Former WRC factory driver Armin Schwarz is behind a scheme to unearth the brightest young rally talent in his native Germany.
He had planned to run the single-make Ford Fiesta series for the first time this season, with the winner bagging a prize drive in the 2021 FIA Junior WRC.
The Coronavirus pandemic has forced Schwarz, who started 119 WRC rounds in a long career which included works drives with Toyota, Mitsubishi, Ford, Skoda and Hyundai, into a rethink. The green light for his Fiesta competition will now come at the start of next season.
The Junior WRC champion drives away with a new Fiesta R5, along with a tyre and fuel package for the following season’s WRC 3 championship. So success in Schwarz’s series could be the first step in an exceptional boost to their career.
“I have been working with Malcolm [M-Sport managing director Wilson] to create the M-Sport Junior Rally Trophy Germany. We were ready to go with this for this season, but Coronavirus was just coming,” said Schwarz.
“We held off and now we have decided to go next year – but we are ready to push the button tomorrow if we need to.”
The Trophy will include three rounds of the German championship and three smaller events. The winner will receive guidance and training on the Junior WRC rounds in which they will compete the following season.
“It’s really important to make some positive news right now,” said Schwarz, “and this is something really positive for Germany.
“The Junior WRC is a great place to compete and we all know the incredible pyramid Malcolm has in place at M-Sport, where you can drive the cars from Rally5 all the way up to what we know as the World Rally Car.
“What we want to do is create a two or three-year programme to take the driver forwards and the sim work to help them into the Junior WRC is also really important.
“It can be difficult for a driver going to a foreign event for the first time, so anything we can do to help them learn the landscape is good,” he added. ไพ่สลาฟ
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