Hamza Anwar chasing Junior, WRC3 points in Italy

Fast Rising Kenyan rally driver Hamza Anwar is in Italy where he takes on the World Rally Championship (WRC) Junior crews in the series’ opening gravel round.

The Africa junior rally champion is the only African representative competing at this year's WRC junior category. He made his debut in Europe when he tackled his first eve snow rally in Sweden in January.

Italy’s leg of the WRC is slated for 1 to 4 June and marks the FIA WRC debut of M-Sport Poland's recently unveiled Ford Fiesta Rally3 Evo.

All eight Junior WRC crews will get their first taste of the upgraded car, which has received several tweaks including a new-look front bumper, a new rear wing plus updated suspension damper specification.

Hamza, who made his WRC debut at Safari Rally in 2021, steering a Fiesta Rally3 to finish second in class but retired in the 2022 race won by Maxine Wahome with Jeremy Wahome coming in second while McRae Kimathi completed a Kenyan podium in the WRC3 category, is happy to be racing on a familiar surface in Italy.

This year’s Junior WRC calendar comprises five challenging rallies on a mixture of surfaces. It got underway on the snow and ice of Rally Sweden, where Hamza placed fifth, before heading to Croatia home to some blisteringly-quick asphalt roads the Kenyan missing a podium finish by a spot.

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Grueling gravel tests in Italy, Estonia and Greece round out the season, with the bonus incentive of double points on offer at the final round.

“I’m very proud to see another step forward for Junior WRC and M-Sport Poland this weekend with the introduction of the Fiesta Rally3 Evo,” said FIA Junior WRC championship manager Maciej Woda. “It’s a result of close to two years of continuous improvement and development by the talented team back at M-Sport Poland’s headquarters in Krakow. I think bringing the updated cars to the Junior WRC field mid-season underlines our commitment to ensuring the very best Rally3 cars are available to all Junior WRC competitors.”

Despite crashing last time out in Croatia, William Creighton starts the rally carrying a 21-point advantage over French rival Laurent Pellier. The Irishman, who is co-driven by Liam Regan, believes a "clever" approach will be integral to success on the rock-strewn gravel roads.

Diego Dominguez is the only FIA Junior WRC entrant with previous knowledge of the roads. Having retired from the WRC3 category lead on the final day in 2022, the Paraguayan youngster is determined to make a triumphant comeback.

Tom Rensonnet and Roberto Blach will be eager to build on their Croatia Rally podiums, as will Eamonn Kelly, who poached his maiden victory in the closing stages of the asphalt fixture. Raúl Hernández and Anwar complete the entry.

Additional reporting by WRC