The 2021 Croatia Rally (also known as the Rally Croatia 2021) was a motor racing event for rally cars that was held over four days between 22 and 25 April 2021. It marked the forty-fifth running of the Croatia Rally, and the first time the event has been run as a round of the World Rally Championship. The event was the third round of the 2021 World Rally Championship, World Rally Championship-2 and World Rally Championship-3. It was also the first round of the 2021 Junior World Rally Championship. The 2021 event was based in Zagreb in the City of Zagreb Region and was contested over twenty special stages totalling in competitive distance.
Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia won the rally with a 0.6-second advantage over teammate Elfyn Evans and Scott Martin, which was the third closest winning margin overall after the 2011 Jordan Rally and the 2007 Rally New Zealand. Mads Østberg and Torstein Eriksen won the World Rally Championship-2 category, while Kajetan Kajetanowicz and Maciej Szczepaniak won the World Rally Championship-3 category. The British crew of Jon Armstrong and Phil Hall was the winner in the junior class.
Background Championship standings prior to the event Kalle Rovanperä and Jonne Halttunen entered the round with a four-point lead over Thierry Neuville and Martijn Wydaeghe. Reigning World Champions Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia were third, another four points behind. In the World Rally Championship for Manufacturers, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT held an eleven-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 twenty-four-point lead ahead of Esapekka Lappi and Janne Ferm in the drivers' and co-drivers' standings respectively, with Adrien Fourmaux and Renaud Jamoul in third. In the teams' championship, Toksport WRT and Movisport co-led the standings, with M-Sport Ford WRT in third.
In the World Rally Championship-3 standings, the crew of Yohan Rossel and Benoît Fulcrand and of Teemu Asunmaa and Marko Salminen both led championships, with Egon Kaur and Silver Simm in third, trailing by five 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, Junior World Rally Championship and privateer entries that were not registered to score points in any championship. Twelve entries for the World Rally Championship were received, as were seven in the World Rally Championship-2 and fifteen in the World Rally Championship-3. A further eight crews entered 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 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 16 Adrien Fourmaux Renaud Jamoul M-Sport Ford WRT 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 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 53 Armando Pereira Rémi Tutélaire Armando Pereira Ford Fiesta WRC 54 Niko Pulić Aleksandra Kovačić Niko Pulić 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 Nikolay Gryazin Konstantin Aleksandrov Movisport Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 22 Marco Bulacia Wilkinson Marcelo Der Ohannesian Toksport WRT Škoda Fabia R5 Evo 23 Enrico Brazzoli Maurizio Barone Movisport Škoda Fabia R5 24 Mads Østberg Torstein Eriksen TRT World Rally Team Citroën C3 Rally2 25 Teemu Suninen Mikko Markkula M-Sport Ford WRT Ford Fiesta R5 Mk. II 26 Tom Kristensson David Arhusiander M-Sport Ford WRT Ford Fiesta R5 Mk. II Source:
