Harder. Better. Faster. Stronger. (A Racing Journey)

[CakeWalker]

Season Three: Part III

AJ Millar would travel to Iowa for the second time in her career (she had finished 4th in 2019 as a Hot Seat driver for NEMCO Motorsports) and would really show her knowledge of the track by qualifying on the first row of the grid in 2nd position. AJ would race well, ending stage one in 1st position and claiming important playoff points, and would end the second stage in 4th but would do so by being rammed into the sidewall ending the stage under caution and forcing AJ to pit. AJ though would show her determination and push back up to the front and go on to win the M&M’s 200 finishing in 1st place and claiming her fourth career Nascar Truck Series victory.

The Truck Series would move on to Madison, Illinois for what would be Millar’s first visit to WWT Raceway. AJ would continue to show her run of good form and qualify 3rd in the race. She would earn more playoff points by winning the first stage and continue to control the race as she would end the second stage in 2nd position. Chastain would really be putting pressure on Millar, and would attempt to ram Millar into the wall only to spin themselves out and suffer because of it. With ten laps to go though, Millar’s tyres would fall off the cliff forcing the point leader to pit. With no caution called, Millar would find themselves being lapped and would finish the race in 22nd place in what would be her first finish outside the top 20 in her truck series career.

Millar clearly wanted to debut in Chicagoland with a much better finish than she had at Madison, and for the second time in a row in the state of Illinois would qualify in third position on the grid. The race would be dictated by a number of yellow flag cautions, which would really prevent the field from breaking away from each other creating a long train to form throughout the race. Millar would have to settle for 6th in the first stage and 5th in the second stage. A wave of cautions would be called in the final stage, forcing the race to move into overtime as Millar would have to fight to the end of race in the same position she had qualified in finishing in 3rd place. Millar's result would allow her to regard WWT Raceway as nothing more than a blip, as she would be set to return to Finland for the fourth rally of the season.

AJ would return to Finland for the third time in her career, after coming 3rd last season in the Junior WRC after not finishing the rally on her first entry into the rally. In Special Stage 1 AJ would impress to claim another stage win of the season in Horkka (Reverse) in a stage that would involve a number of downhill jumps that AJ would look incredibly fast as she moved down the gradient. With two checkpoints left in Special Stage 2, the Skoda’s rear tyres would become fully deflated and manage to finish the stage in 3rd position and being just 15 seconds behind race leader Rovanperä. Millar would go on to win Special Stage 3 with the time difference being massively closed up with only a 2 second time differential between 1st and 3rd. Millar though would make an error on the Power Stage as she would crash through a fence and hit a tree stump which would result in the car suffering some major damage with Millar finishing the stage in 5th position. AJ had lost time in the Power Stage and had to settle for 3rd place overall, but Skoda Motorsports would be incredibly pleased as they would earn 1st, 2nd and 3rd for the race fully controlling the podium.

Millar would travel to the Kentucky Speedway in what would be a turnaround trip, as she would be returning to Europe once the race was over for Rally GB. AJ would line up on the fifth row of the grid in 9th position and claiming 6th position for first stage and 3rd in the second stage, but for the second time in as many races in the Truck Series the race would move into Overtime and Millar would cross the line in 3rd place for the second race in a row. AJ would leave for Europe knowing that she had very much already earned herself a playoff berth, despite three races left before the playoffs at Pocono, Eldora and Corrigan. ​

 

[Chris]

You like finishing 3rd huh

 

[CakeWalker]

You like finishing 3rd huh

It could be a lot worse.

 

[Chris]

If you're not first you're last

 

[CakeWalker]

Season Three: Part IV

AJ would drive in the British Rally for the second time in her career and after a solid performance in Finland, Skoda Motorsports were starting to have some expectations of the sort of performances that she could produce. The rally would be extremely wet and muddy that was caused by a lot of rain in the buildup to the rally, with the condition of roads only worsening through consistent heavy rainfall. Nonetheless, AJ would claim her first stage in Britain winning Special Stage one and maintaining solid pace as she would claim 2nd in the reverse loop of Brenig, but had lost a bit of time and fallen to second overall at the end of the first day. AJ would lose some time on Ostberg in SS3 by hitting a fallen tree on the side of the road, but would still manage to recover to finish the stage in second and maintain her position of second overall in the rally. Millar would have a great drive in the Power Stage in which she would win to claim five additional points, and her second stage win of the rally. Unfortunately, she would finish in the standing 6seconds behind Ostberg finishing the rally in 2nd place. The drive would put Millar 8th in the overall standing, but pick up some important manufacturer’s points for Skoda.

Kubica would continue to impress in the ‘Team Poland Car’ by qualifying 2nd in Texas and proceed to win the second race of his career. Although, Team Poland would compete at Jefferson without having invested in a Road Course car which would result in a lowly qualifying place of 14th that would only be lowered to 17th on race day. Kubica would show his good run of form by finishing 5th in Taggart, only to have a major slump in Richmond as he would finish 20th. Kubica’s two wins thoug would prove to be enough, as the rookie DirtCar driver and rookie DirtCar team would advance to Xtreme Dirt Tour Playoffs on their first time of asking.

(Texas Q:2 F: 1 | Jefferson Q: 14 F: 17 | Taggart Q:16 F: 5 | Richmond Q: 20 F: 20)

Millar would return to the States for the 150 at Pocono, in what would be the second time of her career having finished 6th in last season during a Hot Seat. This time round though Pocono would prove to be a much tougher race, as she was more than established in the field and there was a clear divide between friends and rivals at this stage in the season. Millar would qualifying in 13th and find herself surrounded by a number of less than favourable drivers at the start, but would push on strong in the race actual claiming 4th at the end of stage one and 7th at the end of stage two despite a clear attempt by Chastain on trying to force AJ off the road at the end of the second stage. AJ would suffer some serious bangs in the race after a caution the race would move into overtime and Millar would start in 10th but have to do their best to not lose places, and she would slip down the order because of damage and have to settle for 16th place for the day.

AJ would turn up to the Eldora Dirt Derby filled with confidence, which wasn’t surprising considering she had been last season’s XDT overall winner but had also won at Eldora last season. Millar’s understanding of the track would shine through as she would qualify in 1st with an impressive time of 20:771. Millar would go on to absolutely dominate in Eldora, as she would win all three stages of the race and thus claim her 5th win for the season. It was clear that was absolutely ecstatic finishing in 1st place as she would celebrate the win with all the Halmar Friesen mechanics. After the race Nascar Cup Series Driver Joey Lugano would offer words of praise for Millar.

“AJ is a really solid young driver, who is really showing their ability in their first season in the trucks. I wouldn’t be surprised to see her driving in the Cup Series in the next few years. With five wins in her rookie season, and already in the playoffs. My oh my, this one is a real rocket round the bends!”

Millar would travel to Michigan already with the knowledge that she had secured herself a spot in the Round of 8, but she would remain professional and take the race extremely seriously despite only managing to qualify in 12th. AJ would get off the line really well however, as she would end the first stage in 3rd and then improve by moving up to 2nd at the end of the second stage. The final stage would be a tough encounter with a number of cautions being called, but as the race moved into overtime and climbed five places from 10th to end the race in 5th place claiming yet another Top 5 for the season. Millar would move into the playoffs being the clear favourite to win the whole thing, being the only driver to have more than three wins in the regular season.

Position	Driver	+/-	Playoff Points	Points	Wins
1st	AJ Millar	41	47	2047	5
2nd	Brett Moffit	13	19	2019	1
3rd	Matt Crafton	13	19	2019	1
4th	Stewart Friesen	13	19	2019	2
5th	Grant Enfinger	4	10	2010	1
6th	Johnny Sauter	2	8	2008	1
7th	Harrison Burton	-2	6	2006	1
8th	Tyler Ankrum	-3	5	2005	1

​

 

[CakeWalker]

Season Three: Part V

AJ would visit Bristol for the first time in the Truck Series to kick start her playoff hopes in the ‘Round of 8’ and would do so by claiming a neat 1st position with a time of 17:795 around the short track. AJ would share her thoughts on how the track felt incredibly tight in a much faster vehicle than the DirtCars. The race itself would run very well for Millar who would come 1st in the first and second stages, but lose a bit of pace as her tyres would give up as she would cross the line in 3rd place for the day. Millar would then travel halfway around the world for her final WRC 2 race of the season.

