The 2021 Arctic Rally Finland (also known as the Arctic Rally Finland Powered by CapitalBox 2021) was a motor racing event for rally cars that was held over three days between 26 and 28 February 2021. It marked the fifty-seventh running of the Arctic Rally, and the first time the event has been run as a round of the World Rally Championship. The event was the second round of the 2021 World Rally Championship, World Rally Championship-2 and World Rally Championship-3. The 2021 event was based in Rovaniemi in Lapland and was contested over ten special stages totalling in competitive distance.
Kalle Rovanperä and Jonne Halttunen were the defending rally winners, having won the 2020 rally when it was held as part of the Finnish Rally Championship.
Ott Tänak and Martin Järveoja won the event. Esapekka Lappi and Janne Ferm won the World Rally Championship-2 category, while Teemu Asunmaa and Marko Salminen were the winners in the World Rally Championship-3.
Background Addition on the calendar The Arctic Rally was not included on the first calendar published by the World Motorsport Council. The event was a late addition when Rally Sweden was cancelled in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Arctic Rally was chosen over six other reserve events because Rally Sweden was the only snow-based event on the calendar, and none of the reserve events were planned to run on snow. Competitors are required to wear warmer overalls than usual for safety reasons.
The Arctic Rally was run twice in 2021. The first running in January was held as a round of the Finnish national rally Championship, while the second running in February was a World Championship round. The national-level event was won by Juho Hänninen, driving a Toyota Yaris WRC. The two events have the same organisers and similar routes.
Championship standings prior to the event Reigning World Champions Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia entered the round with a nine-point lead over Elfyn Evans and Scott Martin. Thierry Neuville and Martijn Wydaeghe were third, a further four points behind. In the World Rally Championship for Manufacturers, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT held a twenty-two-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 an eight-point lead ahead of Adrien Fourmaux and Renaud Jamoul in the drivers' and co-drivers' standings respectively, with Eric Camilli and François-Xavier Buresi in third. In the teams' championship, Toksport WRT led Movisport by ten points.
In the World Rally Championship-3 standings, Yohan Rossel and Benoît Fulcrand led the drivers' and co-drivers' standings by six points respectively. Yoann Bonato and Benjamin Boulloud were second, with Nicolas Ciamin and Yannick Roche in third in both standings, trailing by two 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, and privateer entries that were not registered to score points in any championship. Thirteen entries for the World Rally Championship were received, as were ten in the World Rally Championship-2 and twenty-three in the World Rally Championship-3.
+ No. Driver Co-Driver Entrant Car Tyre 1 Sébastien Ogier Julien Ingrassia Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota Yaris WRC 2 Oliver Solberg Sebastian Marshall Hyundai 2C Competition Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 3 Teemu Suninen Mikko Markkula M-Sport Ford WRT Ford Fiesta WRC 7 Pierre-Louis Loubet Vincent Landais Hyundai 2C Competition Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 8 Ott Tänak Martin Järveoja Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 11 Thierry Neuville Martijn Wydaeghe Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 12 Janne Tuohino Reeta Hämäläinen JanPro Ford Fiesta WRC 18 Takamoto Katsuta Daniel Barritt Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota Yaris WRC 33 Elfyn Evans Scott Martin Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota Yaris WRC 37 Lorenzo Bertelli Simone Scattolin M-Sport Ford WRT Ford Fiesta WRC 42 Craig Breen Paul Nagle Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 44 Gus Greensmith Elliott Edmondson M-Sport Ford WRT Ford Fiesta WRC 69 Kalle Rovanperä Jonne Halttunen Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota Yaris WRC Source:
