The 2021 Croatia Rally (also known as the Rally Croatia 2021) was a

motor racing An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy. Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power gene ...

event for

rally cars Rally or rallye may refer to: Gatherings * Political demonstration, a political rally, a political demonstration of support or protest, march, or parade * Pep rally, an event held at a North American school or college sporting event Sports ...

that was held over four days between 22 and 25 April 2021. It marked the forty-fifth running of the Croatia Rally, and the first time the event has been run as a round of the

World Rally Championship The World Rally Championship (abbreviated as WRC) is an international rallying series owned and governed by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, FIA. Inaugurated in 1973, it is the oldest FIA world championship after Formula One. E ...

. The event was the third round of the

2021 World Rally Championship The 2021 FIA World Rally Championship was the forty-ninth season of the World Rally Championship, a rallying competition organised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). Teams and crews competed in twelve rallies for the Li ...

World Rally Championship-2 The FIA WRC2 is a support championship of the World Rally Championship (WRC). The calendar consists of the same rallies and stages as the parent series and crews usually compete immediately after Rally1 class crews. WRC2 is limited to production ...

and

World Rally Championship-3 The FIA WRC3 is a support championship of the World Rally Championship. The calendar consists of the same rallies and stages as the parent series and crews usually compete immediately after WRC2 entrants. Entry into WRC3 is limited to cars that ...

. It was also the first round of the 2021 Junior World Rally Championship. The 2021 event was based in

Zagreb Zagreb ( ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...

in the City of Zagreb Region and was contested over twenty special stages totalling in competitive distance.

Sébastien Ogier Sébastien Eugène Emile Ogier (; born 17 December 1983) is a French Rallying, rally driver, competing for the Toyota Gazoo Racing Team in the World Rally Championship (WRC). He is currently teamed with co-driver Vincent Landais. He has won 8 List ...

and

Julien Ingrassia Julien Ingrassia (born 26 November 1979) is a retired French people, French rally (sports), rally co-driver. Working with Sébastien Ogier, he became World Rally Champion in 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2016 with Volkswagen Motorsport, 2017 World Rall ...

won the rally with a 0.6-second advantage over teammate Elfyn Evans and Scott Martin, which was the third closest winning margin overall after the

2011 Jordan Rally The 2011 Jordan Rally was the fourth round of the 2011 World Rally Championship season. The rally took place over 14–16 April, and was based beside the Dead Sea, some from the country's capital, Amman. The rally was also the second round of the ...

and the 2007 Rally New Zealand.

Mads Østberg Mads Østberg (born 11 October 1987) is a Norway, Norwegian Rallying, rally driver. His co-driver is Torstein Eriksen. Career Østberg competed in his first rally in 2004. His first World Rally Championship event was the 2006 Swedish Rally, in ...

and Torstein Eriksen won the World Rally Championship-2 category, while Kajetan Kajetanowicz and Maciej Szczepaniak won the World Rally Championship-3 category. The British crew of Jon Armstrong and Phil Hall was the winner in the junior class.

Background

Championship standings prior to the event

Kalle Rovanperä and Jonne Halttunen entered the round with a four-point lead over

Thierry Neuville Thierry Jean Neuville ( ; born 16 June 1988) is a Belgian rally driver who is competing in the World Rally Championship for Hyundai Motorsport. During his career, he has finished as runner-up five times (2013, 2016–2019) and achieved his maiden ...

and Martijn Wydaeghe. Reigning World Champions

and

were third, another four points behind. In the World Rally Championship for Manufacturers,

Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT The Toyota Gazoo Racing World Rally Team is a competitor of the World Rally Championship (WRC) based in Finland, serving as the entry for the car manufacturer Toyota. Its team principal is former WRC driver Jari-Matti Latvala and its drivers for ...

held an eleven-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 a twenty-four-point lead ahead of

Esapekka Lappi Esapekka Lappi (; born 17 January 1991) is a Finnish rally driver. He is the 2012 Finnish Rally Champion, 2014 European Rally Champion and the 2016 WRC-2 Champion. He now drives for Hyundai Motorsport. In 2024, he won his second ever event in ...

and Janne Ferm in the drivers' and co-drivers' standings respectively, with Adrien Fourmaux and Renaud Jamoul in third. In the teams' championship, Toksport WRT and Movisport co-led the standings, with M-Sport Ford WRT in third. In the World Rally Championship-3 standings, the crew of

Yohan Rossel Yohan Rossel (; born 13 February 1995) is a French people, French rallying, rally driver. In 2021, he became the driver's champion in the World Rally Championship-3, WRC3 category. Rossel is also the 2019 French Rally champion. His younger brothe ...

and Benoît Fulcrand and of Teemu Asunmaa and Marko Salminen both led championships, with Egon Kaur and Silver Simm in third, trailing by five points.