+ No. Driver Co-Driver Entrant Car Tyre 27 Yohan Rossel Alexandre Coria Yohan Rossel Citroën C3 Rally2 28 Nicolas Ciamin Yannick Roche Nicolas Ciamin Citroën C3 Rally2 29 Hermann Neubauer Bernhard Ettel Hermann Neubauer Ford Fiesta R5 Mk. II 30 Cédric De Cecco Jérôme Humblet Cédric De Cecco Škoda Fabia R5 Evo 31 Johannes Keferböck Ilka Minor Johannes Keferböck Škoda Fabia R5 Evo 32 Kajetan Kajetanowicz Maciej Szczepaniak Kajetan Kajetanowicz Škoda Fabia R5 Evo 34 Emil Lindholm Mikael Korhonen Emil Lindholm Škoda Fabia R5 Evo 35 Chris Ingram Ross Whittock Chris Ingram Škoda Fabia R5 Evo 36 Hiroki Arai Jürgen Heigl Hiroki Arai Ford Fiesta R5 Mk. II 37 Fabrizio Zaldívar Carlos del Barrio Fabrizio Zaldívar Škoda Fabia R5 Evo 38 Niki Mayr-Melnhof Poldi Welsersheimb Niki Mayr-Melnhof Ford Fiesta R5 Mk. II 39 Mauro Miele Luca Beltrame Mauro Miele Škoda Fabia R5 Evo 40 Sébastien Bedoret Thomas Walbrecq Sébastien Bedoret Škoda Fabia R5 41 Aleš Zrinski Rok Vidmar AK Plamtex Sport Ford Fiesta R5 43 Kevin Raith Christoph Wögerer Kevin Raith Ford Fiesta R5 Mk. II Source:
+ No. Driver Co-Driver Entrant Car Tyre 45 Mārtiņš Sesks Francis Renars LMT Autosporta Akademija Ford Fiesta Rally4 46 Sami Pajari Marko Salminen Porvoon Autopalvelu Ford Fiesta Rally4 47 Raul Badiu Rareș Fetean Raul Badiu Ford Fiesta Rally4 48 Martin Koči Petr Těšínský Styllex Motorsport Ford Fiesta Rally4 49 Jon Armstrong Phil Hall Jon Armstrong Ford Fiesta Rally4 50 William Creighton Liam Regan Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy Ford Fiesta Rally4 51 Lauri Joona Ari Koponen Team Flying Finn Ford Fiesta Rally4 52 Robert Virves Sander Pruul Autosport Team Estonia Ford Fiesta Rally4 Source:
Route Itinerary All dates and times are CEST (UTC+2). Leg Date Time No. Stage name Distance 22 April 09:01 — Medvedgrad [Shakedown] 4.60 km 1 23 April 08:39 SS1 Rude – Plešivica 1 6.94 km 09:32 SS2 Kostanjevac – Petruš Vrh 1 23.76 km 10:35 SS3 Jaškovo – Mali Modruš Potok 1 10.10 km 11:38 SS4 Pećurkovo Brdo – Mrežnički Novaki 1 9.11 km 15:01 SS5 Rude – Plešivica 2 6.94 km 15:54 SS6 Kostanjevac – Petruš Vrh 2 23.76 km 16:57 SS7 Jaškovo – Mali Modruš Potok 2 10.10 km 18:00 SS8 Pećurkovo Brdo – Mrežnički Novaki 2 9.11 km 2 24 April 08:29 SS9 Mali Lipovec – Grdanjci 1 20.30 km 09:17 SS10 Stojdraga – Gornja Vas 1 20.77 km 10:10 SS11 Krašić – Vrškovac 1 11.11 km 11:08 SS12 Vinski Vrh – Duga Resa 1 8.78 km 14:29 SS13 Mali Lipovec – Grdanjci 2 20.30 km 15:17 SS14 Stojdraga – Gornja Vas 2 20.77 km 16:10 SS15 Krašić – Vrškovac 2 11.11 km 17:08 SS16 Vinski Vrh – Duga Resa 2 8.78 km 3 25 April 07:20 SS17 Bliznec – Pila 1 25.20 km 08:38 SS18 Zagorska Sela – Kumrovec 1 14.09 km 10:11 SS19 Bliznec – Pila 2 25.20 km 13:18 SS20 Zagorska Sela – Kumrovec 2 [Power Stage] 14.09 km Source:
Report World Rally Cars Neuville and Wydaeghe led the rally at the end of the first day, while Rovanpera crashed on the initial stage. Ogier took the 600th stage win of his World Rally Championship career.
Classification Position Driver Entrant Car Time Points Event Class Event Stage 1 1 1 Sébastien Ogier Julien Ingrassia Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota Yaris WRC 2:51:22.9 0.0 25 5 2 2 33 Elfyn Evans Scott Martin Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota Yaris WRC 2:51:23.5 +0.6 18 2 3 3 11 Thierry Neuville Martijn Wydaeghe Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 2:51:31.0 +8.1 15 3 4 4 8 Ott Tänak Martin JärveojaHyundai Shell Mobis WRT Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 2:52:48.0 +1:25.1 12 1 5 5 16 Adrien Fourmaux Renaud Jamoul M-Sport Ford WRT Ford Fiesta WRC 2:54:32.6 +3:09.7 10 0 6 6 18 Takamoto Katsuta Daniel Barritt Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota Yaris WRC 2:54:54.7 +3:31.8 8 0 7 7 44 Gus Greensmith Chris Patterson M-Sport Ford WRT Ford Fiesta WRC 2:55:21.7 +3:58.8 6 0 8 8 42 Craig Breen Paul Nagle Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 2:55:51.1 +4:28.2 4 4 29 9 7 Pierre-Louis Loubet Vincent Landais Hyundai 2C Competition Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 3:24:42.8 +33:19.9 0 0 35 10 53 Armando Pereira Rémi Tutélaire Armando Pereira Ford Fiesta WRC 3:32:20.6 +40:57.7 0 0 Retired SS1 69 Kalle Rovanperä Jonne Halttunen Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota Yaris WRC Crash 0 0 Did not start 54 Niko Pulić Aleksandra Kovačić Niko Pulić Ford Fiesta WRC Withdrawn 0 0