AJ would arrive in Australia not only for the first time in her career, but for the first time in her life and would start in winning ways as she would claim an early lead of the rally be winning special stages one and two consecutively, and continue to control the race on the following day by finishing 3rd at the end of stage three. With only six entrants in the WRC 2 class, there was a lot of point available with little competition which would only make it even more agonising for AJ as she would crash during the latter part of the Valla 16 Power Stage and fail to finish the rally coming in 6th place overall as her season would end on a DNF in Australia.

AJ would end her WRC 2 Pro season in 8th place overall in the combined WRC 2/WRC Pro 2 field, and find herself 54 points behind overall leader Mads Ostberg. More importantly though, Skoda Motorsports would achieve glory in the WRC 2 Manufacturers’ Standings which had partly been one of the main reasons why AJ had been brought in to bolster the team offering support to team mates Rovanpera & Kopecky.

AJ would return to North America in what would be her trip to Canada to take part in the Chevrolet Silverado 250 in her pursuit to advance further in the playoffs. The road course would prove tricky, but AJ would settle for 12th in qualifying choosing not to leave the garage for the second session citing that Halmar Friesen Racing wanted to preserve the car and not take any unnecessary risk ahead of race day. The race around the Canadian Tire Motorsport Park would be flooded with yellow flag cautions, which would play into AJ’s hands as she would be awarded finishing in first at the end of both the first and second stages, only to be overtaken by Moffit on the last lap to cross the line in 2nd place.

The Nascar Truck Series would return to Vegas for the second time for the season and for the final ‘Round of 8’ in what would be a very scrappy race in which AJ would start in 12th. The race would see AJ consistently hold herself in the Top 5 once she entered into finishing 4th in stage one, 2nd in stage two before finishing overall in 5th place to end the racing weekend. After the weekend Stewart Friesen and Tyler Ankrum would be the two drivers that would be eliminated from the playoffs, with four races left in the season.

Robert Kubica’s playoff run with ‘Team Poland’ would prove to be less than satisfactory as their would seem to be some major mechanical problems for the team which would see Kubica finish 21st at Drebin, 22nd at Jefferson, 21st at Taggart and 22nd at Charlotte which would result in Kubica failing to reach the Final Four ahead of Eldora. A rumour would start circulating, although neither AJ Millar nor the engineers from ‘Team Poland’ would be available for comment, that Robert Kubica was seeking means to purchase 100% rights for ‘Team Poland’.

The ‘Round of 6’ would begin with AJ Millar visiting Talladega for the first time in her career, and in similar fashion to Daytona it was clear she was really struggling with the qualifying around the Super Speedway as she would qualify in a lowly 31st. The race would prove to be a real battle as AJ would really find herself pushing towards the front and making up eleven places as she would end the first stage in 20th position. The midfield would prove to be extremely tough for AJ however, as she would find herself surrounded by a number of rivals that clearly held no love for her and she would have to fight for position as she would manage to finish the second stage in 12 position. AJ would continue to climb up the order and would benefit from a last caution that would lead to overtime that would allow AJ to finish in 3rd place at Talladega. More impressively though Josh Reaume would claim the first victory of his Nascar Truck Series Career

The trucks would return to Martinsville for the second time with AJ having won the first race during round four at the short track and would qualify at the front of the pack in what was clearly a hunt for her sixth win of her career in the series. The first stage would go well as she would cross the line in 1st only for AJ to find herself involved in a massive crash that would put her down into 11th position on a caution at the end of the second stage, but drop her further down the road because of her needing to pit for repairs. AJ would find herself spared by half a dozen caution in the final stage however and overtake Raphael Lessard on the line to claim 2nd place for the race, with Harrison Burton winning with a massive lead on the competition. After the race AJ would speak with the press and have this to say.

“With two races to go this season, I’ve just been informed by my pit crew that mathematically I have now earned myself a place in the Championship Four which means that I can approach Phoenix with a slightly more relaxed mindset. This season has gone much better than I ever imagined, and I am really enjoying my time on the track even if I seem to have ruffled a lot of feathers in the paddock. I am aware that a lot of drivers are unhappy that a girl with a British accent winning races, seems to make them feel inadequate but that is just their own personal grievances. I just just the Truck Series to race, but at this stage in the season - I’m going to Homestead to win!”

The Nascar Truck Series will see the ‘Round of 6’ conclude at the Lucas Oil 150 at Phoenix Raceway, before the Championship Four will be decided at the Homestead-Miami Speedway. ​

 

[CakeWalker]

Season Three: Finale

AJ would turn up at the Phoenix International Raceway and look on form for a great race prior to the Championship Four and earn a second row qualifying position, only to spin and crash on the outlap wrecking her car and having to use the team’s replacement car and thus start at the back of the grid in 32nd position. AJ would slowly make her way up the field through the race ending the first stage in 15th and then the second stage in 8th, but the third stage became an interesting encounter where AJ found herself running in second position with team mate Stewart Friesen in front of her. Rather than challenge for the lead, Millar would actively defend the lead for her teammate and prevent any traffic from reaching Friesen leading for Stewart to pick up his third win of the season with AJ crossing the line in 2nd place. After the race it was announced that Grant Enfinger and Matt Crafton had been eliminated from the playoffs.

The Nascar Truck Series would arrive in Miami with four drivers vying for the right to become the Nascar Gander Outdoor Truck Series 2020 champion. The four contenders are:


​

Driver​	Team ​	Wins​
AJ Millar​	Halmar Friesen Racing​	5​
Brett Moffit​	GMS Racing​	2​
Harrison Burton​	Kyle Busch Motorsports​	3​
Johnny Sauter​	ThorSport Racing ​	1​

The season would end with thirteen different driver having won in the last 22 races, with the following drivers having won one race each: Crafton, Enfinger, Chastain, Self, Dipple, Kligerman, Reaume, Ankrum whilst Stewart Friesen managed to win three races and was the best performer not to make the final four. The race would be a tense affair with AJ starting well coming 3rd at the end of the first stage only to push herself right up to the front as she crossed the line in 1st position at the end of the second stage. In the third stage Brett Moffitt made a bold move, clearly trying to force Millar off the track only for it to backfire and forcing Moffit to spin out and a caution to be called forcing the race into overtime. Stewart Friesen would go on to win the final race of the race for his fourth of the season, whilst AJ would cross the line in 2nd place.

​

Position​	Drivers​	Points Difference​	Points​
1st​	AJ Millar​	Champion​	4035​
2nd​	Brett Moffit​	-2​	4033​
3rd​	Johnny Sauter​	-4​	4031​
4th​	Harrison Burton​	-5​	4030​

AJ would cross the line and be informed immediately from her pit crew that she had won the championship by just two points - and this would be her response on the team radio:

“We did it? We did it? No way! No f*cking way! Oh yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah! I love all you guys, you’ve helped build a car this year that has truly been phenomenal. Five wins for me and four wins for Stewart make nine wins for the season right? That's like 40% of all the wins for the season right? Championes, championes, ole ole ole! DOUGHNUT TIME! DOUGHNUT TIME!”

