2021 Arctic Rally Finland
The 2021 Arctic Rally Finland was a motor racing event for rally cars that was held over three days between 26 and 28 February 2021. It marked the fifty-seventh running of the Arctic Rally, and the first time the event has been run as a round of the World Rally Championship. The event was the second round of the 2021 World Rally Championship, World Rally Championship-2 and World Rally Championship-3. The 2021 event was based in Rovaniemi in Lapland and was contested over ten special stages totalling in competitive distance.
Kalle Rovanperä and Jonne Halttunen were the defending rally winners, having won the 2020 rally when it was held as part of the Finnish Rally Championship.
Ott Tänak and Martin Järveoja won the event. Esapekka Lappi and Janne Ferm won the World Rally Championship-2 category, while Teemu Asunmaa and Marko Salminen were the winners in the World Rally Championship-3.
Background
Addition on the calendar
The Arctic Rally was not included on the first calendar published by the World Motorsport Council. The event was a late addition when Rally Sweden was cancelled in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Arctic Rally was chosen over six other reserve events because Rally Sweden was the only snow-based event on the calendar, and none of the reserve events were planned to run on snow. Competitors are required to wear warmer overalls than usual for safety reasons.The Arctic Rally was run twice in 2021. The first running in January was held as a round of the Finnish national rally Championship, while the second running in February was a World Championship round. The national-level event was won by Juho Hänninen, driving a Toyota Yaris WRC. The two events have the same organisers and similar routes.
Championship standings prior to the event
Reigning World Champions Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia entered the round with a nine-point lead over Elfyn Evans and Scott Martin. Thierry Neuville and Martijn Wydaeghe were third, a further four points behind. In the World Rally Championship for Manufacturers, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT held a twenty-two-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 an eight-point lead ahead of Adrien Fourmaux and Renaud Jamoul in the drivers' and co-drivers' standings respectively, with Eric Camilli and François-Xavier Buresi in third. In the teams' championship, Toksport WRT led Movisport by ten points.
In the World Rally Championship-3 standings, Yohan Rossel and Benoît Fulcrand led the drivers' and co-drivers' standings by six points respectively. Yoann Bonato and Benjamin Boulloud were second, with Nicolas Ciamin and Yannick Roche in third in both standings, trailing by two points.