2021 Arctic Rally Finland
| 2021 Arctic Rally Finland Arctic Rally Finland Powered by CapitalBox 2021 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Round 2 of 12 in the 2021 World Rally Championship
| |||
 The rally is the first World Rally Championship round held inside the Arctic Circle. | |||
| Host country |  Finland | ||
| Rally base | Rovaniemi, Lapland | ||
| Dates run | 26 – 28 February 2021 | ||
| Stages | 10 (251.08 km; 156.01 miles)[1] | ||
| Stage surface | Snow | ||
| Transport distance | 604.97 km (375.91 miles) | ||
| Overall distance | 856.05 km (531.92 miles) | ||
| Statistics | |||
| Crews registered | 56 | ||
| Crews | 55 at start, 52 at finish | ||
| Overall results | |||
| Overall winner |  Ott Tänak Martin Järveoja Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT2:03:49.6 | ||
| Power Stage winner | Kalle Rovanperä Jonne Halttunen Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT10:02.4 | ||
| Support category results | |||
| WRC-2 winner | Esapekka Lappi Janne Ferm Movisport2:09:56.6 | ||
| WRC-3 winner | Teemu Asunmaa Marko Salminen 2:11:55.3 | ||
The 2021 Arctic Rally Finland (also known as the Arctic Rally Finland Powered by CapitalBox 2021) was a motor racing event for rally cars that was held over three days between 26 and 28 February 2021.[2] It marked 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 was the second round of the 2021 World Rally Championship, World Rally Championship-2 and World Rally Championship-3. The 2021 event was based in Rovaniemi in Lapland and was contested over ten special stages totalling 251.08 km (156.01 mi) in competitive distance.[1]
Kalle Rovanperä and Jonne Halttunen were the defending rally winners, having won the 2020 rally when it was held as part of the Finnish Rally Championship.
Ott Tänak and Martin Järveoja won the event.[3] Esapekka Lappi and Janne Ferm won the World Rally Championship-2 category,[4] while Teemu Asunmaa and Marko Salminen were the winners in the World Rally Championship-3.[5]
Background
[edit]Addition on the calendar
[edit]The Arctic Rally was not included on the first calendar published by the World Motorsport Council.[6] The event was a late addition when Rally Sweden was cancelled in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.[7][8] 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.[9] Competitors are required to wear warmer overalls than usual for safety reasons.[10]
The Arctic Rally was run twice in 2021. The first running in January was held as a round of the Finnish national rally Championship, while the second running in February was a World Championship round. The national-level event was won by Juho Hänninen, driving a Toyota Yaris WRC.[11] The two events have the same organisers and similar routes.[10]
Championship standings prior to the event
[edit]Reigning World Champions Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia entered the round with a nine-point lead over Elfyn Evans and Scott Martin. Thierry Neuville and Martijn Wydaeghe were third, a further four points behind. In the World Rally Championship for Manufacturers, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT held 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 held 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 led Movisport by ten points.
In the World Rally Championship-3 standings, Yohan Rossel and Benoît Fulcrand led the drivers' and co-drivers' standings by six points respectively. Yoann Bonato and Benjamin Boulloud were second, with Nicolas Ciamin and Yannick Roche in third in both standings, trailing by two points.
Entry list
[edit]The following crews were entered into the rally. The event was open to crews competing in the World Rally Championship, its support categories, the World Rally Championship-2 and World Rally Championship-3, and privateer entries that were not registered to score points in any championship. Thirteen entries for the World Rally Championship were received, as were ten in the World Rally Championship-2 and twenty-three in the World Rally Championship-3.
