The 2021 Rally Estonia (also known as the Rally Estonia 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 15 and 18 July 2021. It marked the eleventh running of the

Rally Estonia Rally Estonia is a rallying event organised each year in Estonia. It is the largest and most high-profile motorsport event in the country and runs on smooth gravel roads in the south of the country, some of which are purpose-built for the rally. ...

. The event was the seventh 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 third round of the

2021 Junior World Rally Championship The 2021 FIA Junior WRC Championship was the ninth season of Junior WRC, a rallying championship governed by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, running in support of the World Rally Championship. The championship was open to dri ...

. The 2021 event was based in the town of

Tartu Tartu is the second largest city in Estonia after Tallinn. Tartu has a population of 97,759 (as of 2024). It is southeast of Tallinn and 245 kilometres (152 miles) northeast of Riga, Latvia. Tartu lies on the Emajõgi river, which connects the ...

Tartu County Tartu County ( or ''Tartumaa'') is one of 15 counties of Estonia. It is located in eastern Estonia bordering Põlva County, Valga County, Viljandi County and Jõgeva County. The area of Tartu County is , which covers 6.9% of the territory of E ...

and contested over twenty-four special stages totalling in competitive distance.

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 ...

and

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 ...

were the defending rally winners. Their team, Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT, were the defending manufacturers' winners.

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 were the defending winners in the WRC-2 category. In the WRC-3 category,

Oliver Solberg Oliver Solberg (born 23 September 2001) is a Swedish rally (sports), rally driver. After winning multiple Crosskart, crosskarting championships in his early years, Solberg became the 2018 RallyX Nordic Champion and the 2019 FIA ERC1 Junior Champi ...

and Aaron Johnston were the reigning rally winners, but they did not defend their titles as they were promoted to higher classes by

Hyundai Motorsport Hyundai Motorsport GmbH (HMSG; ) is a division of South Korean automaker Hyundai Motor Company responsible for the brand's global motorsport activities. The company was established in December 2012 and is based in Alzenau, Germany. Their princi ...

. In the junior category,

Mārtiņš Sesks Mārtiņš Nikijs Sesks (born 18 September 1999) is a Latvian rally driver who currently competes in the World Rally Championship for M-Sport Ford WRT on a part-time schedule. Rally career Sesks started rallying in 2014 in a Honda Civic Type ...

and Renārs Francis were the defending winners.

Kalle Rovanperä Kalle Rovanperä (; born 1 October 2000) is a Finnish professional rally driver who competes in the World Rally Championship (WRC) for Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT, alongside co-driver Jonne Halttunen. He is a double World Champion, having won the 20 ...

and Jonne Halttunen won the rally, the first of their careers. At the age of twenty, Rovanperä became the youngest driver to win a WRC event. Their team,

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 ...

, were the manufacturer's winners.

Andreas Mikkelsen Andreas Mikkelsen (born 22 June 1989) is a Norwegian rally driver. He is currently competing in the World Rally Championship for Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT. He previously drove for the factory teams of Volkswagen and Citroën, finishing third in th ...

and Ola Fløene won the World Rally Championship-2 category, while Aleksey Lukyanuk and

Yaroslav Fedorov Yaroslav () is a Slavic masculine given name. Its variant spelling is Jaroslav and Iaroslav, and its feminine form is Yaroslava. The surname derived from the name is Yaroslavsky and its variants. East Slavic patronymics are Yaroslavovich and Ya ...

won the World Rally Championship-3 category. The Finnish crew of

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 ...

and Marko Salminen was the winner in the junior class.

Background

Championship standings prior to the event

Reigning World Champions

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 ...

entered the round with a thirty-four-point lead over

Elfyn Evans Elfyn Rhys Evans (born 28 December 1988) is a Welsh professional rallying, rally driver. He has competed full-time in World Rally Championship since 2014, originally for M-Sport Ford World Rally Team, M-Sport Ford and currently for Toyota Gazoo ...

and Scott Martin.

