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
A map showing the locations of the rallies in the 2021 championship. Contested events are in green, while cancelled events are in blue. Event headquarters are marked with a black dot.
The 2021 championship was contested over twelve rounds in Europe and Africa:
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 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.
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]
The
Arctic Rally became the first World Rally Championship round to be held inside the
Arctic Circle.
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
The following crews have entered, or will enter, the 2021 World Championship-3:
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
Competitors in the WRC3 category will be awarded
Power Stage bonus points for the first time.[59]
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.
^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.
^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]
^Evans, David (29 November 2019).
"WRC's 2020 Rally Chile cancelled due to political and social unrest". autosport.com.
Motorsport Network. Retrieved 31 December 2019. Rally Chile's Felipe Horta said: 'The decision was to wait a year to take the world championship. We have talked with the FIA and the WRC [Promoter] in Germany, where they have fortunately understood very favourably what is happening and are allowing us to cancel the 2020 date and resume the contract we have established for three years.'
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
A map showing the locations of the rallies in the 2021 championship. Contested events are in green, while cancelled events are in blue. Event headquarters are marked with a black dot.
The 2021 championship was contested over twelve rounds in Europe and Africa:
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 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.
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]
The
Arctic Rally became the first World Rally Championship round to be held inside the
Arctic Circle.
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
The following crews have entered, or will enter, the 2021 World Championship-3:
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
Competitors in the WRC3 category will be awarded
Power Stage bonus points for the first time.[59]
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.
^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.
^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]
^Evans, David (29 November 2019).
"WRC's 2020 Rally Chile cancelled due to political and social unrest". autosport.com.
Motorsport Network. Retrieved 31 December 2019. Rally Chile's Felipe Horta said: 'The decision was to wait a year to take the world championship. We have talked with the FIA and the WRC [Promoter] in Germany, where they have fortunately understood very favourably what is happening and are allowing us to cancel the 2020 date and resume the contract we have established for three years.'