The 2021 FIA WRC2 Championship was the ninth season of WRC2, a rallying championship for organised and governed by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile as the second-highest tier of international rallying. The category was open to cars entered by teams and complying with Rally2 regulations. The championship began in January 2021 with the Rallye Monte-Carlo and concluded in November 2021 with Rally Monza, and ran in support of the 2021 World Rally Championship.
Mads Østberg and Torstein Eriksen were the defending 2020 drivers' and co-drivers' champions. Toksport WRT were the defending teams' champions.
Andreas Mikkelsen was crowned 2021 drivers' champion at the penultimate round despite not competing there. As he had used different co-drivers through the season a co-driver of a different crew would therefore become co-driver champion. Torstein Eriksen, consistent co-driver of Mads Østberg, was able to retain his championship title. Movisport became the teams' champion.
Calendar
Entries The following teams and crews entered 2021 WRC2:
Entrant Car Driver name Co-driver nameRounds M-Sport Ford WRT Ford Fiesta Rally2 Adrien Fourmaux Renaud Jamoul 1–2, 5, 7 Martin Prokop Michal Ernst 2, 9–10 Viktor Chytka 4 Zdeněk Jůrka 5–6 Teemu Suninen Mikko Markkula 3–4, 6, 8–9 Tom Kristensson David Arhusiander 3–4, 7–8, 10 Jari Huttunen Mikko Lukka 12 Toksport WRTŠkoda Fabia Rally2 Evo Marco Bulacia Marcelo Der Ohannesian 1, 3–7, 9, 12 Andreas Mikkelsen Ola Fløene 1–7 Elliott Edmondson 9 Phil Hall 12 Eyvind Brynildsen Veronica Engan 2 Sports & You Citroën C3 Rally2 Eric Camilli François-Xavier Buresi 1 Benjamin Veillas 4 Maxime Vilmot 11 Movisport Škoda Fabia R5 Enrico Brazzoli Maurizio Barone 1, 3 Danilo Fappani 5 Škoda Fabia Rally2 Evo Manuel Fenoli 12 Nikolay Gryazin Konstantin Aleksandrov 11–12Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 2–5, 7–8, 10 Esapekka Lappi Janne Ferm 2, 4 Teemu Suninen Mikko Markkula 10 Ford Fiesta Rally2 Nikolay Gryazin Konstantin Aleksandrov 9 Erik Cais Jindřiška Žáková 11 Saintéloc Junior Team Citroën C3 Rally2 Sean Johnston Alex Kihurani 1–2, 5, 7, 9, 11 Leonid Urlichich Tom Woodburn 9 Hyundai Motorsport N Hyundai i20 R5 Jari Huttunen Mikko Lukka 2, 5, 7 Ole Christian Veiby Jonas Andersson 2, 4–5 Oliver Solberg Aaron Johnston 4, 7 Andrea Crugnola Pietro Ometto 5 Hyundai i20 N Rally2 Jari Huttunen Mikko Lukka 8, 10–11 Oliver Solberg Aaron Johnston 8–9 Craig Drew 10 Teemu Suninen Mikko Markkula 11 ALM Motorsport Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 Georg Linnamäe Volodymyr Korsia 2, 4 Tanel Kasesalu 5 James Morgan 7, 10–12 Škoda Fabia Rally2 Evo 9 TRT World Rally Team Citroën C3 Rally2 Mads Østberg Torstein Eriksen 3–5, 7, 9–11Sources:
In detail M-Sport Ford WRT entered a Ford Fiesta R5 Mk. II for Adrien Fourmaux and Renaud Jamoul, the crew combining their WRC2 campaign with a drive for M-Sport's main team in the WRC. Teemu Suninen and Mikko Markkula joined the WRC2 effort in Croatia, alternating in the car with Fourmaux. Following Suninen leaving M-Sport before the Acropolis Rally, Fourmaux will leave WRC-2 as well to drive the rest of the season in the main category. A second Fiesta was entered for Martin Prokop and Michal Ernst in the Arctic Rally Finland. Ernst was replaced by Viktor Chytka in Portugal, having been originally meant to co-drive for Prokop in Lapland. Zdeněk Jůrka became Prokop's third co-driver of the season in Sardinia. Ernst is due to return to co-drive in Greece. The reigning JWRC champion Tom Kristensson joined the team in Croatia, co-driven by David Arhusiander.