Entry list

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, Junior World Rally Championship and

privateer A privateer is a private person or vessel which engages in commerce raiding under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign o ...

entries that were not registered to score points in any championship. Twelve entries for the World Rally Championship were received, as were seven in the World Rally Championship-2 and fifteen in the World Rally Championship-3. A further eight crews entered the Junior World Rally Championship in Ford Fiesta Rally4s. {, class="wikitable" style="font-size: 85%;" , +{{nowrap, Group Rally4 entries competing in the Junior World Rally Championship ! No. ! Driver ! Co-Driver ! Entrant ! Car ! Tyre , - , align="center" , 45 , {{flagicon, LAT Mārtiņš Sesks , {{flagicon, LAT Francis Renars , {{flagicon, LAT LMT Autosporta Akademija , Ford Fiesta Rally4 , align="center" , {{Pirelli , - , align="center" , 46 , {{flagicon, FIN

Sami Pajari Sami Pajari (; born 1 December 2001) is a Finnish professional rallying, rally driver. He won the Junior WRC Championship in 2021 Junior WRC Championship, 2021. Pajari then competed in the 2024 WRC2 Championship, which he won. Results WRC res ...

, {{flagicon, FIN Marko Salminen , {{flagicon, FIN Porvoon Autopalvelu , Ford Fiesta Rally4 , align="center" , {{Pirelli , - , align="center" , 47 , {{flagicon, ROM Raul Badiu , {{flagicon, ROM Rareș Fetean , {{flagicon, ROM Raul Badiu , Ford Fiesta Rally4 , align="center" , {{Pirelli , - , align="center" , 48 , {{flagicon, SVK Martin Koči , {{flagicon, CZE Petr Těšínský , {{flagicon, SVK Styllex Motorsport , Ford Fiesta Rally4 , align="center" , {{Pirelli , - , align="center" , 49 , {{flagicon, GBR Jon Armstrong , {{flagicon, GBR Phil Hall , {{flagicon, GBR Jon Armstrong , Ford Fiesta Rally4 , align="center" , {{Pirelli , - , align="center" , 50 , {{flagicon, IRL William Creighton , {{flagicon, IRL Liam Regan , {{flagicon, IRL Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy , Ford Fiesta Rally4 , align="center" , {{Pirelli , - , align="center" , 51 , {{flagicon, FIN Lauri Joona , {{flagicon, FIN Ari Koponen , {{flagicon, FIN Team Flying Finn , Ford Fiesta Rally4 , align="center" , {{Pirelli , - , align="center" , 52 , {{flagicon, EST Robert Virves , {{flagicon, EST Sander Pruul , {{flagicon, EST Autosport Team Estonia , Ford Fiesta Rally4 , align="center" , {{Pirelli , - , colspan="6" style="background-color:#EAECF0;text-align:center", Source:

Route

Itinerary

All dates and times are CEST (

UTC+2 UTC+02:00 is an identifier for a time offset from UTC of +02:00. In ISO 8601, the associated time would be written as 2020-11-08T23:41:45+02:00. As standard time (year-round) Principal cities: Pretoria, Cape Town, Johannesburg, Durban, Por ...

). {, class="wikitable" style="font-size: 85%;" ! Leg ! Date ! Time ! No. ! Stage name ! Distance , - ! {{n/a ! 22 April , align="center" , 09:01 , align="center" , — , Medvedgrad

Shakedown Shakedown or Shake Down may refer to: * Shakedown (continuum mechanics), a type of plastic deformation * Shakedown (testing) or a shakedown cruise, a period of testing undergone by a ship, airplane or other craft before being declared operational ...