Nascar Truck Series - Career Results
​

Location​	Year​	Team​	Position​
Daytona ​	2020​	Halmar Friesen Racing ​	1st ​
Atlanta ​	2020​	Halmar Friesen Racing ​	7th​
Las Vegas​	2020​	Halmar Friesen Racing ​	11th​
Martinsville​	2020​	Halmar Friesen Racing ​	1st ​
Texas​	2020​	Halmar Friesen Racing ​	10th​
Dover​	2020​	Halmar Friesen Racing ​	3rd​
Kansas ​	2020​	Halmar Friesen Racing ​	1st​
Charlotte ​	2020​	Halmar Friesen Racing ​	11th​
Texas​	2020​	Halmar Friesen Racing ​	2nd​
Iowa​	2020​	Halmar Friesen Racing ​	1st​
WWT​	2020​	Halmar Friesen Racing ​	2nd ​
Chicagoland​	2020​	Halmar Friesen Racing ​	3rd​
Kentucky​	2020​	Halmar Friesen Racing ​	3rd​
Pocono​	2020​	Halmar Friesen Racing ​	16th​
Eldora​	2020​	Halmar Friesen Racing ​	1st​
Michigan​	2020​	Halmar Friesen Racing ​	5th​
Bristol​	2020​	Halmar Friesen Racing ​	3rd ​
Canadian Tire Motorsport Park ​	2020​	Halmar Friesen Racing ​	2nd ​
Las Vegas ​	2020​	Halmar Friesen Racing ​	5th ​
Talladega ​	2020​	Halmar Friesen Racing ​	3rd​
Martinville ​	2020​	Halmar Friesen Racing ​	2nd ​
Phoenix ​	2020​	Halmar Friesen Racing ​	2nd ​
Homestead-Miami​	2020​	Halmar Friesen Racing ​	2nd ​

A fortnight later it would emerge that AJ Millar had signed a one year contract to replace Sebastien Loeb at Hyundai Shell Mobit World Rally Team for 2022, with Loeb announcing that 2021 would be his final year ever involved in the WRC at any level.

It would then emerge that Skoda Motorsport had decided that they were unwilling to retain AJ Millar for a second season, with the news that she was effectively connected to an established manufacturer, despite Skoda no longer having a team at the WRC Championship level.

It would be announced that in 2021 the WRC 2 Pro classification would simply be referred to as WRC 2 - with entries being made by Rally Teams, whilst WRC would feature privately entered teams ineligible to achieve manufacturer points. The FIA though would confirm that the WRC 2 & 3 would all compete within the same classification bracket, but points being tabled separately. It would be explained that a WRC 3 car could finish first in a race and earn 25 points and that the highest ranked WRC 2 car would therefore still not earn 25 points.

With a drive guaranteed to 2022, it would emerge that Tommi Makinen Racing had offered a racing seat to AJ Millar for 2021, with the team being privately owned by Makinen with the four time WRC winner currently the Team Manager for Toyota Gazoo Racing. Makinen would speak openly about AJ, joining the team for just one season:

“AJ is a very talented young driver and it is hard to believe she is only twenty one years old, and I would admit that if Toyota didn’t have such a stacked line up for next season she would certainly have been someone we would've considered signing. She came 2nd place in the Junior classification last season, and although she finished 8th in the WRC 2 Pro category I think it is a fair assessment that Skoda are no longer the powerhouse they once were. I don’t think her joining Hyundai is a conflict of interest, because drivers don’t commit to teams for their entire careers - so you never know what lies ahead in the future. AJ’s involvement will also see her get to compete in a number of rallies that she hasn’t yet had the opportunity to do, so I think this year will really be beneficial to her growth as a rally driver.”

News of AJ having signed a contract with Hyundai in 2022 seemed that have a knock on effect though for her Nascar career, as it had been rumoured that a number of team had made offers to Millar for a seat in 2021 only to retract the offers from the table upon the announcement of her drive in the WRC in the season after next. This would result in AJ Millar releasing the following statement:

“My intention to progress in my Nascar career, and move up to the next rung of the ladder but it seems that the team that are running the sport are unhappy with my involvement in the World Rally Championship. Everyone who is part of the Halmar Friesen family has made it very clear to me that I am welcome to drive with them again next year, but my goal was to race in the Cup Series at some point. If teams want to stand in my path, then I won’t be bullied. Therefore, with sadness in my heart I will not be lining up on the field in any capacity for the 2021 season and rally racing will become my main focus.”

AJ Millar leaves the world of Nascar after just two years being involved in the sport, winning the third tier and second tier support class consecutively. Although, many analysts have commented that the strong willed American-Pole most likely hasn’t shut the door on the sport forever, but is simply playing with the hand that she has been dealt.​

 

[CakeWalker]

Season Four: Waiting In The Wings

AJ would make her debut with Tommi Makinen Racing and for the first time compete in the historic Rally Monte-Carlo and find herself driving in the Ford Fiesta R5 a significant upgrade of the R2s that were present in the Junior WRC. AJ would make it clear prior to the start of the season, that she didn’t see this season as I chance to relax but had a real desire to become the overall winner of the WRC-3 in 2021, but admitted that she was aware of the real threat that both Mexican talent Benito Guerra Jr and Norwegian Ole Christian Veiby would be be her biggest rivals this season, but would make the point that she would love nothing more than finish ahead of a number of the drivers who would be taking part under the WRC-2 umbrella. AJ would make it clear that there was a lot of pressure on her to perform, as a string of poor results could jeopardise he seat with Hyundai next season.

AJ would start in Monaco by finishing special stage one in 2nd position and continue to control her destiny by winning her first rally stage of the season and take an early lead of the rally. The second day would involved a slight hiccup as AJ would spin mid-stage, losing some time and end special stage three in 9th, dropping down to 3rd overall finding herself six seconds behind the rally leader. For the final stage of the rally, the famous Col de Braus (a high mountain pass) AJ would claim a second stage victory and claim the bonus points that came with winning the powerstage and by doing so had started the season by finishing in 1st place in Monte Carlo.

AJ second entry for the season would be in four months time in May, with Monte Carlo taking place in early January but would be noted as Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT’s official test driver and be involved in testing the car prior to both the Rally Sweden & the Tour de Corse as well as clocking a large amount of time on the racing simulator.

Eventually though, Rally Chile would come along which would be another new rally for AJ to compete in. AJ would come out of the gates with a real focus in her driving style and it was hard to believe that she had never driven in Chile before. Her driving was so on point that she would end up winning Special Stages 1, 2 & 3 and had managed to build a massive time advantage going into the power stage. Much to everyone’s horror AJ would make a mistake on her second run of the reverse Lircay stage and end up barrel rolling before sliding on her roof for nearly twenty yards before somehow rolling back onto her wheels. Fortunately, this incident happened in the latter part of the stage and despite finishing the stage dead last in 16th was able to cross the line and be informed that with just 0.451 seconds had retained the race lead and by doing so had finished Rally Chile in 1st place. AJ would speak with the press following the action:

“Winning in Monte Carlo was honestly a truly amazing feeling, but to be involved in such an unfortunate crash and somehow manage to still bring the car home and win the rally, well that takes me to a whole different level of happiness. I honestly wasn’t expecting the R5 to provide this much power, so I can only wonder what this car must feel like for Gus (Greensmith) and Lukaz (Pieniazek) driving M-Sports’ official team car with all the engineers involved with building it. I don’t want to come off as being too big headed, but I really feel that if I am able to avoid making mistakes I could finish 2021 winning my remaining four rallies.”

AJ would arrive in Finland having driven the course so far every year since joining the sport, having finished 13th in 2018 and 3rd in 2019 in the Junior WRC category and 3rd again last season (2020) in the WRC-2 category with Skoda Motorsports. However, considering the form that AJ was currently in, many felt that this would be her first real opportunity to leave Finald with the rally victory. AJ would have a tricky start to the rally and make a couple of silly mistakes resulting in her finishing special stage one in 9th place. Millar would turn her luck around though, as she would claim victory in the second stage in Harju reducing her time behind the leader. With potential of rain, AJ would elect to choose the hard compound orange tyres for the second day and also make it clear that she would try and save the tyres for the power stage not taking as many risks by coming 3rd in special stage three. Her calculated risk would payoff though as she would win the power stage and also have more life in her tyres that would allow her to lower the time margin and claim a hatrick of rally victories by finishing in 1st place in Finland for the first time in career.

Turkey would play host to Millar’s fourth rally entry for the season, and also be the three of four rallies this season that AJ had never driven in with Rally Catalunya registered as being her final rally for the season. AJ and Rovanpera would have incredible pace in the first stage of the rally with AJ just being pipped by the WRC driver for Skoda Motorsport as she came in 2nd but more notably the times they post posted would only be beaten by three members of the WRC class Ogier, Tanak and Lappi. The second stage would be incredibly tight with unforgiving cliff edges, that AJ would handle with an air of caution clearly not willing to take any risk that would result in her down to 5th overall after finishing the stage in 9th position.

