Aaron Johnston
Part of the WRC’s new generation of co-drivers. The Irishman is embarking on his first full season in the rallying’s top tier with Takamoto Katsuta.
| Nationality | IRE |
| Date of Birth | 2.09.1995 |
| Birthplace | Ireland |
| Driver | Takamoto Katsuta |
The story so far
Johnston started co-driving in 2011 on national rallies in Ireland and partnered various local drivers over the course of five years.
A jam-packed schedule in 2016 saw him contest the British Junior Championship with Adam Bustard in a Ford Fiesta R2T plus other Irish rallies.
The following year he ventured further afield, taking on a handful of Estonian rallies alongside British driver William Butler as well as British championship rounds with Josh McErlean in another Fiesta.
More UK outings with McErlean followed in 2018 as Johnston continued to build a lengthy CV as he finished sixth in the French Peugeot 208 Rally Cup with Mohamed Al-Mutawaa.
When young Swede Oliver Solberg called on Johnston’s experience in 2019, his career really took off.
They claimed victory at Rally Liepãja and went on to win the Latvian Championship in a Volkswagen Polo GTI R5. That same year, Johnston made his WRC debut with Solberg at Rally GB.
A full WRC3 campaign followed in 2020, with the duo campaigning the Polo alongside a partial campaign with Škoda Motorsport. They won the class at Rally Estonia and also secured the European Championship ERC1 junior title.
Hyundai rewarded their efforts with a works deal to tackle WRC2 in 2021, and Johnston also partnered Solberg in the team’s i20 World Rally Car in Kenya.
Johnston split from Solberg near the end of the year and was snapped up by Toyota Gazoo Racing pilot Takamoto Katsuta for the final three rounds. He will contest his first full season with the Japanese driver in 2022.