As expected, to replace the Rally Sweden, canceled due to the Covid-19 pandemic and due to the inability of the organizers to host the round behind closed doors, the WRC opted for the Arctic Rally Finland and the city of Santa Claus Rovaniemi for an unprecedented meeting on the snow.
Finland will host two rounds of the WRC World Championship in 2021. As expected, Arctic Rally Finland indeed replaces Rally Sweden on the calendar for the new season. It thus comes in addition to the Rally Finland, at the end of July-beginning of August on the dirt roads around Jyväskylä. After having already had to compensate for the withdrawal of Great Britain by playing the card of Belgium, the WRC also had to deal with another defection, from Sweden this time.
The Swedish organizer had indeed had to give up in turn because of the Covid-19 pandemic but also the impossibility for the country to maintain the meeting since it had no other solution than to stay in camera. Big favorite to replace Sweden on the 2021 calendar, Artic Rally Finland has finally been selected to host this second round of the season, originally scheduled for February 11-14. On the other hand, the dates will be different, since it is two weeks later, from February 26 to 28, that this unprecedented event on snow, and replacing the Swedish rally, will take place in the form of a format. reduced.
A reduced format, like Estonia in 2020
Tea #WRC will venture into the Artic Circle for the first time for Arctic Rally Finland, powered by CapitalBox @RallyFinland | @AKKMotorsport | @fia | #ArcticRallyFinland
– WRC – FIA World Rally Championship (@OfficialWRC) January 14, 2021
As was the case last season in Estonia, the Arctic Rally Finland will therefore offer a competition over two days only., with ten specials on the menu and a total of 260 kilometers timed for competitors in the region of Rovaniemi, the capital of Lapland which is located just below the Arctic Circle, and with temperatures likely to drop below -30 ° C at this time of year.
The kickoff of this scheduled round on the land of Santa Claus will be given on Friday 26 during the shakedown, followed by the first specials in the evening. “Since it was confirmed in December that Rally Sweden would not take place, we have been working hard with AKK Sports, the city of Rovaniemi and the fans to try to make this event a reality (…) We know that the AKK spares no effort to guarantee a level of organization as high as that of the summer rally Finland (…) A country with such wintry conditions and big walls of snow lining the roads is a dream of a driver, so I think the WRC is going to feel great here! », Assures the director of the promoter of the WRC Jona Siebel, who wishes to thank all those involved.
The new WRC calendar for 2021
January 21 to 24: Monte-Carlo
February 26 to 28: Arctic Rally Finland (replacing Sweden)
April 22 to 25: Croatia
May 20 to 23: Portugal
June 3 to 6: Sardinia
June 24 to 27: Kenya
July 15 to 18: Estonia
July 29 to August 1: Finland
end of August (the dates are not yet known): Belgium (replacing the United Kingdom)
September 9 to 12: Chile
October 14 to 17: Spain
November 11 to 14: Japan
