The 2021 Rally Estonia (also known as the Rally Estonia 2021) was a motor racing event for rally cars that was held over four days between 15 and 18 July 2021. It marked the eleventh running of the Rally Estonia. The event was the seventh round of the 2021 World Rally Championship, World Rally Championship-2 and World Rally Championship-3. It was also the third round of the 2021 Junior World Rally Championship. The 2021 event was based in the town of Tartu in Tartu County and contested over twenty-four special stages totalling in competitive distance.
Ott Tänak and Martin Järveoja were the defending rally winners. Their team, Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT, were the defending manufacturers' winners. Mads Østberg and Torstein Eriksen were the defending winners in the WRC-2 category. In the WRC-3 category, Oliver Solberg 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. In the junior category, Mārtiņš Sesks and Renārs Francis were the defending winners.
Kalle Rovanperä 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, were the manufacturer's winners. Andreas Mikkelsen and Ola Fløene won the World Rally Championship-2 category, while Aleksey Lukyanuk and Yaroslav Fedorov won the World Rally Championship-3 category. The Finnish crew of Sami Pajari and Marko Salminen was the winner in the junior class.
Background Championship standings prior to the event Reigning World Champions Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia entered the round with a thirty-four-point lead over Elfyn Evans and Scott Martin. Thierry Neuville and Martijn Wydaeghe were third, a further twenty-two points behind. In the World Rally Championship for Manufacturers, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT 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, Andreas Mikkelsen and Ola Fløene held a two-point lead ahead of Mads Østberg and Torstein Eriksen in the drivers' and co-drivers' standings respectively, with Marco Bulacia Wilkinson and Marcelo Der Ohannesian in third. In the teams' championship, Movisport and Toksport WRT co-leading the championship, with M-Sport Ford WRT in third.
In the World Rally Championship-3 standings, Yohan Rossel and Alexandre Coria led drivers' and co-drivers' championship respectively. Kajetan Kajetanowicz and Maciek Szczepaniak were second, trailed by Nicolas Ciamin and Yannick Roche.
In the junior championship, Mārtiņš Sesks and Renars Francis led Sami Pajari and Marko Salminen by nine points. Jon Armstrong and Phil Hall were third, four points further back. In the Nations' standings, Latvia held a ten-point lead over Finland, with United Kingdom 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 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 Rally4s.
+ No. Driver Co-Driver Entrant Car Tyre 1 Sébastien Ogier Julien Ingrassia Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota Yaris WRC 3 Teemu Suninen Mikko Markkula M-Sport Ford WRT Ford Fiesta WRC 7 Pierre-Louis Loubet Florian Haut-Labourdette 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 18 Takamoto Katsuta Daniel Barritt Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota Yaris WRC 33 Elfyn Evans Scott Martin Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota Yaris WRC 42 Craig Breen Paul Nagle Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 44 Gus Greensmith Chris Patterson 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 Mads Østberg Torstein Eriksen TRT World Rally Team Citroën C3 Rally2 22 Marco Bulacia Wilkinson Marcelo Der Ohannesian Toksport WRT Škoda Fabia R5 Evo 23 Adrien Fourmaux Renaud Jamoul M-Sport Ford WRT Ford Fiesta R5 Mk. II 24 Jari Huttunen Mikko Lukka Hyundai Motorsport N Hyundai i20 R5 25 Nikolay Gryazin Konstantin Aleksandrov Movisport Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 26 Sean Johnston Alex Kihurani Saintéloc Junior Team Citroën C3 Rally2 27 Oliver Solberg Aaron Johnston Hyundai Motorsport N Hyundai i20 R5 28 Georg Linnamäe James Morgan ALM Motorsport Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 29 Tom Kristensson David Arhusiander M-Sport Ford WRT Ford Fiesta R5 Mk. II Source:
