Gill led the Central European Rally after 17 stages by eight seconds, but a blistering last effort by Sweden’s Mille Johansson on the 18th stage flipped the title on its head.

With an 8.6-second win in the final stage, Johansson put 1.6 seconds between himself and Gill.

“Tough week,” said Johansson, who was joined by Johan Gronvall.

“I done some mistakes so it all played out today on the very last stage.

“Seven seconds behind, and I gave it my all. Such a relief. I think it’s going to take some time to sink in, but wow, that was a stage from us.”

Gill took two rally wins this year, and finished second in the remaining three. However, the points in Junior WRC puts greater reward on stage wins than a driver’s final finishing position.

A point is awarded for every stage win, and Johannson proved to be the pick of the bunch – winning 43 stages over the season while Gill won 22.

Only the best four results count towards the championship. All told, Johansson wound up with 133 points while Gill ended the season with 122 points.

It’s a devastating blow to Gill’s career. Had he won the title, he would have received a scholarship to contest four European rounds of the FIA World Rally Championship in WRC2 driving a Rally2-spec Ford Fiesta prepared by M-Sport.

In a short post to social media, Gill said: “We gave it our all, but it wasn’t enough.”

Hayden Paddon, a one-time FIA World Rally Championship event winner, offered Gill some kind words.

“Mate, mega drive and comeback,” he wrote.

“You deserved that one, but you have well and truly shown you mean business and people will take notice of that.

“It may not seem it at the moment, but this will add fuel to the fire for your next steps and your time will come.”

Gill made his JWRC debut in 2024 where he finished fourth in the championship.