] , align="center" , 4.60 km , - ! rowspan="8" , 1 ! rowspan="8" , 23 April , align="center" , 08:39 , align="center" , SS1 , Rude – Plešivica 1 , align="center" , 6.94 km , - , align="center" , 09:32 , align="center" , SS2 , Kostanjevac – Petruš Vrh 1 , align="center" , 23.76 km , - , align="center" , 10:35 , align="center" , SS3 , Jaškovo – Mali Modruš Potok 1 , align="center" , 10.10 km , - , align="center" , 11:38 , align="center" , SS4 , Pećurkovo Brdo – Mrežnički Novaki 1 , align="center" , 9.11 km , - , align="center" , 15:01 , align="center" , SS5 , Rude – Plešivica 2 , align="center" , 6.94 km , - , align="center" , 15:54 , align="center" , SS6 , Kostanjevac – Petruš Vrh 2 , align="center" , 23.76 km , - , align="center" , 16:57 , align="center" , SS7 , Jaškovo – Mali Modruš Potok 2 , align="center" , 10.10 km , - , align="center" , 18:00 , align="center" , SS8 , Pećurkovo Brdo – Mrežnički Novaki 2 , align="center" , 9.11 km , - ! rowspan="8" , 2 ! rowspan="8" , 24 April , align="center" , 08:29 , align="center" , SS9 , Mali Lipovec – Grdanjci 1 , align="center" , 20.30 km , - , align="center" , 09:17 , align="center" , SS10 , Stojdraga – Gornja Vas 1 , align="center" , 20.77 km , - , align="center" , 10:10 , align="center" , SS11 , Krašić – Vrškovac 1 , align="center" , 11.11 km , - , align="center" , 11:08 , align="center" , SS12 , Vinski Vrh – Duga Resa 1 , align="center" , 8.78 km , - , align="center" , 14:29 , align="center" , SS13 , Mali Lipovec – Grdanjci 2 , align="center" , 20.30 km , - , align="center" , 15:17 , align="center" , SS14 , Stojdraga – Gornja Vas 2 , align="center" , 20.77 km , - , align="center" , 16:10 , align="center" , SS15 , Krašić – Vrškovac 2 , align="center" , 11.11 km , - , align="center" , 17:08 , align="center" , SS16 , Vinski Vrh – Duga Resa 2 , align="center" , 8.78 km , - ! rowspan="4" , 3 ! rowspan="4" , 25 April , align="center" , 07:20 , align="center" , SS17 , Bliznec – Pila 1 , align="center" , 25.20 km , - , align="center" , 08:38 , align="center" , SS18 , Zagorska Sela – Kumrovec 1 , align="center" , 14.09 km , - , align="center" , 10:11 , align="center" , SS19 , Bliznec – Pila 2 , align="center" , 25.20 km , - , align="center" , 13:18 , align="center" , SS20 , Zagorska Sela – Kumrovec 2 /nowiki>Power Stage">Power_Stage.html" ;"title="/nowiki>Power Stage">/nowiki>Power Stage/nowiki> , align="center" , 14.09 km , - ! colspan="6" , Source: , -

Report

World Rally Cars

Neuville and Wydaeghe led the rally at the end of the first day, while Rovanpera crashed on the initial stage. Ogier took the 600th stage win of his World Rally Championship career.{{cite news, first=Jason, last=Craig, url=https://www.autosport.com/wrc/news/ogier-learning-to-appreciate-stage-wins-after-reaching-600-at-rally-croatia/6423168/, title=Ogier "learning to appreciate" stage wins after reaching 600 at Rally Croatia, work=Autosport, date=23 April 2021, access-date=23 April 2021

Classification

{, class="wikitable" width=85% style="font-size: 85%;" ! colspan="2" , Position ! rowspan="2" , {{Tooltip, No., Car number ! rowspan="2" , Driver ! rowspan="2" , {{nowrap, Co-driver ! rowspan="2" , Entrant ! rowspan="2" , Car ! rowspan="2" , Time ! rowspan="2" , {{Tooltip, Difference, Time difference to class winner ! colspan="2" , Points , - ! Event ! Class ! Event !

Stage Stage, stages, or staging may refer to: Arts and media Acting * Stage (theatre), a space for the performance of theatrical productions * Theatre, a branch of the performing arts, often referred to as "the stage" * ''The Stage'', a weekly Brit ...

, - ! 1 ! 1 , align="center" , 1 ,

, Toyota Yaris WRC , 2:51:22.9 , 0.0 , align="center" , 25 , align="center" , 5 , - ! 2 ! 2 , align="center" , 33 , Elfyn Evans , Scott Martin ,

, Toyota Yaris WRC , 2:51:23.5 , +0.6 , align="center" , 18 , align="center" , 2 , - ! 3 ! 3 , align="center" , 11 ,

, Martijn Wydaeghe , Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT , Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC , 2:51:31.0 , +8.1 , align="center" , 15 , align="center" , 3 , - ! 4 ! 4 , align="center" , 8 ,

Ott Tänak Ott Tänak (; born 15 October 1987) is an Estonian rally driver and the 2019 World Rally Champion. He is currently teamed with Martin Järveoja and is competing for Hyundai Motorsport in the World Rally Championship. Tänak achieved his maiden ...

Martin Järveoja Martin Järveoja (; born 18 August 1987) is an Estonian rally co-driver. He is currently teamed with Ott Tänak and is competing for Hyundai Motorsport in the World Rally Championship. Rally career He is the son of Estonian politician Toomas ...