+ No. Driver Co-Driver Entrant Car Tyre 20 Andreas Mikkelsen Ola Fløene Toksport WRT Škoda Fabia R5 Evo 21 Adrien Fourmaux Renaud Jamoul M-Sport Ford WRT Ford Fiesta R5 Mk. II 22 Eyvind Brynildsen Veronica Engan Toksport WRT Škoda Fabia R5 Evo 23 Sean Johnston Alex Kihurani Saintéloc Junior Team Citroën C3 Rally2 24 Jari Huttunen Mikko Lukka Hyundai Motorsport N Hyundai i20 R5 25 Esapekka Lappi Janne Ferm Movisport Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 26 Ole Christian Veiby Jonas Andersson Hyundai Motorsport N Hyundai i20 R5 27 Nikolay Gryazin Konstantin Aleksandrov Movisport Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 28 Georg Linnamäe Volodymyr Korsia ALM Motorsport Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 29 Martin Prokop Michal Ernst M-Sport Ford WRT Ford Fiesta R5 Mk. II Source:
+ No. Driver Co-Driver Entrant Car Tyre 30 Teemu Asunmaa Marko Salminen Teemu Asunmaa Škoda Fabia R5 Evo 31 Emil Lindholm Mikael Korhonen Emil Lindholm Škoda Fabia R5 Evo 32 Mikko Heikkilä Topi Luhtinen Mikko Heikkilä Škoda Fabia R5 Evo 34 Eerik Pietarinen Antti Linnaketo Eerik Pietarinen Škoda Fabia R5 Evo 35 Johan Kristoffersson Patrik Barth Kristoffersson Motorsport Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 36 Mattias Ekström Emil Bergkvist Mattias Ekström Škoda Fabia R5 Evo 38 Egon Kaur Silver Simm Kaur Motorsport Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 39 Gregor Jeets Andrus Toom Gregor Jeets Škoda Fabia R5 Evo 40 Ville Ruokanen Timo Pallari Ville Ruokanen Škoda Fabia R5 Evo 41 Pekka Keski-Korsu Markus Silfvast Pekka Keski-Korsu Škoda Fabia R5 43 Tuomas Skantz Kari Kallio Tuomas Skantz Škoda Fabia R5 45 Jussi Keskiniva Mikko Kaikkonen Jussi Keskiniva Škoda Fabia R5 46 Ari-Pekka Koivisto Jussi Kärpijoki Ari-Pekka Koivisto Škoda Fabia R5 47 Fabrizio Zaldívar Carlos del Barrio Fabrizio Zaldívar Škoda Fabia R5 Evo 48 Lars Stugemo Karl-Olof Lexe Lars Stugemo Škoda Fabia R5 49 Rakan Al-Rashed Hugo Magalhães Rakan Al-Rashed Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 50 Albert von Thurn und Taxis Bernhard Ettel Albert von Thurn und Taxis Škoda Fabia R5 Evo 51 Michał Sołowow Maciek Baran Michał Sołowow Citroën C3 Rally2 52 Vladas Jurkevičius Aisvydas Paliukėnas Vladas Jurkevičius Škoda Fabia R5 Evo 53 Marko Viitanen Tapio Suominen Marko Viitanen Škoda Fabia R5 54 Mauro Miele Luca Beltrame Mauro Miele Škoda Fabia R5 55 Miguel Díaz-Aboitiz Rodrigo Sanjuan Miguel Díaz-Aboitiz Škoda Fabia R5 Evo 56 Adrian Chwietczuk Jarosław Baran Adrian Chwietczuk Škoda Fabia R5 Evo Source:
In detail Oliver Solberg is set to make his Rally1 début in a Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC prepared and entered by Hyundai's satellite team Hyundai 2C Competition at the rally. His co-driver for this rally is Sebastian Marshall as his regular co-driver Aaron Johnston has to miss the rally after he was found positive with COVID-19. FIA World Rallycross Championship driver Mattias Ekström will make a one-off appearance in the rally.
Route The rally will be contested over ten special stages totalling in competitive distance. The route of the rally is different to that of the first running of the event in January 2021. All of the stages will be run in reverse, with the exception of the Aittajärvi Power Stage. The Mustalampi stage returned to the itinerary from previous runnings of the Arctic Rally, with some sections being brand-new.
Itinerary All dates and times are EET (UTC+2). Leg Date Time No. Stage name Distance 26 February 08:31 — Vennivaara [Shakedown] 5.69 km 1 26 February 15:08 SS1 Sarriojärvi 1 31.05 km 18:38 SS2 Sarriojärvi 2 31.05 km 2 27 February 09:08 SS3 Mustalampi 1 24.43 km 10:38 SS4 Kaihuavaara 1 19.91 km 12:08 SS5 Siikakämä 1 27.68 km 15:38 SS6 Mustalampi 2 24.43 km 17:08 SS7 Kaihuavaara 2 19.91 km 18:38 SS8 Siikakämä 2 27.68 km 3 28 February 10:08 SS9 Aittajärvi 1 22.47 km 13:18 SS10 Aittajärvi 2 [Power Stage] 22.47 km Source:
Report World Rally Cars Ott Tänak and Martin Järveoja won the event for Hyundai. Kalle Rovanperä and Jonne Halttunen finished second for Toyota and took the lead in the championship. Ogier crashed on Saturday but was allowed to restart the next day. Solberg lost fifteen seconds to an off on the power stage, on which Rovanperä set the fastest time to claim the maximum bonus points, 0.2 seconds faster than Craig Breen and Paul Nagle.
