The 2021 FIA Junior WRC Championship was the ninth season of Junior WRC, a rallying championship governed by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, running in support of the World Rally Championship. The championship was open to drivers under the age of thirty—although no such restriction existed for co-drivers—competing in identical one-litre Ford Fiesta R2s built and maintained by M-Sport.[1][2] The championship began in April 2021 at the Croatia Rally.
Tom Kristensson and Joakim Sjöberg were the defending drivers' and co-drivers' champions while Sweden was the defending Nations' Trophy winner. Sami Pajari and Marko Salminen became the first Finnish crew to win the championship. Finland took the Nations' Trophy victory.
The FIA Junior WRC Championship titles were not awarded in 2022, with WRC3 Junior titles taking their place. However, FIA Junior WRC titles would make a return in 2023.
Calendar
editThe following events were included in the 2021 Junior WRC Championship. Each event was taken from the 2021 World Rally Championship calendar.
| Round | Start date | Finish date | Rally | Rally headquarters | Surface | Stages | Distance | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 22 April | 25 April |  Croatia Rally
|
Zagreb, City of Zagreb Region | Tarmac | 20 | 300.32 km | [3] |
| 2 | 20 May | 23 May |  Rally de Portugal
|
Matosinhos, Porto | Gravel | 20 | 337.51 km | [4] |
| 3 | 15 July | 18 July |  Rally Estonia
|
Tartu, Tartu County | Gravel | 24 | 319.38 km | [5] |
| 4 | 13 August | 15 August |  Ypres Rally Belgium
|
Ypres, West Flanders | Tarmac | 20 | 295.78 km | [6] |
| 5 | 14 October | 17 October |  RACC Rally Catalunya de España
|
Salou, Catalonia | Tarmac | 19 | 306.50 km | [7] |
| Source:[8] | ||||||||
Calendar changes
editRally Croatia made its championship début.[9] The Ypres Rally also made its début, replacing Rally GB. Rally Catalunya returned to the schedule after being removed from the 2020 calendar before the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the championship. Rally Italia Sardegna was removed from the calendar. Rally Sweden was omitted from the Junior WRC Championship calendar before it was removed from the wider World Rally Championship schedule. The Rally Monza was also removed from the calendar as it was only included on the 2020 schedule in response to the pandemic.
Entries
editThe following crews competed in the championship:
| Entrant | Driver | Co-driver | Rounds |
|---|---|---|---|
 Team Flying Finn
|
Lauri Joona
|
Ari Koponen
|
1–2 |
| Mikael Korhonen
|
3–5 | ||
 LMT Autosporta Akademija
|
Mārtiņš Sesks
|
Renārs Francis
|
All |
| Porvoon Autopalvelu
|
Sami Pajari
|
Marko Salminen
|
All |
| Autosport Team Estonia
|
Robert Virves
|
Sander Pruul
|
1–3 |
| Aleks Lesk
|
4–5 | ||
 Raul Badiu
|
Raul Badiu
|
Rareș Fetean
|
1–3 |
 Jon Armstrong
|
Jon Armstrong
|
Phil Hall
|
All |
 Styllex Motorsport
|
 Martin Koči
|
Petr Těšínský
|
1–3 |
 Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy
|
William Creighton
|
Liam Regan
|
All |
| Source:[10][11][12][13][14] | |||
Results and standing
editSeason summary
edit| Round | Event | Winning driver | Winning co-driver | Winning time | Report | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Croatia Rally
|
Jon Armstrong
|
Phil Hall
|
3:15:07.6 | Report | [15] |
| 2 | Rally de Portugal
|
Mārtiņš Sesks
|
Renārs Francis
|
4:15:52.7 | Report | [16] |
| 3 | Rally Estonia
|
Sami Pajari
|
Marko Salminen
|
3:19:03.2 | Report | [17] |
| 4 | Ypres Rally Belgium
|
Jon Armstrong
|
Phil Hall
|
2:51:55.4 | Report | [18] |
| 5 | RACC Rally Catalunya de España
|
Sami Pajari
|
Marko Salminen
|
2:58:02.5 | Report | [19] |
Scoring system
editPoints were awarded to the top ten classified finishers. An additional point was given for every stage win. The best four results out of five counted towards the final drivers’ and co-drivers’ standings. However, all points gained from stage wins were retained. Double points were awarded for drivers' championship at the season's finale.
| Position | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Points | 25 | 18 | 15 | 12 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 1 |
FIA Junior WRC Championship for Drivers
edit
|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
FIA Junior WRC Championship for Co-Drivers
edit
|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
FIA Junior WRC Trophy for Nations
edit
|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
References
edit- ^ "FIA Junior WRC championship goes global in 2020". fia.com. Federation Internationale de l'Automobile. 29 October 2019.
- ^ "Superb entry for Junior opener". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH.
- ^ "Itinerary Croatia Rally 2021". eWRC-results.com. Retrieved 13 February 2021.
- ^ "Itinerary Rally de Portugal 2021". eWRC-results.com. Retrieved 12 May 2021.
- ^ "Itinerary Rally Estonia 2021". eWRC-results.com. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
- ^ "Itinerary Renties Ypres Rally Belgium 2021". eWRC-results.com. Retrieved 8 April 2021.
- ^ "Itinerary RallyRACC Catalunya - Costa Daurada 2021". eWRC-results.com. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
- ^ "Five rounds named in junior WRC calendar". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. 28 January 2021. Retrieved 28 January 2021.
- ^ Sancho, Fernando (24 December 2020). "El Rally de Croacia sera valedero para el Junior WRC en 2021". motor.es. Retrieved 2 January 2021.
- ^ "Entry List Croatia Rally 2021". eWRC-results.com. Retrieved 9 April 2021.
- ^ "Entry List Vodafone Rally de Portugal 2021". eWRC-results.com. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
- ^ "Entry List Rally Estonia 2021". eWRC-results.com. Retrieved 23 June 2021.
- ^ "Entry List Ypres Rally Belgium 2021". eWRC-results.com. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
- ^ "Entry List RallyRACC Catalunya - Costa Daurada 2021". eWRC-results.com. Retrieved 14 October 2021.
- ^ "Junior WRC: Armstrong seals maiden victory". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. 25 April 2021. Retrieved 26 April 2021.
- ^ "Junior WRC: Sesks soars to championship lead". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. 23 May 2021. Retrieved 24 May 2021.
- ^ "Pajari bags maiden junior win". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. 18 July 2021. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
- ^ "Junior WRC: Armstrong blasts to Ypres glory". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. 15 August 2021. Retrieved 17 August 2021.
- ^ "Pajari crowned FIA Junior WRC champion". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. 17 October 2021. Retrieved 19 October 2021.
- ^ a b c "Standings". Federation Internationale de l'Automobile. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
External links
edit- Official website (in English, French, and Spanish)
- FIA Junior WRC Championship 2021 at eWRC-results.com