+ No. Driver Co-Driver Entrant Car Tyre 30 Kajetan Kajetanowicz Maciej Szczepaniak Kajetan Kajetanowicz Škoda Fabia R5 Evo 31 Egon Kaur Silver Simm Kaur Motorsport Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 32 Fabrizio Zaldívar Carlos del Barrio Fabrizio Zaldívar Škoda Fabia R5 Evo 34 Emil Lindholm Reeta Hämäläinen Emil Lindholm Škoda Fabia R5 Evo 35 Pepe López Borja Odriozola Pepe López Škoda Fabia R5 Evo 36 Mikko Heikkilä Topi Luhtinen Mikko Heikkilä Škoda Fabia R5 Evo 37 Emilio Fernández Rubén García Emilio Fernández Škoda Fabia R5 Evo 38 Aleksey Lukyanuk Yaroslav Fedorov Aleksey Lukyanuk Škoda Fabia R5 Evo 39 Raul Jeets Andrus Toom Raul Jeets Škoda Fabia R5 Evo 40 Priit Koik Kristo Tamm Priit Koik Ford Fiesta R5 Mk. II 41 Vladas Jurkevičius Aisvydas Paliukėnas Vladas Jurkevičius Škoda Fabia R5 Evo 43 Rakan Al-Rashed Antti Haapala Rakan Al-Rashed Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 45 Radik Shaymiev Maxim Tsvetkov Radik Shaymiev Hyundai i20 R5 46 Miguel Díaz-Aboitiz Diego Sanjuan de Eusebio Miguel Díaz-Aboitiz Škoda Fabia R5 Evo Source:
+ No. Driver Co-Driver Entrant Car Tyre 47 Mārtiņš Sesks Renārs Francis LMT Autosporta Akademija Ford Fiesta Rally4 48 Sami Pajari Marko Salminen Porvoon Autopalvelu Ford Fiesta Rally4 49 Jon Armstrong Phil Hall Jon Armstrong Ford Fiesta Rally4 50 Martin Koči Petr Těšínský Styllex Motorsport Ford Fiesta Rally4 51 Lauri Joona Mikael Korhonen Team Flying Finn Ford Fiesta Rally4 52 Robert Virves Sander Pruul Autosport Team Estonia Ford Fiesta Rally4 53 Raul Badiu Rareș Fetean Raul Badiu Ford Fiesta Rally4 54 William Creighton Liam Regan Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy Ford Fiesta Rally4 Source:
+ No. Driver Co-Driver Entrant Car Tyre 56 Molly Taylor Sebastian Marshall M-Sport Poland Ford Fiesta Rally3 Source:
Route Itinerary All dates and times are EEST (UTC+3). Leg Date Time No. Stage name Distance 15 July 09:01 — Abissaare [Shakedown] 6.23 km 1 15 July 20:38 SS1 Tartu 1 1.64 km 16 July 09:40 SS2 Arula 1 12.68 km 10:28 SS3 Otepää 1 17.05 km 11:16 SS4 Kanepi 1 16.54 km 12:08 SS5 Kambja 1 17.85 km 15:34 SS6 Arula 2 12.68 km 16:22 SS7 Otepää 2 17.05 km 17:10 SS8 Kanepi 2 16.54 km 18:08 SS9 Kambja 2 17.85 km 2 17 July 08:06 SS10 Peipsiääre 1 23.53 km 09.08 SS11 Mustvee 1 12.28 km 10:36 SS12 Raanitsa 1 22.76 km 11:39 SS13 Vastsemõisa 1 6.70 km 15:06 SS14 Peipsiääre 2 23.53 km 16:08 SS15 Mustvee 2 12.28 km 17:34 SS16 Raanitsa 2 22.76 km 18:37 SS17 Vastsemõisa 2 6.70 km 20:08 SS18 Tartu 2 1.64 km 3 18 July 07:21 SS19 Neeruti 1 7.82 km 08:09 SS20 Elva 1 11.72 km 09:08 SS21 Tartu vald 1 6.51 km 11:41 SS22 Neeruti 2 7.82 km 12:29 SS23 Elva 2 11.72 km 14:18 SS24 Tartu vald 2 [Power Stage] 6.51 km Source:
Report World Rally Cars Classification Position Driver Entrant Car Time Points Event Class Event Stage 1 1 69 Kalle Rovanperä Jonne Halttunen Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota Yaris WRC 2:51:29.1 0.0 25 1 2 2 42 Craig Breen Paul Nagle Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 2:52:29.0 +59.9 18 0 3 3 11 Thierry Neuville Martijn Wydaeghe Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 2:52:41.5 +1:12.4 15 4 4 4 1 Sébastien Ogier Julien Ingrassia Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota Yaris WRC 2:52:53.1 +1:24.0 12 3 