Classification Position Driver Entrant Car Time Points Event Class Event Stage 1 1 8 Ott Tänak Martin JärveojaHyundai Shell Mobis WRT Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 2:03:49.6 0.0 25 2 2 2 69 Kalle Rovanperä Jonne Halttunen Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota Yaris WRC 2:04:07.1 +17.5 18 5 3 3 11 Thierry Neuville Martijn Wydaeghe Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 2:04:09.4 +19.8 15 3 4 4 42 Craig Breen Paul Nagle Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 2:04:42.2 +52.6 12 4 5 5 33 Elfyn Evans Scott Martin Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota Yaris WRC 2:04:51.1 +1:01.5 10 0 6 6 18 Takamoto Katsuta Daniel Barritt Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota Yaris WRC 2:05:27.4 +1:37.8 8 0 7 7 2 Oliver Solberg Sebastian Marshall Hyundai 2C Competition Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 2:05:28.6 +1:39.0 6 0 8 8 3 Teemu Suninen Mikko Markkula M-Sport Ford WRT Ford Fiesta WRC 2:05:58.6 +2:09.0 4 0 9 9 44 Gus Greensmith Elliott Edmondson M-Sport Ford WRT Ford Fiesta WRC 2:07:29.0 +3:39.4 2 0 20 10 1 Sébastien Ogier Julien Ingrassia Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota Yaris WRC 2:14:55.8 +11:06.2 0 1 39 11 7 Pierre-Louis Loubet Vincent Landais Hyundai 2C Competition Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 3:14:50.1 +18:16.4 0 0 51 12 37 Lorenzo Bertelli Simone Scattolin M-Sport Ford WRT Ford Fiesta WRC 3:06:43.5 +1:02:53.9 0 0 Retired SS9 12 Janne Tuohino Reeta Hämäläinen JanPro Ford Fiesta WRC Medical reasons 0 0
Special stages Day Stage Stage name Length Winners Car Time Class leaders 26 February — Vennivaara [Shakedown] 5.69 km Tänak / Järveoja Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 2:35.4 SS1 Sarriojärvi 1 31.05 km Tänak / Järveoja Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 15:57.8 Tänak / Järveoja SS2 Sarriojärvi 2 31.05 km Tänak / Järveoja Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 15:52.9 27 February SS3 Mustalampi 1 24.43 km Tänak / Järveoja Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 13:54.5 SS4 Kaihuavaara 1 19.91 km Evans / Martin Toyota Yaris WRC 9:06.6 SS5 Siikakämä 1 27.68 km Tänak / Järveoja Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 12:30.1 SS6 Mustalampi 2 24.43 km Tänak / Järveoja Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 13:57.3 SS7 Kaihuavaara 2 19.91 km Rovanperä / Halttunen Toyota Yaris WRC 9:08.8 SS8 Siikakämä 2 27.68 km Neuville / Wydaeghe Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 12:44.0 28 February SS9 Aittajärvi 1 22.47 km Evans / Martin Toyota Yaris WRC 10:07.5 SS10 Aittajärvi 2 [Power Stage] 22.47 km Rovanperä / Halttunen Toyota Yaris WRC 10:02.4
Championship standings Drivers' championships Co-drivers' championships Manufacturers' championshipsMoveDriverPointsMoveCo-driverPointsMoveManufacturerPoints 1 3 Kalle Rovanperä 39 3 Jonne Halttunen 39 Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT 88 2 1 Thierry Neuville 35 1 Martijn Wydaeghe 35 Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT 77 3 2 Sébastien Ogier 31 2 Julien Ingrassia 31 M-Sport Ford WRT 24 4 2 Elfyn Evans 31 2 Scott Martin 31 Hyundai 2C Competition 22 5 7 Ott Tänak 27 7 Martin Järveoja 27
World Rally Championship-2 Classification