2021 Arctic Rally

The 2021 Arctic Rally (also known as the Arctic Rally Finland Powered by CapitalBox 2021) is a motor racing event for rally cars that is scheduled to hold over four days between 26 and 28 February 2021.[2] It will mark the fifty-seventh running of the Arctic Rally, and the first time the event has been run as a round of the World Rally Championship. The event is the second round of the 2021 World Rally Championship, World Rally Championship-2 and World Rally Championship-3. The 2021 event is based in Rovaniemi in Lapland and will be contested over ten special stages totalling 251.08 km (156.01 mi) in competitive distance.[1]

2021 Arctic Rally
Arctic Rally Finland Powered by CapitalBox 2021
Round 2 of 12 in the 2021 World Rally Championship
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The rally is the first World Rally Championship round held inside the Arctic Circle.
Host country Finland
Rally baseRovaniemi, Lapland
Dates run26 – 28 February 2021
Stages10 (251.08 km; 156.01 miles)[1]
Stage surfaceSnow
Transport distance602.27 km (374.23 miles)
Overall distance830.88 km (516.28 miles)

Kalle Rovanperä and Jonne Halttunen are the defending rally winners, having won the 2020 rally when it was held as part of the Finnish Rally Championship.

Background

Addition on the calendar

The Arctic Rally was not included on the first calendar published by the World Motorsport Council.[3] The event was a late addition when Rally Sweden was cancelled in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.[4][5] The Arctic Rally was chosen over six other reserve events because Rally Sweden was the only snow-based event on the calendar, and none of the reserve events were planned to run on snow.[6]

The Arctic Rally will be run twice in 2021. The first running in January will be held as a round of the Finnish national rally Championship, while the second running in February will be a World Championship round. The national-level event was won by Juho Hänninen, driving a Toyota Yaris WRC.[7]

Championship standings prior to the event

Reigning World Champions Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia enter the round with a nine-point lead over Elfyn Evans and Scott Martin. Thierry Neuville and Martijn Wydaeghe are third, a further four points behind. In the World Rally Championship for Manufacturers, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT hold a twenty-two-point lead over defending manufacturers' champions Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT, followed by M-Sport Ford WRT.

In the World Rally Championship-2 standings, Andreas Mikkelsen and Ola Fløene hold an eight-point lead ahead of Adrien Fourmaux and Renaud Jamoul in the drivers' and co-drivers' standings respectively, with Eric Camilli and François-Xavier Buresi in third. In the teams' championship, Toksport WRT lead Movisport by ten points.

In the World Rally Championship-3 standings, Yohan Rossel and Benoît Fulcrand lead the drivers' and co-drivers' standings by six points respectively. Yoann Bonato and Benjamin Boulloud are second, with Nicolas Ciamin and Yannick Roche in third in both standings, trailing by two points.

Itinerary

All dates and times are EET (UTC+2).

Date Time No. Stage name Distance
26 February 08:31 — Vennivaara [Shakedown] 5.69 km
Leg 1 — 62.10 km
26 February 15:08 SS1 Sarriojärvi 1 31.05 km
18:38 SS2 Sarriojärvi 2 31.05 km
Leg 2 — 144.04 km
27 February 09:08 SS3 Mustalampi 1 24.43 km
10:38 SS4 Kaihuavaara 1 19.91 km
12:08 SS5 Siikakämä 1 27.68 km
15:38 SS6 Mustalampi 2 24.43 km
17:08 SS7 Kaihuavaara 2 19.91 km
18:38 SS8 Siikakämä 2 27.68 km
Leg 3 — 44.94 km
28 February 10:08 SS9 Aittajärvi 1 22.47 km
13:18 SS10 Aittajärvi 2 [Power Stage] 22.47 km
Source:[8]

References
  1. "Itinerary ver 1.3" (PDF). arcticrallyfinland.fi. Arctic Rally. 31 January 2021. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
  2. "Croatia and Estonia named in 2021 WRC calendar". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. 9 October 2020. Retrieved 9 October 2020.
  3. "FIA announces World Motor Sport Council decisions". fia.com. Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. 12 October 2018. Retrieved 12 October 2018.
  4. "Rally Sweden cancelled". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. 15 December 2020. Retrieved 15 December 2020.
  5. Craig, Jason (14 January 2021). "WRC adds Arctic Rally Finland to 2021 calendar as Sweden replacement". autosport.com. Motorsport Network. Retrieved 14 January 2021.
  6. Craig, Jason (24 December 2020). "FIA "quite confident" 2021 WRC opener in Monte Carlo will go ahead". autosport.com. Motorsport Network. Retrieved 26 December 2020.
  7. "Hänninen gains inside line on arctic roads". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. 18 January 2021. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
  8. "Arctic Rally Finland route revealed". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. 2 February 2021. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
Previous rally:
2021 Monte Carlo Rally		 2021 FIA World Rally Championship Next rally:
2021 Croatia Rally
Previous rally:
2020 Arctic Rally		 2021 Arctic Rally Next rally:
2022 Arctic Rally
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