5 5 33 Elfyn Evans Scott Martin Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota Yaris WRC 2:53:36.2 +2:07.1 10 2 6 6 3 Teemu Suninen Mikko Markkula M-Sport Ford WRT Ford Fiesta WRC 2:58:36.4 +7:07.3 8 0 7 7 7 Pierre-Louis Loubet Florian Haut-Labourdette Hyundai 2C Competition Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 3:00:17.4 +8:48.3 6 0 31 8 8 Ott Tänak Martin Järveoja Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 3:54:16.0 +1:02:46.9 0 5 32 9 44 Gus Greensmith Chris Patterson M-Sport Ford WRT Ford Fiesta WRC 4:12:05.2 +1:20:36.1 0 0 Retired SS5 18 Takamoto Katsuta Daniel Barritt Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota Yaris WRC Co-driver injury 0 0
Special stages Day Stage Stage name Length Winners Car Time Class leaders 15 July — Abissaare [Shakedown] 6.23 km Rovanperä / Halttunen Toyota Yaris WRC 2:51.1 SS1 Tartu 1 1.64 km Rovanperä / Halttunen Toyota Yaris WRC 1:42.8 Rovanperä / Halttunen 16 July SS2 Arula 1 12.68 km Tänak / Järveoja Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 6:32.1 Tänak / Järveoja SS3 Otepää 1 17.05 km Rovanperä / HalttunenBreen / Nagle Toyota Yaris WRCHyundai i20 Coupe WRC 8:30.6 Breen / Nagle SS4 Kanepi 1 16.54 km Rovanperä / Halttunen Toyota Yaris WRC 8:10.5 Rovanperä / Halttunen SS5 Kambja 1 17.85 km Rovanperä / Halttunen Toyota Yaris WRC 9:39.7 SS6 Arula 2 12.68 km Rovanperä / Halttunen Toyota Yaris WRC 6:27.9 SS7 Otepää 2 17.05 km Rovanperä / Halttunen Toyota Yaris WRC 8:19.5 SS8 Kanepi 2 16.54 km Breen / Nagle Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 8:00.2 SS9 Kambja 2 17.85 km Rovanperä / Halttunen Toyota Yaris WRC 9:27.7 17 July SS10 Peipsiääre 1 23.53 km Rovanperä / Halttunen Toyota Yaris WRC 12:47.4 SS11 Mustvee 1 12.28 km Tänak / Järveoja Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 6:26.2 SS12 Raanitsa 1 22.76 km Tänak / Järveoja Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 10:58.7 SS13 Vastsemõisa 1 7.60 km Tänak / Järveoja Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 4:17.6 SS14 Peipsiääre 2 23.53 km Tänak / Järveoja Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 12:45.3 SS15 Mustvee 2 12.28 km Tänak / Järveoja Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 6:24.8 SS16 Raanitsa 2 22.76 km Tänak / Järveoja Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 10:46.6 SS17 Vastsemõisa 2 7.60 km Neuville / Wydaeghe Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 4:16.2 SS18 Tartu 2 1.64 km Ogier / Ingrassia Toyota Yaris WRC 1:41.9 18 July SS19 Neeruti 1 7.82 km Neuville / WydaegheTänak / Järveoja Hyundai i20 Coupe WRCHyundai i20 Coupe WRC 4:48.3 SS20 Elva 1 11.72 km Neuville / WydaegheTänak / Järveoja Hyundai i20 Coupe WRCHyundai i20 Coupe WRC 6:00.2 SS21 Tartu vald 1 6.51 km Neuville / Wydaeghe Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 5:58.4 SS22 Neeruti 2 7.82 km Tänak / Järveoja Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 4:46.7 SS23 Elva 2 11.72 km Neuville / Wydaeghe Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 5:55.1 SS24 Tartu vald 2 [Power Stage] 6.51 km Tänak / Järveoja Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 5:52.2
Championship standings Drivers' championships Co-drivers' championships Manufacturers' championshipsMoveDriverPointsMoveCo-driverPointsMoveManufacturerPoints 1 Sébastien Ogier 148 Julien Ingrassia 148 Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT 315 2 Elfyn Evans 111 Scott Martin 111 Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT 256 3 Thierry Neuville 96 Martijn Wydaeghe 96 M-Sport Ford WRT 125 4 2 Kalle Rovanperä 82 2 Jonne Halttunen 82 Hyundai 2C Competition 36 5 1 Ott Tänak 74 1 Martin Järveoja 74
World Rally Championship-2 Classification