The WRC3 category is bolstered at the 58th Vodafone Rally of Portugal by the inclusion of the FIA Junior WRC for the first time since 2022. Eighteen WRC3-registered drivers grace the entry list with nine of the dozen Juniors also eligible to score points.
Frenchman Arthur Pelamorgues and his co-driver Bastien Pouget will take the start in Coimbre on Thursday evening with an eight-point lead in the championship after four rounds in Monaco, Sweden, Kenya and Spain. The Renault Clio driver earned maximum points on his home opener in the south of France and collected points for second place on the new event in Gran Canaria recently.
His closest challenger Matteo Fontana (Ford) picked up a pair of second places in Monte-Carlo and Sweden but is not present in Portugal. His absence opens the door for the French duo of Ghjuvanni Rossi (Ford) and Mattéo Chattillon (Renault) to try and close the gap on their fellow countryman in the points’ standings.
Chattilon was last year’s WRC3 runner-up and earned victory at the last round in Gran Canaria after early pace-setter Pelamourgues hit a rock, had to change a tyre and slipped to second.
FIA Junior WRC leader Mille Johansson is not registered for WRC3 and Australia’’s Taylor Gill is the leading Junior in WRC3 after claiming maximum points in Sweden.
Renaults and Fords dominate the field with seventh-placed Takumi Matsushita also wheeling out a Clio, alongside Frenchman Tom Pellerey and Japan’s Shotaro Goto.
The international appeal of the WRC3 series is boosted by the Ford trio of Bolivian teenager Nataniel Bruun, Uruguay’s Federico Ensslin and Perù’s André Martinez.
FIA Junior WRC entrants like the Turkish duo of Ali Türkkan and Kerem Kazaz, last year’s Portugal WRC3 winner and defending champion Diego Dominquez and Jordanian debutant Shaker Jweihan further bolster the field.
FIA WRC3 – standings after round 4:
1. Arthur Pelamourgues (FRA) 42pts
2. Matteo Fontana (ITA) 34pts
3. Ghjuvnni Rossi (FRA) 30pts
4. Mattéo Chattillon FRA) 29pts
5. Taylor Gill (AUS) 25pts
5. Nikhil Sachania (KEN) 25pts
7. Takumi Matsushita (JPN) 24pts
8. Ali Türkkan (TUR) 15pts
9. Diego Dominguez (PAR) 12pts
10. Shotaro Goto (JPN) 10pts (tie)
10. Yanis Desangles (FRA) 10pts (tie)
10. Kerem Kazaz (TUR) 10pts, etc. (tie)