AJ would turn the rally on its head on the second though as finish first in both the third and fourth stages and amassed enough of a lead to claim her fourth rally victory for the season by finishing in 1st place for the fourth time in a row for the season.

AJ would continue her winning ways and really show her technical driving ability in an incredible wet, slippery and muddy Wales Rally GB which would see AJ finishing 2nd, 2nd, 7th and 1st in all four stages in the rally and managing to win the overall rally by just 0:272 seconds to finish in 1st place and continue her unbeaten winning streak having gone 5/5 for the season having won every single rally she had been involved in.

Rally Catalunya would be a perfect end to AJ’s tenure in the support categories as she would win every single stage in the rally seemingly having done the possible by winning every single rally she had participated in, with the only person having come close to achieving this record having been Jan Kopecky in 2018 who had won five of six rallies only missing out by coming 2nd in Catalunya missing out on this achievement by 0.100 seconds. AJ finishing in 1st place would seal her victory and earn her her first championship victory after four year taking part in the World Rally Championship categories.

Position ​	WRC-2​	Points​		Position ​	WRC-3​	Points ​
1st​	Gus Greensmith​	131​		1st​	AJ Millar ​	175​
2nd​	Kalle Rovanpera ​	122​		2nd​	Ole Veiby​	135​
3rd​	Mads Ostberg​	118​		3rd​	Benito Guerra Jr. ​	133​
4th​	Jan Kopecky​	113​		4th​	Kajetan Kajetanowicz​	103​
5th​	Lukasz Pieniążek​	108​		5th​	Fabio Andolfi​	75​

“There can be no words to describe how smooth this season had gone, I can’t believe I was able to win every single rally I entered this year and I wouldn’t have been able to achieve this without Tommi Makinen Racing giving me a drive for this season. What makes this even more sweeter, is that I was able to achieve victories in four locations I had previously never driven before.This last year, I found myself questioning whether I had made the right decision to focus all my energy into driving rally and after claiming the WRC-3 for the first since returning. It is hard to comprehend, that next year I will be taking part in a full calendar of racing and driving in the WRC parent series.”

Senior Support Series: World Rally Championship - Career Results
​

Location​	Year​	Team​	Position​	Stage Results​
Rally Mexico (WRC-2 Pro)​	2020​	Skoda Motorsport (Skoda Fabia R5)​	15th​	3 | 4 | 1 | DNF​
Tour De Corse (France) (WRC-2 Pro)​	2020​	Skoda Motorsport (Skoda Fabia R5)​	3rd​	6 | 1 | 15 |1​
Rally Portugal (WRC-2 Pro)​	2020​	Skoda Motorsport (Skoda Fabia R5)​	1st​	1 | 1 | 1 | 1​
Rally Finland (WRC-2 Pro)​	2020​	Skoda Motorsport (Skoda Fabia R5)​	3rd​	1 | 3 | 1 | 5​
Wales Rally GB (WRC-2 Pro)​	2020​	Skoda Motorsport (Skoda Fabia R5)​	2nd​	1 | 2 | 2 | 1​
Rally Australia (WRC-2 Pro)​	2020​	Skoda Motorsport (Skoda Fabia R5)​	6th​	1 | 1 | 3 | DNF​
Rally Monte Carlo (WRC-3)​	2021​	Tommi Makinen Racing (Ford Fiesta R5)​	1st​	2 | 1 | 9 | 1​
Rally Chile (WRC-3)​	2021​	Tommi Makinen Racing (Ford Fiesta R5)​	1st​	1 | 1 | 1 | 16​
Rally Finland (WRC-3)​	2021​	Tommi Makinen Racing (Ford Fiesta R5)​	1st​	9 | 1 | 3 | 1​
Rally Turkey (WRC-3)​	2021​	Tommi Makinen Racing (Ford Fiesta R5)​	1st​	2 | 9 | 1 | 1​
Wales Rally GB (WRC-3)​	2021​	Tommi Makinen Racing (Ford Fiesta R5)​	1st​	2 | 2| 7 | 1​
Rally Catalunya (WRC-3) ​	2021​	Tommi Makinen Racing (Ford Fiesta R5)​	1st​	1 | 1 | 1 | 1​

AJ would leave the Support Series having amassed ten stages wins within the Junior WRC over two seasons that had included one rally victory in Rally Italia in 2019, before claiming 27 stages win over two seasons in WRC-2 Pro/WRC-3 which included seven rally victories. AJ would approach her season with Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT having only never driven in Argentina and Germany, having driven at least once in the other twelves of fourteen races on the WRC calendar. ​

 

[CakeWalker]

Season Five: Racing In The Big Leagues

AJ Millar would find herself starting her fifth season in the rally world finally driving in the parent series in the World Rally Championship, officially driving in the slot that was previously been driven by now retired rally legend Sebastien Loeb. AJ would be joined by Co-Driver Paul Nagle - who had previously worked with both Kris Meeke, with the combination managing to achieve five career WRC rally victories.

This would bring an end to Millar’ long-term successful partnership with Alex Kihurani, but with Nagle having an active contract with Hyundai it wasn’t surprising that a veteran Co-Driver had been partner with a driver in their rookie season in main competition. The pair would begin their season by taking part in the traditional season opener Rally Monte Carlo, with Millar having won last season’s rally in the WRC-3 category.

AJ would kick start her career with Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT by winning her first ever WRC stage rally at the famous Col de Braus, and instantly had turned a lot of heads as all the drivers in the fields and the all the team managers were not going to underestimate Millar now. The second stage would prove to be more difficult though, as the slightly longer stage would result in AJ’s tyres all fully degrading and with heavy rain at the end of the stage the car would take a few bumps as the Millar would finish the second stage in fifth. AJ would find herself in 3rd overall, but with the car in need of a lot of work at service. AJ would manage to get the car fixed and managed to get a really fast time on her second run of Col de Braus, only to slip off the road and smash into a building inflicting major damage on her car and was just lucky she was so close to the finish as she finished the stage in 3rd. However, the car was in such a bad state that Millar would have to battle with the car just to finish the stage finishing 14th in her category and dropping down to 9th overall.

Things would go from bad to worse, as despite Hyundai doing all they could in their allotted time they weren’t able to get all the essential work done and despite her best effort Millar would finish stage 5 dead last in 14th place again, slipping down to 11th overall. With the car in a terrible condition, the live commentary team would act surprised as AJ would pull her i20 Coupe to the side of the road and proceed to retire the car. This meant she had finished the rally in 14th place by way of DNF.

After the Rally, Hyundai’s team manager Andre Adamo would make it clear to the press the exact reason why Millar had retired:

“It is such a shame when these calls are made, but after an unfortunate turn of events AJ critically damaged the car when she crashed at the end of stage three. In our final stage of the rally, we were losing so much time and there was no means we were going to improve our position. The car was accumulating more damage and at the end of the day it was a decision that were determined by financial means. A driver is not going to gain any experience from driving a broken vehicle, so I made an exclusive decision to Millar to pull the car to the side of the road and retire.”

AJ would have a much better showing in Sweden, having not driven in the Rally since driving in the Junior WRC category. You wouldn't have known it though as Millar would drive in dominating fashion as she would claim four rally stages win in a row finishing the second day of the rally with just under a minute advantage over 2nd placed Tanak. Millar would clearly take into consideration what had happened in Monte Carlo, as she would approach the final day of the rally with an air of caution finishing stage five in 8th and being even more conversative in the power stage as she would cross the line in 11th. The gap between Millar and Tanak would be lowered to 04:747 seconds - but AJ had really managed to change her fortunates as she would claim her first rally victory on the second time of asking, finishing in 1st place in Rally Sweden. AJ and Paul Nagle would celebrate the victory by mounting their car and celebrating with their racing team looking on with massive smiles.

AJ would arrive in Mexico for the third rally of the season, and would make it clear that it was very much a personal goal to complete the rally having failed to complete the rally in 2020 in the WRC-2 Pro class. The first stage of the rally would go terribly though, as AJ would spin off the road and get her car stuck in a swampy ditch and have to be pushed back onto the road by some of the local fans. Millar would do much better in the second stage in the racing park (with the rally racing parks more often than not proving to be one of AJ’s strengths) and she would claim the stage win. The second day of the rally would see the drivers drive Media Luna and then complete the day by retracing their steps. AJ would struggle on the first loop finishing in 7th place, but taking what she had learnt to complete stage four in 1st claiming her second stage win of the rally. AJ would end the day by finishing SS5 & SS6 in second position both times and thus meeting her personal goal of completing the rally. AJ would just miss out on a podium position, finishing the rally in 4th place.

