Creighton claims solid WRC Sweden performance on M-Sport WRC2 debut

Creighton would kick off his 2024 WRC2 assault at the specialised snow-covered event, his prize for winnings last year's FIA Junior World Rally Championship title and would get behind the wheel of an M-Sport Ford Fiesta Rally2 in his first competitive outing in the car.

The Moira driver and co-driver Liam Regan would compete against an abundance of experienced Scandinavian drivers who were much more familiar with the specialised surface, but would hold their own, to come away with a confidence-boosting finish and a string of impressive stage times on their first WRC event of the season.

“I’m delighted to get to the end of this one,” said an elated Creighton at the finish.

“It's always a joy to drive in these conditions [snow events] and this experience has been no different. It’s another level but I can be really pleased with our performance during the weekend considering the calibre of the drivers we were up against. It’s a good start to our season.”

The Swedish stages were blessed with almost perfect conditions during rally week, offering large qualities of falling snow and coupled with overnight temperatures down to around minus eleven degrees centigrade, it was a picture postcard event for the crews.

A pre-event test at LBC Ruschen the week before bedded Creighton in nicely to his new surroundings as he got used to the Fiesta Rally2 for the first time. But all eyes were on a positive start to his WRC2 campaign in Sweden and whilst bidding for a top result was off the cards this weekend, it would be important to gain experience and build his pace gradually as the rally progressed.

Running mid-way down the order would mean that conditions on the stages would be changeable and the opening stage of the rally would allow Creighton to find his feet, as the Super Special took place in darkness through the event’s Red Barn Arena. A safe run allowed him to focus on Friday’s first full day.

With conditions catching out even the best drivers in the world, Creighton elected to play the long game and he would find himself inside the top 12, before two punctures on the longest stage of the day, dropped him down the order.

Saturday continued to provide challenging conditions for the crews, with the thick and often solid snowbanks ready to swallow any car that strayed just a few inches offline. Precision was key throughout the day, and Creighton would admit to struggling to find a rhythm.

A spin in the morning and a stall at a junction in the afternoon were an indication of the tricky stages, but he would profess to be “much happier” with his driving. His feeling in the car during the afternoon was reflected on the time sheets too, setting a handful of top 10 WRC2 times against the Scandinavian specialists who had the benefit of competing on home soil.

Just three stages made up the final day on Sunday and the mindset was simply to ensure Creighton would bring the car to the finish. A double run through a 25-kilometre test plus a final blast over the Super Special stage were all that remained, and a clean run through all three ensured the Irishman could claim his first finish of the season.

“I definitely think we made the most out of the weekend” claimed Creighton.

“It's such a tough rally to master and when you only drive on snow once or twice a year it's almost impossible to come here and be in the hunt for top results. But we knew that from the outset, and we had a game plan to do our own thing and take every little bit of experience and knowledge away from the rally that we could, and from that point of view, it was a great weekend.

“The M-Sport Fiesta is a sensational car too and it's been such a great feeling to blast the car through the snowbanks at some crazy angles. When we got it hooked up, the times were really encouraging so I`m eager to see what the remainder of the season holds for us. A huge thanks must go to everyone on the stages with the Irish flags cheering us on, to the M-Sport team for a great car and of course to the Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy for their unwavering support. On to the next one.”

Creighton will unveil his future event plans in the coming weeks.

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