Hyundai Motorsport N signed Oliver Solberg and Aaron Johnston signed for a two-year deal, the pair joining to compete alongside the crew of Ole Christian Veiby and Jonas Andersson. Veiby was however suspended from competing in the WRC for the rest of the year for breaching COVID-19 protocols in Portugal. Reigning WRC-3 champions Jari Huttunen and Mikko Lukka entered driving a third car for the team. Italian driver Andrea Crugnola was meant to drive in Sardinia with co-driver Pietro Ometto, but had to withdraw due to most of the Hyundai WRC-2 team having to quarantine following Portugal. Hyundai introduced a successor to the Hyundai i20 R5 known as the Hyundai i20 N Rally2 in Belgium. Teemu Suninen and Mikko Markkula will join Hyundai WRC-2 ranks for the penultimate round in Spain.
The reigning teams' champions Toksport WRT signed former WRC works driver Andreas Mikkelsen and 2020 WRC-3 runner-up Marco Bulacia Wilkinson, with Ola Fløene and Marcelo Der Ohannesian respectively as co-drivers. Eyvind Brynildsen and Veronica Engan replaced Bulacia Wilkinson and Der Ohannesian for the round in Lapland following the latter crew being prevented from entering the event by visa issues. Elliott Edmondson will replace Fløene as Mikkelsen's co-driver starting from the Acropolis Rally.
Italian team Movisport joined the championship, entering a Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 for Nikolay Gryazin and Konstantin Aleksandrov, who left Hyundai after 2020. The team also entered a Škoda Fabia R5 for Enrico Brazzoli and Maurizio Barone in selected events. Barone was replaced by Danilo Fappani in Sardinia. Esapekka Lappi and Janne Ferm returned to the category, driving a second Volkswagen for Movisport in Lapland and Portugal. Gryazin and Aleksandrov will switch to a Ford Fiesta R5 Mk. II for the Acropolis Rally. After leaving M-Sport Teemu Suninen and Mikko Markkula will drive a Volkswagen for Movisport in Finland.
Portuguese team Sports & You entered a Citroën C3 Rally2 for the French crew of Eric Camilli and François-Xavier Buresi. Camilli was co-driven by Benjamin Veillas in Portugal.
Saintéloc Junior Team joined the championship, entering a Citroën C3 Rally2 for Sean Johnston and Alex Kihurani. The team will enter a second C3 in Greece for Canadian driver Leonid "Crazy Leo" Urlichich and British co-driver Tom Woodburn.
ALM Motorsport entered a Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 for Estonian Georg Linnamäe and Ukrainian Volodymyr Korsia. After being suspended due to breaching COVID-19 protocols, Korsia was replaced with Tanel Kasesalu for one round, before James Morgan became Linnamäe's permanent co-driver. Linnamäe will drive a Škoda Fabia Rally2 Evo in Greece.
2020 WRC-2 champion Mads Østberg entered the 2021 season in Croatia driving a Citroën C3 Rally2 for TRT World Rally Team. He was co-driven by Torstein Eriksen.
Changes Technical regulations Pirelli alone supplied tyres to all teams entering WRC-2 with the removal of Michelin and Yokohama as FIA approved tyre suppliers.
Sporting regulations Competitors in the WRC-2 category were awarded Power Stage bonus points for the first time.