Following the event in Mexico, AJ would share her thoughts on her first three races in the WRC:

“I must admit I find myself in a strange position. I started the season with a DNF and then followed it by finishing Sweden with a win the whole rally - but I must admit that I don’t feel 100% confident right now. It was really pleasing to complete Mexico, so completing it in 4th was that little bit better. However, I feel there Is really a lot of pressure on me and I really have to perform in Corsica for the fourth round of the season.”

AJ would start the Tour de Corse in a very promising position, claiming second in stage one and again claiming another second at the end of stage two, finding her consistency result in being in 1st overall at the end of the first day. Special Stage 3 went very bad thorough as Millar would spin the car out and crashed the front of the i20 into a large rock boulder that would result in massive damage to her steering and also broke her headlamps. To make matters worse SS4 was a night stage and with no working headlights, AJ would struggle to drive the stage and end up driving the car off the road resulting in the car being written off. Hyundai would do their best for AJ to be allowed to continue, under the Rally 2 rule but the FIA would deem the car was not a fit enough state to be repaired meaning that AJ would be given a DNF for the rally - having not having driven on the final day and would not be given an overall classification.

Following the Tour de Corse, much to most people’s shock it would be announced that Hyundai’s reserve driver Craig Breen would be reunited with Paul Nagle and would take over AJ’s car, with Millar finding herself being released from the team after just four races. Team Manager Adamo would make an official statement:

“It is important for people to understand that Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT isn’t just a racing team but also an extension of the Hyundai brand - and it was deemed unacceptable for an elite driver to pick up two DNFs after just four races in the season. The i20 Coupe was built for rallies like Sweden, so we view that as a victory for the team rather than an outstanding performance from the driver. We signed AJ Millar at the end of the 2020 season with the expectation, after a further year competing in the support category she would be ready to compete at the highest level. Unfortunately, we feel that as a driver she isn't quite ready to compete at this level.”

AJ would find herself left out in the cold, with no team to drive for in the WRC category and none of the support categories picking her up the remainder of the season. Mid-season it would emerge that Tommi Makinen (Team Boss of Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT) had signed AJ as a reserve driver for the team, but would confirm that AJ would not be involved competitively in the car for any part of the 2022 season. There was no denying that it was going to take some sort of miracle for AJ to get her career back on track. ​

 

[CakeWalker]

Season Six: Part I

In the build up to the 2023 WRC season, Sebastien Loeb would announce his retirement from the sport for the second time at a more respective age of 49 years old. Loeb who had been racing for Hyundai, had found himself in a position of actually being seen as the team’s second driver after having originally only having signed an initial contract five years ago as a guest driver. With Loeb exiting the sport, it would be revealed that Ott Tanak had signed a multiple year contract with Hyundai leaving Toyota in the process.

This would then open up a slot at Toyota Gazoo Racing, and it would be announced that test driver AJ Millar would be promoted to having a seat for the 2023 season. It would also be revealed that alboth Jari-Matti Latvala and Kris Meeke had also retired from the sport, with the x3 2nd place finisher being replaced by Ole Christian Veiby and Meeke being replaced by Kalle Rovanpera - meaning that Toyota would have have a brand new line-up for the season.

AJ would find herself on a road to redemption, somehow having gone from being discarded last season by Hyundai to now lining up as Toyota’s 1st driver going into the 2023 as the entire field would arrive in Monte Carlo for the first rally of the season, with AJ clearly wanting to officially finish the rally having been classified as finishing 14th last year on a technicality of distance covered, but really not having completed the rally. Toyota Gazoo Racing’s team manager Tommi Mäkinen would speak up ahead of the rally officially getting underway.

“This season is going to be very interesting for Toyota - as we have three drivers that have yet to prove themselves in the WRC. I am aware that AJ was able to win Rally Sweden last year, but those idiots at Hyundai released her after just two unfortunate race finishes - I honestly still can’t believe they dumped her on the side of the road. She is an incredible talent. I have spoken to her and made it clear to her that Monte Carlo is an incredibly tricky Rally - and as long as she brings the car home then we will be happy. This is a year for rebuilding.”

AJ though would struggle in Monte Carlo as she would finish the first special stage in 7th place and finding herself 18 seconds off the pace, so would seem to surprise everyone including herself as she would go on to claim a stage win in SS2 pushing herself up the overall standings. AJ would climb up the standing all the way up to 3rd as she would finish 6th in SS3 and retain her position by finishing in 2nd in the fourth stage of the rally. AJ though would be forced to remember why Monte Carlo is such a tricky rally to master, as through the wear and tear of the rally would suffer from transmission problems towards the end of the fifth stage cause her to haemorrhage time and with no possibility of repairs it looked highly likely that she would fall out of the podium place, after the power stage. The Power Stage would be brutal as AJ would finish in 11th and would lose more time than she might have expected she would result in her finishing the rally in 5th place. Despite another bad experience in Monte Carlo it was clear that Millar seemed to be happy just on the basis that she had brought the car home. AJ would speak with Red Bull TV after the race.

“People may not realise this, but there are certain race tracks and rallies that drivers hate to race on and I use the word hate accurately. I know Monte Carlo has a lot of historical value, but I would be lying If I said I enjoyed coming here. Its involvement on the calendar is never going to stop, but I’m not going to pretend I enjoy taking part. I see it as the roadblock before Sweden.” ​

 

[CakeWalker]

Season Six: Part II

AJ first ever career win in the sport of rally took place in her second season of the Junior with a win in Sweden, with the same location also proving to be the only feel good moment for last season as it had been Sweden once again where she had won her first WRC rally. AJ would return to Sweden, with a rally team that actually seemed to be backing her and supporting her through her journey with AJ clearly wanting to win back-to-back Rally Sweden titles.

Rally Sweden would prove to be another great weekend for Millar who despite only managing to win special stage two - would hold some serious constituency by finishing 2nd three times and 3rd once, with her only slip up being seen in SS3 as she would cross the line in 6th. However, her ability to keep consistent on the snow and ice would prove to be all that was needed as she would carry enough of a time margin to win and come 1st place in Rally Sweden for the second year in a row and thus claim her second WRC rally win.

Rally Mexico last year for AJ had very much been a case of doing everything in her power to complete the rally and she had finished 4th in her efforts, but this season it was clear that there was a real desire to elevate her performance and claim a top three finish. AJ’s car management would prove to be fantastic in Leon, so much so that she would actually go on to claim three stage wins in the rally. She wouldn’t be infallible though as on her second run of El Chocolate she would lose some time due to wear in her soft compound tyres and finish the stage in 5th. However, her overall approach to the 2023 Rally Mexico would see her finish overall in 2nd place although there would be a 35 second gap between her and first place Ogier. Nonetheless, it was very clear from the way in which Millar exited the car that she was extremely pleased with her performance at the end of round three.

Last season AJ had been forced to finish the Tour de Corse in Rally2 setting after failing to finish Special Stage Four, so it was clear that there was real intention to remove this skeleton from her closet. However, her time in Corsica would be anything but fun as she would struggle to drive on the road with her tyres aquaplaning on the wet roads which would cause her car to take a large amount of damage. So much so in fact, that AJ would be unable to finish SS3 and find herself dumped out of the rally. Toyota though would be able to bring the car to a working condition and for the second year in a row, she would be allowed to rejoin the rally in Rally2 setting. With the massive time penalty attached to her time, AJ’s only chance of securing points was to preserve her tyres in SS5 and then look for the Power Stage win to end the rally, something which she would manage to achieve claiming a vital five points and claiming a silver lining to a fairly horrible visit to France as she had finished 14th place for the second season in a row.