, nowrap , Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT , nowrap , Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC , 2:52:48.0 , +1:25.1 , align="center" , 12 , align="center" , 1 , - ! 5 ! 5 , align="center" , 16 , Adrien Fourmaux , Renaud Jamoul , M-Sport Ford WRT , Ford Fiesta WRC , 2:54:32.6 , +3:09.7 , align="center" , 10 , align="center" , 0 , - ! 6 ! 6 , align="center" , 18 , nowrap , Takamoto Katsuta , Daniel Barritt ,

, Toyota Yaris WRC , 2:54:54.7 , +3:31.8 , align="center" , 8 , align="center" , 0 , - ! 7 ! 7 , align="center" , 44 ,

Gus Greensmith Fergus "Gus" Greensmith (born 26 December 1996) is a British rally driver. Rally career Greensmith's family owns fuel and lubricants distributor Crown Oil. A former youth goalkeeper for Manchester City F.C. and karter before moving into th ...

, Chris Patterson , M-Sport Ford WRT , Ford Fiesta WRC , 2:55:21.7 , +3:58.8 , align="center" , 6 , align="center" , 0 , - ! 8 ! 8 , align="center" , 42 , Craig Breen ,

Paul Nagle Paul Nagle (born 29 August 1978) is an Irish rally co-driver. Drivers with whom he has teamed include Kris Meeke, Gareth MacHale and Craig Breen.

, Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT , Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC , 2:55:51.1 , +4:28.2 , align="center" , 4 , align="center" , 4 , - ! 29 ! 9 , align="center" , 7 , nowrap ,

Pierre-Louis Loubet Pierre-Louis Loubet (; born 18 February 1997) is a French rally driver. He is the 2019 World Rally Championship 2 Champion. He is the son of the 1989 European Rally Champion Yves Loubet. Career Early career Loubet started karting at 7 y ...

Vincent Landais Vincent Landais (born 17 October 1991) is a French rally co-driver. He is the co-driver of the French rally driver Sébastien Ogier, racing for Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT in the World Rally Championship. Rally career Landais and Loubet started in ...

, Hyundai 2C Competition , Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC , 3:24:42.8 , +33:19.9 , align="center" , 0 , align="center" , 0 , - ! 35 ! 10 , align="center" , 53 , Armando Pereira , Rémi Tutélaire , Armando Pereira , Ford Fiesta WRC , 3:32:20.6 , +40:57.7 , align="center" , 0 , align="center" , 0 , - ! colspan="2" , Retired SS1 , align="center", 69 , Kalle Rovanperä , Jonne Halttunen ,

, Toyota Yaris WRC , colspan="2" align="center" , Crash , align="center" , 0 , align="center" , 0 , - ! colspan="2" , Did not start , align="center", 54 , Niko Pulić , Aleksandra Kovačić , Niko Pulić , Ford Fiesta WRC , colspan="2" align="center" , Withdrawn , align="center" , 0 , align="center" , 0 , -

Special stages

{, class="wikitable" style="font-size: 85%;" ! Day ! Stage ! Stage name ! Length ! Winners ! Car ! Time ! Class leaders , - ! 22 April , align="center" , — , Medvedgrad

] , align="center" , 4.60 km , Evans /

Martin Martin may refer to: Places Antarctica * Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land * Port Martin, Adelie Land * Point Martin, South Orkney Islands Europe * Martin, Croatia, a village * Martin, Slovakia, a city * Martín del Río, Aragón, Spain * M ...

, Toyota Yaris WRC , align="center" , 2:45.1 , {{n/a , - ! rowspan="8" , 23 April , align="center" , SS1 , Rude – Plešivica 1 , align="center" , 6.94 km , Neuville / Wydaeghe , Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC , align="center" , 4:24.2 , rowspan="8" , Neuville / Wydaeghe , - , align="center" , SS2 , Kostanjevac – Petruš Vrh 1 , align="center" , 23.76 km , Neuville / Wydaeghe , Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC , align="center" , 12:58.6 , - , align="center" , SS3 , Jaškovo – Mali Modruš Potok 1 , align="center" , 10.10 km , Ogier / Ingrassia
Evans /

