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Deutsch2021 WRC3 Championship
The 2021 FIA WRC3 Championship was the eighth season of WRC3, a rallying championship organised and governed by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile as the third-highest tier of international rallying. It was open to privately entered cars complying with Group Rally2 regulations.[1][2] The championship began in January 2021 with the Rallye Monte-Carlo and concluded in November 2021 with Rally Monza, running in support of the 2021 World Rally Championship.
Yohan Rossel won the driver's championship, while Maciek Szczepaniak took the co-driver's title.[3]
The 2020 WRC3 driver and co-driver champions Jari Huttunen and Mikko Lukka did not defend their titles in 2021 due to progression to WRC2.[4] Frenchman Yohan Rossel took the driver's title at the final round but due to his employing multiple co-drivers through the season, the co-driver title went to Maciek Szczepaniak, regular co-driver to Kajetan Kajetanowicz.[5]
The 2021 WRC3 season was the last to use Group Rally2 cars. From 2022 the championship would use only Group Rally3 cars.
Calendar
[edit]
The 2021 championship was contested over twelve rounds in Europe and Africa:
| Round | Start date | Finish date | Rally | Rally headquarters | Surface | Stages | Distance | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 21 January | 24 January |  Rallye Automobile Monte Carlo | Gap, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur[a] | Mixed[b] | 14 | 257.64 km | [6] |
| 2 | 26 February | 28 February |  Arctic Rally Finland | Rovaniemi, Lapland | Snow | 10 | 251.08 km | [7] |
| 3 | 22 April | 25 April |  Croatia Rally | Zagreb | Tarmac | 20 | 300.32 km | [8] |
| 4 | 20 May | 23 May |  Rally de Portugal | Matosinhos, Porto | Gravel | 20 | 337.51 km | [9] |
| 5 | 3 June | 6 June |  Rally Italia Sardegna | Olbia, Sardinia | Gravel | 20 | 303.10 km | [10] |
| 6 | 24 June | 27 June |  Safari Rally Kenya | Nairobi | Gravel | 18 | 320.19 km | [11] |
| 7 | 15 July | 18 July |  Rally Estonia | Tartu, Tartu County | Gravel | 24 | 314.16 km | [12] |
| 8 | 13 August | 15 August |  Ypres Rally Belgium | Ypres, West Flanders | Tarmac | 20 | 295.78 km | [13] |
| 9 | 9 September | 12 September |  Acropolis Rally Greece | Lamia, Central Greece | Gravel | 15 | 292.19 km | [14] |
| 10 | 1 October | 3 October | Rally Finland | Jyväskylä, Central Finland | Gravel | 19 | 287.11 km | [15] |
| 11 | 14 October | 17 October |  RACC Rally Catalunya de España | Salou, Catalonia | Tarmac | 17 | 280.46 km | [16] |
| 12 | 18 November | 21 November | ACI Rally Monza | Monza, Lombardy | Tarmac | 16 | 253.18 km | [17] |
| Sources:[18][19][20][21][22] | ||||||||
The following rounds were included on the original calendar published by WRC Promoter GmbH, but were later cancelled:
| Start date | Finish date | Rally | Rally headquarters | Surface | Stages | Distance | Cancellation reason | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 February | 14 February |  Rally Sweden | Torsby, Värmland | Snow | 19 | 313.81 km | COVID-19 pandemic | [23][24] |
| 9 September | 12 September |  Rally Chile | Concepción, Biobío | Gravel | — | — | COVID-19 pandemic | [25] |
| 19 August | 22 August |  Rally GB | — | — | — | — | Financial issues | [26] |
| 11 November | 14 November |  Rally Japan | Nagoya, Chūbu | Tarmac | 20 | 300.11 km | COVID-19 pandemic | [27][28] |
Calendar changes
[edit]With the addition of Rally Chile to the calendar in 2019, the FIA opened the tender process for new events to join the championship in 2020.[29] Three events were successful,[c] but the championship was affected by a series of cancellations in 2019 and 2020 that necessitated changes to the 2021 calendar:
- Rally Catalunya returned to the championship. The rally was removed from the 2020 schedule as part of an event-sharing agreement that would see it removed from the calendar for one year, but was guaranteed a spot on the calendar for the next two.[18] The rally returned to running exclusively on tarmac roads for the first time since 2009.[31][d]
- Rally Chile was due to return after a one-year absence. The rally had been included on the original draft of the 2020 calendar, but was later cancelled in the face of ongoing civil unrest in the country.[33] Organisers of the event negotiated a return to the calendar for the 2021 championship, but it was again cancelled due to continued travel and other restrictions amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Acropolis Rally replaced the rally after a seven-year absence on the calendar.[34]
- Rally Croatia made its championship debut, replacing Rally Mexico.[18] Croatia thus became the 34th country to host a World Rally Championship round. It was based in Zagreb, and ran on tarmac roads.
- Rally Deutschland was removed from the calendar. The event had planned to run in 2020, but was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[35] It was not included on the 2021 calendar.
- The Rallies of Finland and Portugal also returned to the championship after a one-year absence. The 2020 events were cancelled in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.[36][37]
- Rally GB was replaced by the Ypres Rally in Belgium.[26] Rally GB had originally planned to move from Wales to Northern Ireland, but the event was replaced when organisers were unable to come to an agreement with the government of Northern Ireland to support the rally.