AJ would have the benefit of competing in her first ever Rally Argentina and from the manner in which she drove to begin with you would never have known this was her first time in country, as she would claiming stage victories in SS1, SS2 & SS4 in a rally in which she would look extremely comfortable whilst driving the car. A number of the roads in the rally have been used in previous edition of the Dakar Rally - so for AJ to seemingly master some of these extremely technical roads on her try made her performance even more impressive as she would claim victory in the rally finishing in 1st place and very much showing some real depth to her driving ability, as Argentina was very much seen as a test of a driver’s endurance.

Rally Chile would be one of those rallies of almost, could of and should have as AJ would finish 1st in SS1 & SS2 and 3rd in SS3 & SS4 but would have done enough to claim an overall lead in the rally after two day with a lead of 17seconds over Neuville. However, despite managing to win SS5 on the final day of the rally her car would suffer some wear and noticeable steering damage which AJ would find herself having to nurse during the difficult power stage in the dark, in which would prove to be extremely tricky as she would lose a large chunk of time to finish 12th in the power stage. The large amount of time that she had lost had resulted in both Neuville and Ogier leapfrogging her in the standing and she would have to settle for 3rd place in the rally. With all things considering, still finishing on the podium despite suffering from major wear was not something that AJ was likely to complain about.

Rally Portugal would be the last race before the mid-season break with Rally Italia this year having been pushed back to August and AJ would have strong understanding of Portugal having won the rally in the WRC-2 Pro with Skoda Motorsports and show that she hadn’t forgot about her time at the track despite a three year absence as she would claim four special stage victories and finish 1st place in Portugal with over a minute leader over her closet rival Neuville.


​

1st​	Ogier​	Citroen ​	175​
2nd​	Neuville​	Hyundai​	142​
3rd​	Millar​	Toyota​	135​
4th​	Tanak ​	Hyundai ​	101​
5th​	Sorod​	Hyundai​	67​
6th​	Rovanpera ​	Toyota​	50​
7th​	Suninen ​	M-Sport​	33​
8th​	Veiby ​	Toyota​	32​

At the mid-season point AJ had found herself in 3rd position sitting forty points behind overall leader Sebastien Ogier. It was clear that her failure to complete the Tour de Corse under regular rally setting had contributed to this, as after seven races Ogier and Millar had actually run three rallies each with Neuville only having claimed one victory. AJ Millar would speak out about the first half of the season:

“I really can’t complain about my start to the season - wins in Sweden, Argentina and Portugal are just things that I really wasn’t expecting especially in Argentina. Being 3rd in the overall standing is a really great but also unexpected feeling, and I have now been told by the team that our objective for the season has changed and that they want me to do everything in my power to push to the top of the standings. It is clear to me that finishing 5th in Monte Carlo and finishing the Tour de Corse under Rally2 settings are going to do me no favours and I need to make sure I don’t have any repeat performances. I also can’t complain about podium finishes in Mexico and Chile, so I really need to reign in my mistakes. I am very excited about the summer break because I have agreed to compete in the Race to Kenya Summer Tour, which will see a number of rally drivers taking part in a number of different racing disciplines across the globe, before we arrive in Kenya for a two-day rally with the intention of the Safari Rally being officially made part of the season calendar some time in the near future. I am also at liberty to reveal that I will be competing in a three event competition in the Stadium Truck Series as a representative of Monster Energy Racing with a number of races in the 3rd quarter of the season - as I see this as an excellent opportunity to understand a different aspect of motor racing.”​

 

[CakeWalker]

Season Six: Part III

Rally Italia would be the last rally race before the scheduled summer break, although despite it being a break from the WRC it didn’t always mean all the field would elect to take a break. It would also be the first time that AJ had raced in Sardinia since 2019 within the Junior WRC category, so it was already clear that this version of the rally was going to be much trickier. AJ would claim two stage wins during the event, with a typical win at the racing park but more impressively win a tough night stage around the Lerno loop. AJ would have to settle for 2nd place in Italy, as Ogier dominance for the season just seemed to make the multi-time world champion unbreakable.

AJ would be involved in a number of events during the summer break that would see a number of Rally and RallyCross drivers take part in promotional events to promote the Safari Rally with the clear intent of trying to get the Kenyan Rally back on the WRC Calendar - with Millar’s standout performance taking place in Romania as she would claim a victory in a Hill Climb event in Romania. Millar would then take part in a four stage rally in Kenya in which points would be earned from 1st-5th with 10, 8, 5, 3 & 1 points being earned in relation to where you finished each stage. AJ would impress winning SS1, SS2 & SS4 to come 1st place in the Safari Rally, with Seb Loeb finishing four points behind in 2nd and Nick Gronholm in 3rd. However, the event was not seen as a success by the rally community and the event seemed to gauge more interest in some of the more niche events that had taken place in the build up to the rally actual.

There can be no denying that Rally Finland hasn’t proven to be one of AJ’s preferred rally, with the American-Pole having finished 13th in their first year in the Junior WRC only to improve on their record each year by finishing 3rd again in the Junior WRC, and then 3rd in the WRC-2 Pro before claiming and important victory in the WR3-2 in 2021. With the Toyota Yaris seeming to be built perfectly for stages like Finland it seemed like this was AJ’s race to lose more than anything. And it really was as Millar would claiming 5/6 stage wins in the rally, only dropping time on the Power Stage in order to preserve the car and guarantee the rally victory as she would claim her fourth WRC victory of the year by finishing in 1st place in Finland. It would emerge that Millar had been invited to participate in the Monster Energy Stadium Truck Series but that AJ had announced that this could lead to a conflict of interest with not just her schedule but also with her sponsors.

Rally Deutschland (Rally Germany) would be the first time that AJ would have the opportunity to race in Germany, and prior to the rally beginning Toyota Gazoo Racing team boss Tommi Mäkinen would speak out ahead of Millar’s chances.

“I am a realist and I have made it clear to AJ that I fully recognise that despite this being her sixth year in the sport, this will be her first time racing in Germany. I think AJ just has to approach the rally with a positive attitude and hopefully she is able to learn as much as she can from the stages as she drives through them, as this will serve her greatly on any return loops. Miracles are possible in this sport, but I would much prefer AJ to just bring the car home and not take any unnecessary risks.”

AJ would start the rally in a terrible manner by finishing dead last in the Moselland stage and it was clear that rally’s aspect of very tight roads and sudden turns had slightly thrown AJ off pace, but the young prodigy would show her true potential by going on to win SS2, SS4 and really turning heads by winning the Power stage but because of her poor showing in the opening stage would have to settle for a 3rd place finish in Germany. Although, it was clear from her reaction on the podium, that AJ was the furthest thing from disappointed.

Rally Turkey would prove to be a nightmare event for AJ as despite starting the rally strong by winning SS2, she would fall into a ditch in SS3 and suffered catastrophic damage that would result in the car failing to finish with AJ taking the option to complete the rally under Rally-2 settings. AJ would maintain the tyres on day three and manage to win the Power Stage claiming five important points, but would still have to finish dead last by finishing in 14th place in Turkey which had very much caused her to really lose out on key points in the championship, but would speak quite candidly about the car’s setup that the balance of the car had just felt terrible throughout the entire racing weekend.

AJ would arrive in Wales with a clear desire to really turn her form around after a bitterly disappointing performance in Turkey. AJ would have a poor start to the rally finishing 5th, 2nd & 8th in the first three stages only to really turn her form around to claim three stages wins in a row which would allow her to win the Rally GB by 5 seconds as she claimed 1st place in Wales. However, Ogier would have pushed past the point of no return and with 309 points to his name and just two races left in the season he had won the WRC 2023 World Championship. This meant that AJ’s main directive was to do everything in her power, to claim as many points as possible with the intention of coming 2nd ahead of Neuville in the overall points standings.

AJ would really shine in Catalunya by claiming four stage wins and really building a large amount of a time advantage over her rivals, and would claim a 1st place finish in Spain in what would be her sixth rally victory of the season. With Neuville finishing the rally in third and with one rally left to go, Thierry Neuville had a seven point advantage over Millar meaning that AJ needed to claim an eight point advantage in Australia to claim 2nd for the year which was not going to be an easy task.