, Toyota Yaris WRC
Toyota Yaris WRC , align="center" , 5:32.3 , - , align="center" , SS4 , Pećurkovo Brdo – Mrežnički Novaki 1 , align="center" , 9.11 km , Neuville / Wydaeghe , Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC , align="center" , 4:51.9 , - , align="center" , SS5 , Rude – Plešivica 2 , align="center" , 6.94 km , Tänak / Järveoja , Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC , align="center" , 4:30.4 , - , align="center" , SS6 , Kostanjevac – Petruš Vrh 2 , align="center" , 23.76 km , Ogier / Ingrassia , Toyota Yaris WRC , align="center" , 12:55.8 , - , align="center" , SS7 , Jaškovo – Mali Modruš Potok 2 , align="center" , 10.10 km , Ogier / Ingrassia , Toyota Yaris WRC , align="center" , 5:26.7 , - , align="center" , SS8 , Pećurkovo Brdo – Mrežnički Novaki 2 , align="center" , 9.11 km , Ogier / Ingrassia , Toyota Yaris WRC , align="center" , 4:49.8 , - ! rowspan="8" , 24 April , align="center" , SS9 , Mali Lipovec – Grdanjci 1 , align="center" , 20.30 km , Ogier / Ingrassia , Toyota Yaris WRC , align="center" , 12:26.1 , rowspan="9" , Ogier / Ingrassia , - , align="center" , SS10 , Stojdraga – Gornja Vas 1 , align="center" , 20.77 km , Katsuta / Barritt , Toyota Yaris WRC , align="center" , 12:36.9 , - , align="center" , SS11 , Krašić – Vrškovac 1 , align="center" , 11.11 km , Evans /

, Toyota Yaris WRC , align="center" , 5:36.8 , - , align="center" , SS12 , Vinski Vrh – Duga Resa 1 , align="center" , 8.78 km , Ogier / Ingrassia , Toyota Yaris WRC , align="center" , 4:37.6 , - , align="center" , SS13 , Mali Lipovec – Grdanjci 2 , align="center" , 20.30 km , Neuville / Wydaeghe , Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC , align="center" , 12:31.9 , - , align="center" , SS14 , Stojdraga – Gornja Vas 2 , align="center" , 20.77 km , Katsuta / Barritt , Toyota Yaris WRC , align="center" , 12:36.1 , - , align="center" , SS15 , Krašić – Vrškovac 2 , align="center" , 11.11 km , Ogier / Ingrassia
Neuville / Wydaeghe , Toyota Yaris WRC
Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC , align="center" , 5:32.1 , - , align="center" , SS16 , Vinski Vrh – Duga Resa 2 , align="center" , 8.78 km , Ogier / Ingrassia , Toyota Yaris WRC , align="center" , 4:36.6 , - ! rowspan="4" , 25 April , align="center" , SS17 , Bliznec – Pila 1 , align="center" , 25.20 km , Evans /

, Toyota Yaris WRC , align="center" , 14:04.5 , - , align="center" , SS18 , Zagorska Sela – Kumrovec 1 , align="center" , 14.09 km , Evans /

, Toyota Yaris WRC , align="center" , 8:18.4 , rowspan="2" , Evans /

, - , align="center" , SS19 , Bliznec – Pila 2 , align="center" , 25.20 km , Neuville / Wydaeghe , Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC , align="center" , 13:59.0 , - , align="center" , SS20 , Zagorska Sela – Kumrovec 2 /nowiki>Power Stage">Power_Stage.html" ;"title="/nowiki>Power Stage">/nowiki>Power Stage/nowiki> , align="center" , 14.09 km , Ogier / Ingrassia , Toyota Yaris WRC , align="center" , 8:14.0 , Ogier / Ingrassia , -

Championship standings

2 ,

, align="center" , 61 , align="center" , 1uparrow green

2 ,

, align="center" , 61 , align="center" , 1rightarrow blue

, nowrap ,

, align="center" , 138 , - , align="center" , 2 , align="center" , 1rightarrow blue

, align="center" , 53 , align="center" , 1rightarrow blue

, nowrap , Martijn Wydaeghe , align="center" , 53 , align="center" , 1rightarrow blue

, Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT , align="center" , 111 , - , align="center" , 3 , align="center" , 1uparrow green

1 , Elfyn Evans , align="center" , 51 , align="center" , 1uparrow green

1 , Scott Martin , align="center" , 51 , align="center" , 1rightarrow blue

, M-Sport Ford WRT , align="center" , 42 , - , align="center" , 4 , align="center" , 1uparrow green

1 ,

, align="center" , 40 , align="center" , 1uparrow green

1 ,

, align="center" , 40 , align="center" , 1rightarrow blue

, Hyundai 2C Competition , align="center" , 28 , - , align="center" , 5 , align="center" , 1downarrow red

4 , nowrap , Kalle Rovanperä , align="center" , 39 , align="center" , 1downarrow red

4 , nowrap , Jonne Halttunen , align="center" , 39 , , , , ,