In detail
[edit]Oliver Solberg is set to make his Rally1 début in a Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC prepared and entered by Hyundai's satellite team Hyundai 2C Competition at the rally. His co-driver for this rally is Sebastian Marshall as his regular co-driver Aaron Johnston has to miss the rally after he was found positive with COVID-19.[13] FIA World Rallycross Championship driver Mattias Ekström will make a one-off appearance in the rally.[14]
Route
[edit]The rally will be contested over ten special stages totalling 251.08 km (156.01 mi) in competitive distance. The route of the rally is different to that of the first running of the event in January 2021. All of the stages will be run in reverse, with the exception of the Aittajärvi Power Stage. The Mustalampi stage returned to the itinerary from previous runnings of the Arctic Rally, with some sections being brand-new.[15]
Itinerary
[edit]All dates and times are EET (UTC 2).
| Leg | Date | Time | No. | Stage name | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | 26 February | 08:31 | — | Vennivaara [Shakedown] | 5.69 km |
| 1 | 26 February | 15:08 | SS1 | Sarriojärvi 1 | 31.05 km |
| 18:38 | SS2 | Sarriojärvi 2 | 31.05 km | ||
| 2 | 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 | ||
| 3 | 28 February | 10:08 | SS9 | Aittajärvi 1 | 22.47 km |
| 13:18 | SS10 | Aittajärvi 2 [Power Stage] | 22.47 km | ||
| Source:[15] | |||||
Report
[edit]World Rally Cars
[edit]Ott Tänak and Martin Järveoja won the event for Hyundai. Kalle Rovanperä and Jonne Halttunen finished second for Toyota and took the lead in the championship. Ogier crashed on Saturday but was allowed to restart the next day. Solberg lost fifteen seconds to an off on the power stage, on which Rovanperä set the fastest time to claim the maximum bonus points, 0.2 seconds faster than Craig Breen and Paul Nagle.[16]
Classification
[edit]Special stages
[edit]| Day | Stage | Stage name | Length | Winners | Car | Time | Class leaders |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 26 February | — | Vennivaara [Shakedown] | 5.69 km | Tänak / Järveoja | Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC | 2:35.4 | — |
| SS1 | Sarriojärvi 1 | 31.05 km | Tänak / Järveoja | Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC | 15:57.8 | Tänak / Järveoja | |
| SS2 | Sarriojärvi 2 | 31.05 km | Tänak / Järveoja | Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC | 15:52.9 | ||
| 27 February | SS3 | Mustalampi 1 | 24.43 km | Tänak / Järveoja | Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC | 13:54.5 | |
| SS4 | Kaihuavaara 1 | 19.91 km | Evans / Martin | Toyota Yaris WRC | 9:06.6 | ||
| SS5 | Siikakämä 1 | 27.68 km | Tänak / Järveoja | Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC | 12:30.1 | ||
| SS6 | Mustalampi 2 | 24.43 km | Tänak / Järveoja | Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC | 13:57.3 | ||
| SS7 | Kaihuavaara 2 | 19.91 km | Rovanperä / Halttunen | Toyota Yaris WRC | 9:08.8 | ||
| SS8 | Siikakämä 2 | 27.68 km | Neuville / Wydaeghe | Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC | 12:44.0 | ||
| 28 February | SS9 | Aittajärvi 1 | 22.47 km | Evans / Martin | Toyota Yaris WRC | 10:07.5 | |
| SS10 | Aittajärvi 2 [Power Stage] | 22.47 km | Rovanperä / Halttunen | Toyota Yaris WRC | 10:02.4 |
Championship standings
[edit]| Pos. | Drivers' championships | Co-drivers' championships | Manufacturers' championships | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Move | Driver | Points | Move | Co-driver | Points | Move | Manufacturer | Points | ||||
| 1 |  3
|
Kalle Rovanperä | 39 | 3
|
Jonne Halttunen | 39 | 
|
Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT | 88 | |||
| 2 | 1
|
Thierry Neuville | 35 | 1
|
Martijn Wydaeghe | 35 |
|
Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT | 77 | |||
| 3 |  2
|
Sébastien Ogier | 31 | 2
|