Special stages Day Stage Stage name Length Winners Car Time Class leaders 22 April — Medvedgrad [Shakedown] 4.60 km Evans / Martin Toyota Yaris WRC 2:45.1 23 April SS1 Rude – Plešivica 1 6.94 km Neuville / Wydaeghe Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 4:24.2 Neuville / Wydaeghe SS2 Kostanjevac – Petruš Vrh 1 23.76 km Neuville / Wydaeghe Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 12:58.6 SS3 Jaškovo – Mali Modruš Potok 1 10.10 km Ogier / IngrassiaEvans / Martin Toyota Yaris WRCToyota Yaris WRC 5:32.3 SS4 Pećurkovo Brdo – Mrežnički Novaki 1 9.11 km Neuville / Wydaeghe Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 4:51.9 SS5 Rude – Plešivica 2 6.94 km Tänak / Järveoja Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 4:30.4 SS6 Kostanjevac – Petruš Vrh 2 23.76 km Ogier / Ingrassia Toyota Yaris WRC 12:55.8 SS7 Jaškovo – Mali Modruš Potok 2 10.10 km Ogier / Ingrassia Toyota Yaris WRC 5:26.7 SS8 Pećurkovo Brdo – Mrežnički Novaki 2 9.11 km Ogier / Ingrassia Toyota Yaris WRC 4:49.8 24 April SS9 Mali Lipovec – Grdanjci 1 20.30 km Ogier / Ingrassia Toyota Yaris WRC 12:26.1 Ogier / Ingrassia SS10 Stojdraga – Gornja Vas 1 20.77 km Katsuta / Barritt Toyota Yaris WRC 12:36.9 SS11 Krašić – Vrškovac 1 11.11 km Evans / Martin Toyota Yaris WRC 5:36.8 SS12 Vinski Vrh – Duga Resa 1 8.78 km Ogier / Ingrassia Toyota Yaris WRC 4:37.6 SS13 Mali Lipovec – Grdanjci 2 20.30 km Neuville / Wydaeghe Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 12:31.9 SS14 Stojdraga – Gornja Vas 2 20.77 km Katsuta / Barritt Toyota Yaris WRC 12:36.1 SS15 Krašić – Vrškovac 2 11.11 km Ogier / IngrassiaNeuville / Wydaeghe Toyota Yaris WRCHyundai i20 Coupe WRC 5:32.1 SS16 Vinski Vrh – Duga Resa 2 8.78 km Ogier / Ingrassia Toyota Yaris WRC 4:36.6 25 April SS17 Bliznec – Pila 1 25.20 km Evans / Martin Toyota Yaris WRC 14:04.5 SS18 Zagorska Sela – Kumrovec 1 14.09 km Evans / Martin Toyota Yaris WRC 8:18.4 Evans / Martin SS19 Bliznec – Pila 2 25.20 km Neuville / Wydaeghe Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 13:59.0 SS20 Zagorska Sela – Kumrovec 2 [Power Stage] 14.09 km Ogier / Ingrassia Toyota Yaris WRC 8:14.0 Ogier / Ingrassia
Championship standings Drivers' championships Co-drivers' championships Manufacturers' championshipsMoveDriverPointsMoveCo-driverPointsMoveManufacturerPoints 1 2 Sébastien Ogier 61 2 Julien Ingrassia 61 Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT 138 2 Thierry Neuville 53 Martijn Wydaeghe 53 Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT 111 3 1 Elfyn Evans 51 1 Scott Martin 51 M-Sport Ford WRT 42 4 1 Ott Tänak 40 1 Martin Järveoja 40 Hyundai 2C Competition 28 5 4 Kalle Rovanperä 39 4 Jonne Halttunen 39
World Rally Championship-2 Classification Position Driver Co-driver Entrant Car Time Points Event Class Class Stage Event 9 1 24 Mads Østberg Torstein Eriksen TRT World Rally Team Citroën C3 Rally2 3:01:23.7 0.0 25 2 2 10 2 25 Teemu Suninen Mikko Markkula M-Sport Ford WRT Ford Fiesta R5 Mk. II 3:01:52.2 +28.5 18 4 1 12 3 22 Marco Bulacia Wilkinson Marcelo Der Ohannesian Toksport WRT Škoda Fabia R5 Evo 3:03:26.4 +2:02.7 15 3 0 33 4 23 Enrico Brazzoli Maurizio Barone Movisport Škoda Fabia R5 3:30:34.0 +29:10.3 12 1 0 39 5 20 Andreas Mikkelsen Ola Fløene Toksport WRT Škoda Fabia R5 Evo 3:41:05.9 +49:43.0 10 5 0 Retired SS19 21 Nikolay Gryazin Konstantin Aleksandrov Movisport Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 Rolled 0 0 0 Retired SS9 26 Tom Kristensson David Arhusiander M-Sport Ford WRT Ford Fiesta R5 Mk. II Crash 0 0 0
Special stages