The Ypres Rally is one of the novelties of the 2021 calendar of the WRC. The Belgian event, eighth of the year, represents a new challenge on asphalt for many drivers, although that has not prevented the event from enjoying a registered list really remarkable. In fact, a total of 116 crews will meet on the Belgian stages, thus shaping the largest service park since the 2015 Tour de Corse, an event in which 123 cars competed. In the case of the Ypres Rally, ten World Rally Cars and twenty-four ‘Rally2’ vehicles make up the hard core of the entry list.
In the queen class, few or no surprises. Toyota Gazoo Racing defends drivers and brands leadership at the Ypres Rally with a line-up consisting of Sébastien Ogier, Elfyn Evans and Kalle Rovanperä. While the first two are the leaders of the overall championship, the third comes from winning the Rally Estonia. The Japanese firm Takamoto Katsuta completes the bet, although with a new co-pilot. Keaton Williams will accompany the Japanese driver on the Belgian stages due to the injury suffered by Dan Barritt in one of the multiple jumps at Rally Estonia.
There is also no news at Hyundai with its usual duo, formed by Thierry Neuville and Ott Tänak. The Belgian competes at home and is facing one of his last options to get into the fight for the title. Third Hyundai i20 WRC Coupé will go to Craig Breen, while there will be a fourth unit for Pierre-Louis Loubet, always under private effort. Finally, M-Sport uses the same line-up it already had at Rally Croatia, the only pure asphalt test held so far. That means at the controls of the two Ford Fiesta WRC will be Gus Greensmith and Adrien Fourmaux.
Doing a quick review of the WRC2 category, a total of five ‘Rally2’ meet in the silver category. Curiously, neither Andreas Mikkelsen nor Mads Ostberg, the two drivers who are in the first two positions of the general standings, are among those entered. The duel for the victory will be like this between two Fords, two Hyundai and a Volkswagen, with the incentive in the case of the South Korean firm of the debut of the new Hyundai i20 N Rally2. The two units of the Asian car will be piloted by Oliver Solberg and Jari Huttunen. Your rivals will be Teemu Suninen and Tom Kristensson (Ford) and Nikolay Gryazin.
More extensive is the participation in WRC3 with a total of nineteen ‘Rally2’ vehicles. Among the pilots who will be at their controls are the leader Yohan Rossel or the Spanish Pepe López. However, the bulk of the category is made up of local pilots, among which stand out Pieter Tsjoen, Ghislain De Mevius or Kris Princen. Beyond the third World Cup category, it is worth highlighting the large list of registered R-GT vehicles. What’s more, The Yres Rally is a scoring date for the Junior WRC, although the category has only six drivers as the end of his story nears.