Julien Ingrassia | 31 |
|
M-Sport Ford WRT | 24 | |||
| 4 | 2
|
Elfyn Evans | 31 | 2
|
Scott Martin | 31 |
|
Hyundai 2C Competition | 22 | |||
| 5 | 7
|
Ott Tänak | 27 | 7
|
Martin Järveoja | 27 | ||||||
World Rally Championship-2
[edit]Classification
[edit]Special stages
[edit]| Day | Stage | Stage name | Length | Winners | Car | Time | Class leaders |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 26 February | — | Vennivaara [Shakedown] | 5.69 km | Mikkelsen / Fløene | Škoda Fabia R5 Evo | 2:47.6 | — |
| SS1 | Sarriojärvi 1 | 31.05 km | Lappi / Ferm | Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 | 16:40.6 | Lappi / Ferm | |
| SS2 | Sarriojärvi 2 | 31.05 km | Lappi / Ferm | Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 | 16:38.3 | ||
| 27 February | SS3 | Mustalampi 1 | 24.43 km | Lappi / Ferm | Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 | 14:29.7 | |
| SS4 | Kaihuavaara 1 | 19.91 km | Lappi / Ferm | Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 | 9:36.2 | ||
| SS5 | Siikakämä 1 | 27.68 km | Lappi / Ferm | Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 | 13:09.4 | ||
| SS6 | Mustalampi 2 | 24.43 km | Lappi / Ferm | Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 | 14:26.9 | ||
| SS7 | Kaihuavaara 2 | 19.91 km | Lappi / Ferm | Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 | 9:34.0 | ||
| SS8 | Siikakämä 2 | 27.68 km | Gryazin / Aleksandrov | Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 | 13:40.8 | ||
| 28 February | SS9 | Aittajärvi 1 | 22.47 km | Lappi / Ferm | Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 | 10:51.7 | |
| SS10 | Aittajärvi 2 [Power Stage] | 22.47 km | Mikkelsen / Fløene | Škoda Fabia R5 Evo | 10:41.1 |
Championship standings
[edit]| Pos. | Drivers' championships | Co-drivers' championships | Teams' championships | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Move | Driver | Points | Move | Co-driver | Points | Move | Manufacturer | Points | ||||
| 1 |
|
Andreas Mikkelsen | 52 |
|
Ola Fløene | 52 |
|
Toksport WRT | 70 | |||
| 2 | 
|
Esapekka Lappi | 29 |
|
Janne Ferm | 29 |
|
Movisport | 70 | |||
| 3 | 1
|
Adrien Fourmaux | 25 | 1
|
Renaud Jamoul | 25 |
|
M-Sport Ford WRT | 18 | |||
| 4 | 1
|
Eric Camilli | 17 | 1
|
François-Xavier Buresi | 17 | ||||||
| 5 |
|
Nikolay Gryazin | 17 |
|
Konstantin Aleksandrov | 17 | ||||||
World Rally Championship-3
[edit]Classification
[edit]Special stages
[edit]| Day | Stage | Stage name | Length | Winners | Car | Time | Class leaders |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 26 February | — | Vennivaara [Shakedown] | 5.69 km | Kaur / Simm | Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 | 2:47.0 | — |
| SS1 | Sarriojärvi 1 | 31.05 km | Lindholm / Korhonen | Škoda Fabia R5 Evo | 16:50.4 | Lindholm / Korhonen | |
| SS2 | Sarriojärvi 2 | 31.05 km | Lindholm / Korhonen | Škoda Fabia R5 Evo | 16:48.5 | ||
| 27 February | SS3 | Mustalampi 1 | 24.43 km | Kaur / Simm | Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 | 14:44.0 | |
| SS4 | Kaihuavaara 1 | 19.91 km | Asunmaa / Salminen | Škoda Fabia R5 Evo | 9:47.4 | Asunmaa / Salminen | |
| SS5 | Siikakämä 1 | 27.68 km | Kaur / Simm | Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 | 13:17.5 | ||
| SS6 | Mustalampi 2 | 24.43 km | Asunmaa / Salminen | Škoda Fabia R5 Evo | 14:38.6 | ||
| SS7 | Kaihuavaara 2 | 19.91 km | Asunmaa / Salminen | Škoda Fabia R5 Evo | 9:51.3 | ||
| SS8 | Siikakämä 2 | 27.68 km | Kaur / Simm | Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 | 13:39.5 | ||
| 28 February | SS9 | Aittajärvi 1 | 22.47 km | Kaur / Simm | Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 | 10:52.5 | |
| SS10 | Aittajärvi 2 [Power Stage] | 22.47 km | Kaur / Simm | Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 | 10:45.3 |
Championship standings