Results and standings Season summary RoundEventWinning driverWinning co-driverWinning entrantWinning timeReportRef.1 Rallye Automobile Monte Carlo Andreas Mikkelsen Ola Fløene Toksport WRT3:03:57.3Report2 Arctic Rally Finland Esapekka Lappi Janne Ferm Movisport2:09:56.6Report3 Croatia Rally Mads Østberg Torstein Eriksen TRT World Rally Team3:01:23.7Report4 Rally de Portugal Esapekka Lappi Janne Ferm Movisport3:48:03.4Report5 Rally Italia Sardegna Jari Huttunen Mikko Lukka Hyundai Motorsport N3:28:58.1Report6 Safari Rally KenyaNo classified finishersReport7 Rally Estonia Andreas Mikkelsen Ola Fløene Toksport WRT3:01:59.0Report8 Ypres Rally Belgium Jari Huttunen Mikko Lukka Hyundai Motorsport N2:51:32.9Report9 Acropolis Rally Greece Andreas Mikkelsen Elliott Edmondson Toksport WRT3:37:27.1Report10 Rally Finland Teemu Suninen Mikko Markkula Movisport2:29:05.8Report11 RACC Rally Catalunya de España Eric Camilli Maxime Vilmot Sports & You2:44:01.2Report12 Rally Monza Jari Huttunen Mikko Lukka M-Sport Ford WRT 2:49:28.6Report
Scoring system Points are awarded to the top ten classified finishers in each event. Power Stage points are also awarded in the drivers' and co-drivers' championships. A team has to enter two cars to score points in an event. Drivers and teams must nominate a scoring rally when they enter the event and the best six scores from seven nominated rallies will count towards the final classification. Registered drivers are able to enter additional rallies with Priority 2 status without scoring points. Position1st2nd3rd4th5th6th7th8th9th10thPoints251815121086421
FIA WRC2 Championship for Drivers DriverMONARCCROPORITAKENESTBELGRCFINESPMNZDropsPoints 1 Andreas Mikkelsen112151WDRetWD111321 0 149 2 Mads Østberg14342223812241 9 126 3 Jari HuttunenRet11Ret1133Ret12 0 107 4 Marco Bulacia43336233WD322243 12 107 5 Teemu Suninen2225WDRetWD1122 0 93 6 Nikolay Gryazin34Ret4Ret223564NCNC 0 77 7 Esapekka Lappi1211 0 59 8 Eric Camilli348314 0 51 9 Martin Prokop6744Ret545 0 51 10 Adrien Fourmaux22956544 0 48 11 Enrico Brazzoli645534 0 48 12 Georg Linnamäe8WDRet644565NC 0 45 13 Sean Johnston557RetRet65 0 35 14 Erik Cais33 0 18 15 Tom KristenssonRet955RetRet 0 13 16 Ole Christian Veiby53DNSWD 0 13 17 Eyvind Brynildsen4 0 12 18 Oliver Solberg5RetRetRetRet 0 10 19 Leonid Urlichich7 0 6DriverMONARCCROPORITAKENESTBELGRCFINESPMNZDropsPointsSource:Notes:1 2 3 4 5 – Power Stage position
FIA WRC2 Championship for Co-Drivers Co-DriverMONARCCROPORITAKENESTBELGRCFINESPMNZDropsPoints 1 Torstein Eriksen14342223812241 9 126 2 Mikko LukkaRet11Ret1133Ret120 107 3 Marcelo Der Ohannesian43336233WD322253 10 105 4 Ola Fløene112151WDRetWD11 0 98 5 Mikko Markkula2225WDRetWD1122 0 93 6 Konstantin Aleksandrov34Ret4Ret223564NCNC 0 77 7 Janne Ferm1211 0 59 8 James Morgan64456534 0 58 9 Renaud Jamoul22956544 0 48 10 Alex Kihurani557RetRet65 0 35 11 Michal Ernst6545 0 31 12 Elliott Edmondson13 0 28 13 Maxime Vilmot14 0 27 14 Phil Hall21 0 23 15 Maurizio Barone645 0 21 16 Jindřiška Žáková33 0 18 17 François-Xavier Buresi34WD 0 17 18 Zdeněk Jůrka44Ret 0 14 19 Manuel Fenoli45 0 13 20 David ArhusianderRet955RetRet 0 13 21 Jonas Andersson53DNSWD 0 13 22 Veronica Engan4 0 12 23 Aaron Johnston5RetRetRet 0 10 24 Danilo Fappani5 0 10 25 Benjamin Veillas83 0 7 26 Viktor Chytka7 0 6 27 Tom Woodburn7 0 6 28 Volodymyr Korsia8WD 0 4Co-DriverMONARCCROPORITAKENESTBELGRCFINESPMNZDropsPointsSource:Notes:1 2 3 4 5 – Power Stage position
FIA WRC2 Championship for Teams TeamMONARCCROPORITAKENESTBELGRCFINESPMNZDropsPoints 1 Movisport2131NCRetNCNC111 15 22743Ret3433 2 Toksport WRT122NC1WD11NC2 25 216344WDRetWD224 3 M-Sport Ford WRTNC5122Ret3RetNC3NC 0 1466Ret53WD4RetWDRet 4 Hyundai Motorsport NNC4NCRet1Ret22 0 73RetDNSWDRetRetRetRet 5 Saintéloc Junior TeamNCNCRetRet3NC 0 274TeamMONARCCROPORITAKENESTBELGRCFINESPMNZDropsPointsSource:Notes:1 2 3 4 5 – Power Stage position
Notes
References
External links
FIA WRC2 2021 at eWRC-results.com