Robert Virves
Estonian rally driver From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Robert Virves (born 8 July 2000) is an Estonian rally driver.[1] He won the 2022 Junior World Rally Championship.[2] He competes for Toksport WRT in the World Rally Championship.[3]
| |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | Estonian |
| Born | 8 July 2000 Estonia |
| World Rally Championship record | |
| Active years | 2020–present |
| Co-driver | Jakko Viilo Aleks Lesk Sander Pruul Julia Thulin Hugo Magalhães Craig Drew |
| Rallies | 22 |
| Championships | 0 |
| Rally wins | 0 |
| Podiums | 0 |
| Stage wins | 0 |
| Total points | 7 |
| First rally | 2020 Rally Estonia |
Career
Summarize
Perspective
2022
At the Rally Estonia, Virves set a new record with most stage wins in the Junior WRC class in a single rally event. He won 17 stages, one more than Sébastien Ogier at the 2008 Jordan Rally.[4]
After winning the Acropolis Rally Greece, he become the 2022 FIA Junior WRC Champion.[5]
2023
For winning the 2022 JWRC championship he earned six rallies with Ford Fiesta Rally2 car, supported by M-Sport. He also partnered with RedGrey Team to participate in more rallies outside World Rally Championship. His 2023 World Rally Championship season mostly was a failure. Finishing in points only in two rounds out of six with his best result in Estonia, when he finished in sixth place in WRC2 class. He ended the season with two retirements in Finland and Greece and leaving him in 28th place overall in WRC2 class.
2024
Having trouble of finding sponsors, Virves made his first start of the season in Rally Sardegna. He finished both rallies in Sardegna and Poland in eleventh place overall, but in Poland he got his first WRC2 podium finishing in third place. Showing great speed and consistency he also got to drive in Finland. In Finland he was holding third place when his bonnet came up during the stage and lost many places. After that the Estonian rally fans started a campaign to fund Virves driving in Greece.[6] Virves was fighting for the victory in Greece and finished the rally exactly the same time as Sami Pajari. Since Pajari was faster than him in the SS1, Virves was left second.[7] Regardless, he finished the rally in fifth place overall.
2025
In January 2025, it was announced that Virves signed a contract for a full season drive in 2025 WRC with Toksport WRT.[8]
Rally victories
JWRC victories
| # | Event | Season | Co-driver | Car |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  2022 Acropolis Rally |
2022 |  Julia Thulin |
Ford Fiesta Rally3 |
Other notable victories
| # | Event | Season | Co-driver | Car |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Rally Estonia Nationals 2024 |
2024 |  Craig Drew |
Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 |
Results
Summarize
Perspective
WRC summary
WRC results
| Year | Entrant | Car | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | Pos. | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Robert Virves | Ford Fiesta Rally4 | MON | SWE | MEX | EST 30 |
TUR | ITA | MNZ | NC | 0 | |||||||
| 2021 | Autosport Team Estonia | Ford Fiesta Rally4 | MON | FIN | CRO 51 |
POR 33 |
ITA | KEN | EST 34 |
BEL 22 |
GRE | FIN | ESP 30 |
MNZ | NC | 0 | ||
| 2022 | Starter Energy Racing | Ford Fiesta Rally3 | MON | SWE 34 |
CRO 21 |
POR 27 |
ITA | KEN | EST 17 |
FIN | BEL | GRE 19 |
NZL | ESP | JPN | NC | 0 | |
| 2023 | M-Sport Ford WRT | Ford Fiesta Rally2 | MON | SWE 18 |
MEX | CRO | POR Ret |
ITA 17 |
KEN | EST 14 |
FIN Ret |
GRE Ret |
CHL | EUR | JPN | NC | 0 | |
| 2024 | Robert Virves | Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 | MON | SWE | KEN | CRO | POR | ITA 11 |
POL 11 |
LAT | FIN 14 |
GRE 5 |
CHI | EUR | JPN | 19th | 7 | |
| 2025 | Robert Virves | Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 | MON | SWE 32 |
KEN | ESP | POR | ITA | GRE | EST | FIN | PAR | CHL | EUR | JPN | SAU | NC | 0 |
* Season still in progress.
WRC-2 results
| Year | Entrant | Car | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | Pos. | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | M-Sport Ford WRT | Ford Fiesta Rally2 | MON | SWE 9 |
MEX | CRO | POR Ret |
ITA 12 |
KEN | EST 6 |
FIN Ret |
GRE Ret |
CHL | EUR | JPN | 27th | 10 | |
| 2024 | Robert Virves | Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 | MON | SWE | KEN | CRO | POR | ITA 6 |
POL 3 |
LAT | FIN 8 |
GRE 2 |
CHI | EUR | JPN | 10th | 45 | |
| 2025 | Toksport WRT | Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 | MON | SWE | KEN | ESP | POR | ITA | GRE | EST | FIN | PAR | CHL | EUR | JPN | SAU | NC | 0 |
* Season still in progress
WRC-2 Challenger
ERC results
* Season still in progress
JWRC results/WRC-3 Junior
References
External links
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