- Rally Japan was scheduled to return to the calendar for the first time since 2010,[18] but it was ultimately called off due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[28] The rally was also originally included on the 2020 calendar, but was also cancelled because of the pandemic.[38] Rally Monza was confirmed to hold the season finale for the second year in a row.[22]
- The Safari Rally was run as a World Championship event for the first time since 2002. The event was based in the Kenyan capital Nairobi and featured stages around Lake Naivasha.[39] The event had been planned to make its return to the championship in 2020, but was cancelled in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.[40]
- Rally Sweden was included on the first draft of the calendar with its traditional February date,[41] but was cancelled before the start of the season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[42][24] The Arctic Rally in northern Finland was chosen as a replacement to ensure that a winter rally was included on the calendar.[43][e]
In light of the disruption caused by the pandemic in 2020 and in anticipation of further delays, the calendar included an additional six reserve rounds that could be included in the event of rallies being cancelled. These events include rallies in Turkey, Argentina and Latvia.[18][45] The Ypres Rally had also been included on this reserve list before it replaced Rally GB,[26] so as the Acropolis Rally and Rally Monza.[25][22]
Entries
[edit]The following crews have entered, or will enter, the 2021 World Championship-3:
Changes
[edit]Technical regulations
[edit]Pirelli will become the WRC's sole tyre supplier following the removal of Michelin and Yokohama from the approved tyre supplier list. Under the terms of the agreement, Pirelli will supply tyres to all crews entering in four-wheel drive cars.[58]
Sporting regulations
[edit]Competitors in the WRC3 category will be awarded Power Stage bonus points for the first time.[59]
Results and standings
[edit]Season summary
[edit]Scoring system
[edit]Points were awarded to the top ten classified finishers in each event. There were also five bonus points awarded to the winners of the Power Stage, four points for second place, three for third, two for fourth and one for fifth.[59][71] Crews were only allowed to enter a maximum of 7 events with the 5 best results scoring points in the championship.
| Position | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Points | 25 | 18 | 15 | 12 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 1 |
FIA WRC3 Championship for Drivers
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FIA WRC3 Championship for Co-Drivers
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Notes: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Notes
[edit]- ^ The rally base of the Monte Carlo Rally was located in France.
- ^ The Monte Carlo Rally was run on a tarmac and snow surface.
- ^ Rally New Zealand was successful in its bid to join the championship, but was cancelled because of the pandemic.[30] It was not included on the 2021 calendar, but a separate, later bid from Rally Croatia was also successful.[18]
- ^ Rally Catalunya had previously been run as a mixed surface rally, with the first leg of the event held on gravel roads and the final two legs on tarmac.[32]
- ^ The Arctic Rally was held twice during the 2021 calendar year. The first running in January was part of the Finnish Rally Championship and the second running in February was the World Championship round.[44]
- ^ Under the Sporting Regulations, each car is entered under the driver's name.
- ^ On official documents Reeta Hämäläinen is entered as the driver while Emil Lindholm is entered as the co-driver.
- ^ a b c Aleksey Lukyanuk 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.
- ^ a b c Yaroslav Fedorov 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.
- ^ Radik Shaymiev 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.
- ^ Maxim Tsvetkov 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.
- ^ Yohan Rossel finished the rally in first, but was disqualified in post-event scrutineering after the front subframe was found to be overweight.[68]
- ^ Alexandre Coria finished the rally in first, but was disqualified in post-event scrutineering after the front subframe was found to be overweight.[68]
References
[edit]- ^ "FIA announces World Motor Sport Council decisions". fia.com. Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. 12 October 2018. Retrieved 12 October 2018.
- ^ "Croatia and Estonia named in 2021 WRC calendar". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. 9 October 2020. Retrieved 9 October 2020.
- ^ "Rossel snatches WRC3 title with final stage charge". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. 21 November 2021. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
- ^ "Huttunen crowned champion, Mikkelsen wins in Monza". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. 6 December 2020. Retrieved 6 December 2020.
- ^ a b "Rossel snatches WRC3 title with final stage charge". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. 21 November 2021. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
- ^ "Itinerary Rallye Automobile de Monte-Carlo 2021". eWRC-results.com. Archived from the original on 2022-01-30. Retrieved 13 February 2021.
- ^ "Itinerary Arctic Rally Finland Powered by CapitalBox 2021". eWRC-results.com. Archived from the original on 2022-01-30. Retrieved 13 February 2021.
- ^ "Itinerary Croatia Rally 2021". eWRC-results.com. Archived from the original on 2022-01-30. Retrieved 13 February 2021.
- ^ "Itinerary Rally de Portugal 2021". eWRC-results.com. Archived from the original on 2022-01-30. Retrieved 12 May 2021.
- ^ "Itinerary Rally Italia Sardegna 2021". eWRC-results.com. Archived from the original on 2022-01-30. Retrieved 13 February 2021.
- ^ "Itinerary Safari Rally Kenya 2021". eWRC-results.com. Archived from the original on 2022-01-30. Retrieved 20 February 2021.
- ^ "Itinerary Rally Estonia 2021". eWRC-results.com. Archived from the original on 2022-01-30. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
- ^ "Itinerary Renties Ypres Rally Belgium 2021". eWRC-results.com. Archived from the original on 2022-01-30. Retrieved 8 April 2021.
- ^ "Itinerary EKO Acropolis Rally of Gods 2021". eWRC-results.com. Archived from the original on 2022-01-30. Retrieved 26 June 2021.
- ^ "Itinerary Rally Finland 2021". eWRC-results.com. Archived from the original on 2022-01-30. Retrieved 29 May 2021.
- ^ "Itinerary RallyRACC Catalunya – Costa Daurada 2021". eWRC-results.com. Archived from the original on 2022-01-30. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
- ^