[edit]| Pos. | Drivers' championships | Co-drivers' championships | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Move | Driver | Points | Move | Co-driver | Points | |||
| 1 |
|
Yohan Rossel | 28 |
|
Benoît Fulcrand | 28 | ||
| 2 |
|
Teemu Asunmaa | 28 |
|
Marko Salminen | 28 | ||
| 3 |
|
Egon Kaur | 23 |
|
Silver Simm | 23 | ||
| 4 | 2
|
Yoann Bonato | 22 | 2
|
Benjamin Boulloud | 22 | ||
| 5 | 2
|
Nicolas Ciamin | 20 | 2
|
Yannick Roche | 20 | ||
Notes
[edit]- ^ Nikolay Gryazin is Russian, but he competes as a neutral competitor using the designation RAF (Russian Automobile Federation), as the Court of Arbitration for Sport upheld a ban on Russia competing at World Championships. The ban was implemented by the World Anti-Doping Agency in response to state-sponsored doping program of Russian athletes.
- ^ Konstantin Aleksandrov is Russian, but he competes as a neutral competitor using the designation RAF (Russian Automobile Federation), as the Court of Arbitration for Sport upheld a ban on Russia competing at World Championships. The ban was implemented by the World Anti-Doping Agency in response to state-sponsored doping program of Russian athletes.
- ^ Under the Sporting Regulations, each car competing in the World Rally Championship-3 is entered under the driver's name.
References
[edit]- ^ a b "Itinerary ver 1.3" (PDF). arcticrallyfinland.fi. Arctic Rally. 31 January 2021. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 November 2022. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
- ^ "Croatia and Estonia named in 2021 WRC calendar". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. 9 October 2020. Retrieved 9 October 2020.
- ^ "Tänak wins in the Arctic, Rovanperä grabs WRC lead". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. 28 February 2021. Retrieved 1 March 2021.
- ^ "WRC2: Lappi lands victory on return". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. 28 February 2021. Retrieved 1 March 2021.
- ^ "WRC3: Asunmaa edges to maiden win". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. 28 February 2021. Retrieved 1 March 2021.
- ^ "FIA announces World Motor Sport Council decisions". fia.com. Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. 12 October 2018. Retrieved 12 October 2018.
- ^ "Rally Sweden cancelled". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. 15 December 2020. Retrieved 15 December 2020.
- ^ Craig, Jason (14 January 2021). "WRC adds Arctic Rally Finland to 2021 calendar as Sweden replacement". autosport.com. Motorsport Network. Retrieved 14 January 2021.
- ^ 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.
- ^ a b Evans, David (25 February 2021). "What to expect from the WRC's venture to the Arctic". Autosport. Retrieved 25 February 2021.
- ^ "Hänninen gains inside line on arctic roads". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. 18 January 2021. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
- ^ a b c "Entry List F 2021-02-10" (PDF). arcticrallyfinland.fi. Arctic Rally. 10 February 2021. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 February 2021. Retrieved 12 February 2021.
- ^ "Solberg to make World Rally Car championship debut". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. 5 February 2021. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
- ^ Ridge, Hal (11 February 2021). "Rallycross and DTM title winner Ekstrom to contest WRC Arctic Rally Finland". autosport.com. Motorsport Network. Retrieved 11 February 2021.
- ^ a b "Arctic Rally Finland route revealed". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. 2 February 2021. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
- ^ Garton, Nick (28 February 2021). "WRC Arctic Rally: Tanak seals victory, Rovanpera takes championship lead". Autosport. Retrieved 1 March 2021.
External links
[edit]
- Official website (in English and Finnish)
- 2021 Arctic Rally Finland at eWRC-results.com
- The official website of the World Rally Championship