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 Martijn Wydaeghe (; born 1 September 1992) is a Belgian rallying co-driver. He is partnered with Thierry Neuville for Hyundai Motorsport in the World Rally Championship category. Rally career Wydaeghe made his WRC debut at the 2013 Rallye de F ...

were third, a further twenty-two points behind. In the World Rally Championship for Manufacturers,

held a massive fifty-nine-point lead over defending manufacturers' champions Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT, followed by M-Sport Ford WRT. In the World Rally Championship-2 standings,

and Ola Fløene held a two-point lead ahead of

and Torstein Eriksen in the drivers' and co-drivers' standings respectively, with

Marco Bulacia Wilkinson Marco Bulacia Wilkinson (; born 27 September 2000) is a Bolivian rally driver. He currently partners with co-driver Diego Vallejo in the WRC-2 category. His younger brother Bruno is a rally driver also. Rally career Bulacia Wilkinson made his ...

and

Marcelo Der Ohannesian Marcelo is a given name, the Spanish and Portuguese form of Marcellus. Marcelo may refer to: Given name * Marcelo Costa de Andrade (born 1967), Brazilian serial killer, rapist, and necrophile * Marcelo Arriagada (born 1973), Chilean road cyclist ...

in third. In the teams' championship,

Movisport Movisport is a rally team and marketing agency based in Reggio Emilia, Italy. The rally team, ''Scuderia Campione Movisport'' competes in the Italian national championship, the European Rally Championship and the World Rally Championship (WRC), and ...

and

Toksport WRT Toksport WRT is a motorsport preparation and race team based at the Nürburgring in Quiddelbach, Germany. The team has prepared cars for, and entered events in 26 motorsport championships around the globe and has won notable Fédération Interna ...

co-leading the championship, with M-Sport Ford WRT in third. In the World Rally Championship-3 standings,

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

Alexandre Coria Alexandre Coria (born 22 January 1993) is a French people, French rally (sports), rally co-driver. He is the co-driver of Adrien Fourmaux for M-Sport World Rally Team, M-Sport Ford in the World Rally Championship. Rally results Season still in ...

led drivers' and co-drivers' championship respectively.

Kajetan Kajetanowicz Kajetan Kajetanowicz (; born 5 March 1979) is a Polish rally driver. Titles He is a Four time Poland Rally Champion (2010 2011, 2012, 2013). In 2012 he became champion in the Central European Zone Rally Championship. He also became the ERC ...

and Maciek Szczepaniak were second, trailed by

Nicolas Ciamin Nicolas Ciamin (born 18 February 1998) is a French rally driver. Biography Nicolas Ciamin is the son of Gilles Ciamin, a French champion in motorcycle trials Motorcycle trials, also known as observed trials, often called simply trial or tr ...

and

Yannick Roche Yannick is a first name that originated in Brittany, France, where the combination of its two Breton language parts, ''Yann'' and ''-ick'', results in the meaning of ''Little John'' or ''Petit Jean'' in French. It is used as a first name mostly fo ...

. In the junior championship,

and Renars Francis led

and Marko Salminen by nine points.

Jon Armstrong Jon Thomas Armstrong (born 1 August 1974) is a former motorcycle speedway rider from England. Career Armstrong started racing in the British leagues during the 1992 British League season, when riding a couple of times in the reserve berth fo ...

and Phil Hall were third, four points further back. In the Nations' standings,

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

held a ten-point lead over

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

, with

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

in third.

Entry list

The following crews were set to enter 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. Ten entries for the World Rally Championship were received, as were ten in the World Rally Championship-2 and fourteen in the World Rally Championship-3. A further eight crews were set to enter the Junior World Rally Championship in

Ford Fiesta Rally4 The Ford Fiesta Rally4 is a rally car developed and built by M-Sport and Ford Performance to Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, FIA Group Rally4 regulations and designed for competition in the fourth tier of the Rally Pyramid. It is base ...

Route

Itinerary

All dates and times are

EEST Eastern European Summer Time (EEST) is one of the names of the UTC+03:00 time zone, which is 3 hours ahead of Coordinated Universal Time. It is used as a summer daylight saving time in some European and Middle Eastern countries, which makes it ...

(

UTC+3 UTC+03:00 is an identifier for a UTC offset, time offset from UTC of +03:00. In areas using this time offset, the time is three hours ahead of the Coordinated Universal Time, Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). Following the ISO 8601 standard, ...

Report

World Rally Cars

Classification

Special stages

Championship standings

World Rally Championship-2

Classification

Special stages

Championship standings

World Rally Championship-3

Classification

Special stages

Championship standings

Junior World Rally Championship

Classification

Special stages

Championship standings

Notes

References

External links

*
2021 Rally Estonia
at eWRC-results.com * Th
official website
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 ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rally Estonia, 2021 2021 in Estonian sport

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

July 2021 sports events in Europe

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

July 2021 in Estonia