Rally Estonia was born in 2010. All in all, the event has gained weight rapidly since its first edition ended with the victory of Markko Martin, great Estonian motorsport legend in the specialty with the permission of Ott Tänak, a four-time winner of his home rally. Between 2014 and 2016 it was a valid test for the European Rally Championship, with victory for Tänak himself in the first edition of the continental competition. As an annex event to the WRC it was held in 2018 and 2019, while in 2020 it was already part of the World Cup calendar. In all three editions, Ott Tänak imposed his law.
With only one edition in the WRC, Rally Estonia is not only part of the 2021 calendar, but it already has a place reserved for next year. Something possible thanks to the effort of the organization and a high speed ride very much to the liking of the World Championship riders. For this season, Rally Estonia has a route of 314.16 kilometers against the clock divided into 24 sections. The super special of Tartu on Thursday afternoon will give way to three frantic competition days in which most of the sections of 2020 are repeated.
In fact, Friday’s stage is identical, so the promoter has chosen to concentrate much of the news of the route on Saturday’s stage. As is almost customary in the events of the World Cup format, Saturday’s day will be the longest of the Estonian Rally with 130 kilometers against the clock and the special ‘Peipsääre’ as the longest stage of the event with 23.56 kilometers. Conversely, Sunday’s route is really short, even if it contains six specials. However, the double pass through the three sections of the final stage barely adds up to 54 kilometers.
If something defines Rally Estonia it is speed. The event is one of the fastest on the WRC calendar, at the height of Rally Finland. However, the terrain is sandier than in the round suomi. With a large cleaning factor, the appearance of ruts in the second passes and the natural demand on vehicles in very fast sections full of jumps and ridges, the choice of tires will once again be key. Pirelli has opted for the soft compound Scorpion KX compound as the primary choice. In fact, drivers will have to choose 24 tires from a lot of 24 soft and 8 hard wheels.
With regard to the entry list, few novelties within the queen category. Toyota appears with its usual squad of four driversAmong which are the two biggest names in the WRC so far this season. Sébastien Ogier defends lead and Elfyn Evans tries to break the French superiority in the last rallies. Kalle Rovanperä and Takamoto Katsuta arrive in Estonia with very different sensations, as the Finn arrives at a test conducive to his riding style with a bad run of results on top. For its part, Katsuta is coming off his first WRC podium in Kenya.
Hyundai bets on Craig Breen to complete its driver lineup, beyond the private effort of Pierre-Louis Loubet. With everything, all eyes are on Thierry Neuville and Ott Tänak. Both are facing one of their last options to reengage in the fight for the WRC title, with the addition that Tänak competes at home and defends the victory achieved in 2020 in the first round after the COVID-19 pandemic. For its part, M-Sport maintains its reduced bet of two World Rally Cars, with Teemu Suninen accompanied by Gus Greensmith this time at the wheel of the second Ford.
If the fight for absolute victory will be vibrant, it will not be less so in the ‘lower’ categories. In WRC2 there are ten cars, five brands and proper names such as Mads Ostberg, Andreas Mikkelsen, Oliver Solberg or Adrien Fourmaux. For its part, in WRC3 we find Spanish presence with Pepe López and his new co-driver Borja Odriozola, with Miguel Díaz-Aboitiz with Diego Sanjuán and with Carlos del Barrio as co-pilot for Paraguayan Fabrizio Zaldivar. Names to which must be added that of Alexey Lukyanuk with your new Skoda, as well as those of other classic drivers of the category such as Kajetan Kajetanowicz, Emil Lindholm or the local Raul Jeets.
Stages and schedules of the 11th edition of Rally Estonia
Thursday, July 15, 2021
Friday July 16, 2021
Saturday, July 17, 2021
Sunday, July 18, 2021
* The entire rally can be followed through the payment platform ‘All WRC + Live’.