possible conditions for his competing.

Even though car, tires and entry-fees are done, there are still a lot of other expenses that need to be covered. An estimated four million SEK is required for a full WRC2 season of seven race entries, one of which has to be outside of Europe. Six of these results will make up the points in the final table.

- An advantage in our work of finding partners is that a lot of the races are driven in important export countries for Sweden as well as the great coverage of WRC done by SVT. Around 900 000 viewers tune in every broadcast, Tom Kristensson explains.

Before the middle of March a final decision about Tom Kristensson's participation in WRC 2021 will be announced.

Picture: Back in December Tom Kristensson, SMK Hörby, won the JWRC championship of 2020.

Tom Kristensson can be reached at +4673 330 35 70