Unfortunately for AJ she would suffer terminal damage during SS3 of the Rally Australia which would not only end her rally, but also bring a sudden end to her season meaning she was unable to overtake Neuville and have to settle for 3rd place in the WRC Championship, which was nonetheless a great result in her first full season in the highest tier or rally racing with the DNF in Australia.


​

WRC 2023​	Driver​	Constructor ​	Rally Wins ​	Points ​
1st​	Ogier​	Citroen ​	7​	361​
2nd​	Neuville​	Hyundai​	1​	275​
3rd​	Millar​	Toyota​	6​	260​
4th​	Tanak​	Hyundai ​	0​	213​
5th​	Sordo​	Hyundai​	0​	137​
6th​	Rovanpera​	Toyota​	0​	108​
7th​	Suninen ​	M-Sport​	0​	71​
8th​	Veiby ​	Toyota​	0​	69​
9th​	Evans​	M-Sport​	0​	62​
10th​	Lappi​	Citroen ​	0​	48​

AJ Millar would speak with the press after the conclusion of her first full season in the World Rally Championship:

“I think this season was very much a tale of skill vs. consistency - as I really don’t want to to be misinterpreted as being big headed but with six victories (Sweden, Portugal, Finland, GB, Spain & Argentina) in my first full season in the WRC I am confident in saying that I have the skills needed to be seen as one of the top drivers in this sports. However, it is the rallies that I didn’t perform that ultimately really cost me as Theirry (Neuville) one manage to win Rally Chile this year, but because of his better understanding of some of these rallies he kept his car on the road and actually finished ahead of me in the overall standings. It is therefore not at all surprising that Hyundai claimed victory in the Manufacturers’ competition because of the consistency that Theirry, Ott and Dani were able to provide for them although on a personal level I do feel motivated to have finished ahead of Tanak on the basis that it was the car I was driving last year before Hyundai let me go. I am really pleased with how I drove this year and I can’t wait to see what 2024 has in store for me.” ​

 

[CakeWalker]

Season Six: Conclusion

It was announced that the nine time WRC Champion Sebastein Ogier was officially retiring from the competition and had cited that after equally Loeb’s record of nine championship wins he had decided to call quits on his career and that he had no intention of inflicting any further injuries on his body and wanted to concentrate on his own personal life from here on out and that he had no interest in involving himself in the management of the sport. Citroen’s Director of Racing Pierre Budar would shortly make an announcement a few hours after Ogier’s announcement.

“In line of Sebastien retiring from the sport Citroen will continue to provide engines in the WRC - but Citroen Racing will no longer be participating in the sport. Instead, a customer team has chosen to purchase our facility and engine and from 2024 onwards Red Bull Rally Team will be participating in the WRC powered by a Citroen engine. I am at liberty to announce that former Red Bull Racing Formula 1 principal Christian Horner has been appointed as the team boss and that Pontus Tideman will depart from Skoda racing to become the team 2nd driver, whilst AJ Millar has also signed a contract with Red Bull Rally Team to take on the role of 1st driver. Despite Citroen not controlling the team, we are still confident that our engine power will be more than competitive to continue to make us the most dominant manufacturers in the sport.”

With AJ departing Toyota Gazoo Racing after just one year with the team that had arguably saved her at her lowest time, Tommi Mäkinen would speak quite openly about the situation.

“What some people don’t realise is that in this sport people are often switching teams, manufacturers and even disciplines and that we really shouldn’t hold this against anyone. I’ve had the benefit of working with AJ on two separate occasions, firstly in her dominant run in the WRC-3 competition and secondly last year where she really impressed us all with her 3rd place finish - so I really hold no grudges to her for taking the opportunity to race for the newly arrived Red Bull Racing Team. I am also in the loop of information to know that AJ has a fantastic relationship with Toyota as a manufacturer - but how she wishes to conduct business is ultimately her decision. I wish her good luck next season, but at the same time am happy to announce that Mads Ostberg is returning to the WRC as will be our first choice driver next year and I feel she has a really opportunity to show that Toyota Gazoo Racing isn’t leaving the sport anytime soon.”

It would also be announced as a feature interview on RedBull.TV that AJ Millar wound not only be representing Red Bull Rally Team in the 2024 WRC - but that she had also accepted a place on Team Peugeot-Hansen to drive the 208 WRX car in the 2024 Rally-X Championship with the position in the team being paid for by Red Bull. It was announced that Millar would participate in the Rally-X Championship, as well competing in a number of Rally-X Invitational Events. The reasoning for her sudden change in teams and involvement in a second discipline would be revealed during an exclusive interview.

Confirmed Rally-X Championship Calendar
Round 1: Sweden (February) | Round 2 : Norway (March) | Round 3: France (May)
Round 4: Portugal (June) | Round 5: United Kingdom (September)

“I was offered to drive with the Red Bull Rally Team in 2024 on the condition that I would also take part in the 2024 Rally-X Championship - and personally the package that the Red Bull RT Citroen powered car is offering puts me in a position where I feel this is the vehicle that has the strongest chance of me claiming the WRC World title. However, all of this is simply just a silver lining as this all just acts as a prologue for my true intention as a representative of the Red Bull brand. I am at liberty to announce that in 2025 ‘Team Red Bull’ will return to Nascar with an entry in both the Truck Series and Xfinity Series and be powered by Toyota in both competitions having offered the opportunity to drive for the team in both classifications. Returning to the Gander RV Truck Series after five years is a really exciting opportunity for me and although I won the championship in 2020 I am aware that a new team and a new car is going to offer very different challenges for in comparison to the #65 car I drove with Halmar Friesen Racing. The really excitement though will be to drive the Toyota Supra in the Xfinity Series for my own team for a full season. I am very grateful for the seven years I have spent in the various WRC categories, but I would be lying if I said my ultimate goal wasn’t to become the first woman to win a race in the Cup Series!”

It would be revealed that AJ Millar’s younger brother Jester Millar had also been signed by Red Bull with the intention of the younger sibling being the eventual replacement in the Trucks, on the basis that Team Red Bull either decided to invest in a car in the Cup Series or a 3rd party offered Millar a contract in Nascar’s elite level. One thing that seemed clear is that the Red Bull seemed to have made a long-term investment with the Millar siblings.

- Jester Millar -​

 

[CakeWalker]

Season Seven: Introduction

AJ would start her third and potentially final season in the World Rally Championship at the traditional Monte Carlo Rally. Despite having improved massively last year by finishing 5th, after having failing to finish the rally in 2022 it was clear that if AJ was going to be seriously considered as a championship contender she really had to make sure that as a minimum the Citroen C3 finished the rally on the podium as any dropped points could prove to be the deciding factor at the end of the season. The real struggle that AJ would have though, was that once again she was having to jump into the deep end and learn the workings of a new team immediately, especially with the added pressure that she would in fact be departing the rally world for the Nascar Series in 2025.

AJ would start the season with a stage win in SS1 although it would be noticed that Millar had taken on the Wet Asphalt tyre compound for the day and so for the longest La Bollène-Vésubie section being used for SS2 - rain would have to fall for this tyre compound to pay dividends. AJ however, would really suffer as the rain would just not fall despite being told it would and her tyres would suffer because of it, and although she would finish SS2 in third and only dropped about 25 seconds, she would look noticeably furious at the end of the stage. Much to everyone’s surprise Millar would be placed on the wet compound again for Day 2 and would suffer for it again on SS3 coming 8th but would manage to manage the tyres well enough to finish SS4 in 2nd. Millar though would claim a second stage win for Monte Carlo and with just the Power Stage to go would find herself with a 5 second overall lead in the rally. Driving on the wrong tyres for the first two days of the rally had led to the C3 suffering wear, which would become more apparent in the powerstage and AJ would drop down the order finishing 4th in the Power Stage and find herself finishing the Monte Carlo Rally in 2nd place missing out on a maiden win by just 3 seconds to Ott Tanak, with Mads Ostberg finishing 3rd in the Toyota car she had been driving last season.

