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] Virves competes for Toksport WRT in the World Rally Championship.[3]
EstonianEstonia
Jakko Viilo Aleks Lesk Sander Pruul
Julia Thulin
Hugo Magalhães
Craig Drew | |
| 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 |
| Teams | Toksport WRT |
| Rallies | 32 |
| Championships | 0 |
| Rally wins | 0 |
| Podiums | 0 |
| Stage wins | 0 |
| Total points | 17 |
| First rally | 2020 Rally Estonia |
| Last rally | 2026 Rally Islas Canarias |
Career
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, Virves 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] He had a terrible start to the season as he had not scored a single point after Portugal. Virves finally scored his seasons first points in Sardegna and Greece, finishing seventh and eighth in WRC2 class. For next round in Estonia in his home event, Virves won the rally in front of Linnamäe and took eight stage wins. It was his first win WRC2.[9] Virves scored another podium in Finland, finishing third. In Rally Paraguay he was holding third place, but he had to change a tire on the penultimate stage which dropped him to fifth place.
Rally victories
WRC2 victories
| # | Event | Season | Co-driver | Car |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2025 Rally Estonia |
2025 | Jakko Viilo |
Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 |
| 2 |  2026 Safari Rally |
2026 | Jakko Viilo |
Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 |
WRC2 Challenger victories
| # | Event | Season | Co-driver | Car |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2025 Rally Estonia |
2025 | Jakko Viilo |
Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 |
| 2 | 2026 Safari Rally |
2026 | Jakko Viilo |
Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 |
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
WRC summary
| Season | Team | Starts | Victories | Podiums | Stage wins | DNF | Points | Final result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Private | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | NC |
| 2021 | Private | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | NC |
| 2022 | Private | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | NC |
| 2023 | M-Sport | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | NC |
| 2024 | Private | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 19th |
| 2025 | Private/Toksport | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | NC |
| 2026 | Toksport | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10* | 12th* |
| Total | 32 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 17 | ||
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 Ret |
NC | 0 | ||||||||||
| Toksport WRT | POR Ret |
ITA 15 |
GRE 14 |
EST 11 |
FIN 13 |
PAR 11 |
CHL | EUR | JPN | SAU 14 | ||||||||
| 2026 | Toksport WRT | Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 | MON | SWE | KEN 5 |
CRO | ESP 24 |
POR | JPN | GRE | EST | FIN | PAR | CHL | ITA | SAU | 12th* | 10* |
* 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 Ret |
ITA 7 |
GRE 8 |
EST 1 |
FIN 3 |
PAR 5 |
CHL | EUR | JPN | SAU 3 |
5th | 75 |
| 2026 | Toksport WRT | Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 | MON | SWE | KEN 1 |
CRO | ESP | POR | JPN | GRE | EST | FIN | PAR | CHL | ITA | SAU | 8th* | 25* |
* Season still in progress.
WRC-2 Challenger
| 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 5 |
MEX | CRO | POR Ret |
ITA 9 |
KEN | EST 4 |
FIN Ret |
GRE Ret |
CHL | EUR | JPN | 15th | 24 | |
| 2024 | Robert Virves | Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 | MON | SWE | KEN | CRO | POR | ITA 5 |
POL 2 |
LAT | FIN 6 |
GRE 2 |
CHI | EUR | JPN | 8th | 54 | |
| 2025 | Toksport WRT | Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 | MON | SWE | KEN | ESP | POR Ret |
ITA 7 |
GRE 4 |
EST 1 |
FIN 2 |
PAR 3 |
CHL | EUR | JPN | SAU 2 |
3rd | 92 |
* Season still in progress
ERC results
| Year | Entrant | Car | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | Pos. | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | M-Sport Poland | Ford Fiesta Rally3 | PRT1 | PRT2 | ESP1 | POL 13 |
LAT | ITA 15 |
CZE | ESP2 | 50th | 4 |
| 2023 | RedGrey Team | Ford Fiesta Rally2 | PRT 16 |
CAN | POL | LAT 5 |
SWE | ITA | CZE | HUN | 26th | 19 |
| 2024 | Robert Virves | Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 | HUN | CAN | SWE | EST 2 |
ITA | CZE | GBR | POL | 18th | 28 |
| 2025 | Robert Virves | Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 | ESP Ret |
HUN | SWE | POL | ITA | CZE | GBR | CRO 5 |
26th | 18 |
* Season still in progress
