The 20-year-old Swede, driving an M-Sport Poland Ford Fiesta Rally3 equipped with Hankook tyres, began the final stage trailing Gill by 7.0sec - knowing that whoever won the rally would also seal the title. But Johansson delivered under pressure, outpacing his Australian rival by 8.6sec to claim both his first victory of the season and the coveted FIA Junior WRC crown.

“It’s been a tough week,” admitted Johansson, who has been co-driven all season by Johan Grönvall. “I’ve made some mistakes, and it all came down to this very last stage when we were seven seconds behind. I gave it my all in here and it’s such a relief. I think it’s going to take some time to let this sink in.”

The finale went down as one of the most dramatic in Junior WRC history, with three drivers - Johansson, Gill and Türkiye’s Ali Türkkan - all in contention for the title with only two stages remaining. Türkkan’s hopes ended with a crash on the penultimate test, promoting Gill to the lead before Johansson’s decisive late charge in the Wolf Power Stage turned the tables once more.

Johansson’s victory was his first of the season, yet his pace throughout 2025 proved key. He topped 41 stages across five rallies - more than any other driver - to end the campaign on 133 points, ahead of Gill on 122 and Türkkan on 69.

Third on the Central European Rally podium was Türkiye’s Kerem Kazaz (#37), while Paraguay’s Diego Domínguez and Germany’s Claire Schönborn rounded out the top five.

Johansson’s championship triumph earns him a fully-supported four-round WRC2 programme in 2026, driving an M-Sport-prepared Ford Fiesta Rally2 with additional tyre support from Hankook.