Following the race, AJ would speak out about her first race with the newly formed Red Bull Rally Team:

“Finishing second in Monte Carlo is a really positive start to the season and I am really way in which the Citreon C3 handled what is always a tricky course to work your way around. My only qualms is with the team’s meteorologist, as I only have no idea why I was advised to used the Wet Asphalt compound for the first two days of the rally - as I honestly feel that if I had been wearing the correct boots I would be addressing you as the winner of the 2024 Monte Carlo Rally. But I am very happy with how this weekend played out, and am now looking forward to spending the next month in Scandinavia as I get to compete in the Rally-X event in Sweden and Norway as well as Rally Sweden, which is always one of my favourite places to race.” ​

 

[CakeWalker]

Season Seven: Part I

AJ would kick start her first season in the Rally-X Championship by racing at the Höljesbanan Circuit in Sweden as a member of Team Peugeot Hansen driving the Peugeot 208 WRX. AJ would be treated to a unique yellow livery to differentiate herself from Kevin Hansen’s vehicle and would be issued with #71 for the season. Much to everyone’s surprise AJ would really impress in the qualifying heats, finishing first in Heat 1 & Heat 4, and claiming fast second and third finishes in the other two heats. This good run of form and strong understanding of the course, would result in her easily winning her semi-final qualifier before going on to win the final race and finished in 1st place at the end of the weekend racking up 25 points and having a truly phenomenal start to her Rally-X career sitting on top of the standings.

AJ though wouldn’t have time to celebrate her victory as she would remain in Sweden for the second race in the World Rally Championship, in what would be a triple header of events taking place in Scandinavia.

For the second year in a row AJ would show her true understanding of just how to drive in Sweden and it was clear that her knowledge of how to compete on snowy and icy roads was second to none as she would win five out of the six stages and claim 1st place in Sweden, and thus had won the Swedish Rally two years in a row. AJ positive start to the season would seemingly continue as she crossed the border for the Rally-X race in Norway.

Millar would continue to really impress everyone in the field and it was clear that Red Bull were massively pleased with the promotion that AJ was providing them as she would continue to blitz through the field and advance all the way to final, where she would claim her second overall victory by claiming 1st place once more and very much cementing her position on top of the leaderboard after just two races. Before AJ left Lånkebanen she would speak to the press about her recent performances.

“My time in Sweden and Norway has been absolutely flawless, and I’ve really surprised myself with how well I performed in the Rally-X Championship. I was aware that I had experience in competitive racing considering I was able to win the Nascar Truck Series in 2020, but I’ve next had the opportunity to race a rally car in this manner. It is a really unique experience, but I am really fortunate that Red Bull decided to give me the opportunity to race in the competition. In regards to Rally Sweden, claiming a second victory in Sweden and my seventh career rally victory in the WRC honestly it is just a really great feeling. The package that the Red Bull Rally Team have provided me is great and I of course have to thank Citroen for developing such a great power unit that continues to provide great results even if they are no longer in the sport as an official team.”

AJ would claim three stage victories in Rally Mexico and it looked as if she was capable of equally her 2nd place finish last season and perhaps if she was able to push hard might even be able to claim the rally victory. However, in the final stage of the race which was being done at night she would experience power failure to her headlights which would make navigating the Power Stage incredibly difficult which would result in her losing some time and finishing the stage in 11th - which would have a knock on effect of AJ missing out on a podium spot as she finished the rally in 4th place.

To make the month of March even more of a struggle, AJ would struggle in Corsica for the second year in a row at the Tour de Corse although her performance was a massive improvement from the previous year in which she had been forced to finish under Rally-2 setting. However, claiming just one stage victory she would finish outside the top three for the second race in a row as she would claim her second 4th place finish of the season. To make matters worse Mads Ostberg was now sitting at the top of the championship standings after four races and was doing it in the car that she had been driving last year. AJ though would make it clear that her struggles were very much based around human error and that the car could not be faulted for her current position in the standings.

China would play host to the first of three invitational events that the members of the Rally-X Championship would be invited to promote the event as a potential race location for the future in which there would be three races. AJ would finish 3rd, 4th and 2nd in the race races and would be ranked in 3rd place at the end of the weekend that would see Anton Marklund win the China Invitational Cup in what was seen as a very successful event.

AJ would return to Argentina and would claim four stage wins including the final power stage that would hammer the final nail in the coffin in what had proven to be a totally dominant weekend for AJ as she finished in 1st place with over a minute lead over 2nd place Neuville. The victory would mean that AJ had now successfully won the Swedish and Argentinian Rally two years in a row, and had reduced the gap to championship leader Ostberg finding herself just twelve points of the top spot.

As the World Rally Championship remained in South America, AJ would continue to show her form as she would claim four stage victories and continue to show a real understanding of the Chilean roads as she claimed another 1st place victory for the season. It would also be the first time she had won in Chile, so this would be an even more special victory for AJ who looked incredibly pleased with her achievement. After the race Carlos Sainz. Sr would offer high praises for the young twenty five year old driver, who was without no doubt the greatest female driver in the history of the World Rally Championship.

“There is no denying that this young girl, excuse me, this woman is one of the most talented drivers in motorsport right now and I hope the team bosses have really missed a trick in not convincing AJ to remain in the sport. She is a driver that is capable of winning multiple world championships, although I think we all have to respect the fact that she has set herself career goals and if she has a desire to race in the Nascar Series then you just have to take your hat off to her. One thing I really must say though is that the manner in which AJ has driven in both Argentina and Chile in recent years - I wouldn’t be surprised if she finds herself follow both me and Loeb in one day turning up as an entrant in the Dakar Rally, she has got some really potential.”

AJ would return to Europe for one of two Rally-X championship event, although Circuit de Lohéac would prove to be much more tricky than Sweden and Norway, as despite easily qualifying for the semi-finals AJ would suffer a front right tyre puncture that would result in her spinning off the track and being forced to retire from the race. Not even posting a time, meant that she would automatically finish with the worst time in the semi-final and finish RallyCross France in 12th place.

AJ would arrive in Portugal knowing that as soon as she finished the weekend of Rally-X racing she would remain in the country for Rally Portugal. AJ would look almost flawless in the qualifying heats winning three out of four of the heats. In the semi-finals she would only be bested by Johan Kristoffersson who would seem to have a much better understanding of Pista Automóvel de Montalegre and this track knowledge would prove to be something that AJ wouldn’t be able to overcome as Kristoffersson would go on to win the final, with AJ having to settle for 2nd place in Portugal. With just one race to go in the season which would take place in three months would see AJ sitting 1st place in the rankings with an eight point advantage over Kristofferson and ten point advantage over Solberg.

Throughout the whole weekend, AJ would complain that there was something wrong with her car and she felt as if her Citroen C3 was underperforming which was a strange statement as she would look dominant throughout the entire weekend, to point that she would actually drive flawlessly as she would win every single stage in Portugal and would find herself earning the nickname from the local fans as the ‘Queen of Portugal’ as she finished in 1st place. To make the win even better not only would it be her tenth career rally win in the WRC, but she would also find herself four points ahead of Ostberg in the championship standings with 50% of the season now being completed. Red Bull Rally Team Team Boss Christiian Horner would offer his viewpoint for the season so far.

“I don’t think this season could be going any better, as a customer team the Red Bull brand through its many forms has always had good relationships with manufacturers and we are incredibly pleased with the engines that Citroen have been able to provide us with. It was never our expectation for Red Bull RT to win the championship in the first year of asking and it is very much something we want to achieve within our first five years of the sport. However, I can't fault the manner in which AJ has been driving for us. The fact that she had managed to win four out of seven rallies, feels like we are on course for a potential upset this year although you have to look at a driver's past record. It is all about what a driver has never done before rather than what we know they can do. AJ has proven she knows how to win in Sweden, Argentina and Portugal so her winning those rallies was not seen as anything other than a minor success. The real goals she has set for herself is to be able to deliver wins in the rallies she hasn’t won before, so Chile was a perfect example of her doing what is needed of her if she is to stand a chance of being a world champion. This means that we are really targeting Turkey and Australia as places in which AJ really needs to claim top three finishes.”

AJ's next few events will see her compete at Rally Italia, Romania RX Invitational, Rally Finland, Rally Germany and the final race of Rally-X Championship Race in the United Kingdom. After these five races, AJ will find herself in her final four racing events of potentially her career in Rally before transitioning to the Nascar Series. ​