Rally Estonia

History

2010–2013: Early years

The inaugural event, known as Mad-Croc Rally Estonia for sponsorship reasons, was held in 2010 as a part of the Estonian Rally Championship. It was won by Markko Märtin and Kristo Kraag who won all the special stages. In the following year, the rally became known as the auto24 Rally Estonia. Mads Østberg and Jonas Andersson took back-to-back wins in 2011 and 2012 driving a Ford Fiesta RS WRC thus becoming the first two-time winners of Rally Estonia. Local driver Georg Gross together with co-driver Raigo Mõlder won the rally in 2013 in a Ford Focus RS WRC 08.

2014–2016, 2024: ERC event

In 2014 Rally Estonia became a round of the European Rally Championship. Ott Tänak and Raigo Mõlder won the rally driving a Ford Fiesta R5. The 2014 edition was awarded with the ERC Rally of the Year Award. In 2015 Aleksey Lukyanuk and Alexey Arnautov made history as they took the overall win driving a R4 spec (ERC-2 category) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X against more powerful R5 spec Ford Fiesta driven by Kajetan Kajetanowicz and co-driver Jarosław Baran. In 2016 Lukyanuk and Arnautov were on the verge of defending their win, but crashed out from the lead on the penultimate stage, allowing Ralfs Sirmacis and Māris Kulšs to take victory in their Škoda Fabia R5.

Rally Estonia made a quick a return to ERC calendar when in February 2023 WRC Promoter announced that Rally Liepāja would step up from the European Rally Championship to hold a World Rally Championship event under new name, Rally Latvia in 2024 and it was subject to speculation that it would replace Rally Estonia on the calendar. The 2024 WRC calendar was revealed in October 2023 with Rally Latvia being the eighth round of the thirteen-round championship and Rally Estonia was dropped from the calendar. In November 2023, FIA unveiled the European Rally Championship calendar for the 2024 season, and after a seven-year break, Rally Estonia was included in the calendar as round four of the eight-round championship. The organizers also announced that Rally Estonia would be part of the WRC calendar again in 2025.

2018–2019: WRC aspirations

The event was put on hiatus in 2017 and returned in 2018, when it became known as Shell Helix Rally Estonia for sponsorship reasons. The rally became a popular event with World Rally Championship works teams preparing for Rally Finland. The 2018 edition marked the first time the new Toyota Yaris WRC entered a competition outside the WRC series. Ott Tänak and Martin Järveoja won eleven stages out of sixteen and took a dominant victory, the second Rally Estonia win for Tänak. In 2019 the rally organisers signed an agreement with WRC Promoter and Rally Estonia became the first ever official WRC Promotional Event, and revealed ambitions to become part of the World Rally Championship from 2022. Every WRC manufacturer team entered the event, making Rally Estonia the largest rally outside the World Rally Championship. Ott Tänak and Martin Järveoja took another win in dominant style, winning all but two special stages. It was the third Rally Estonia win for Tänak and the second for co-driver Järveoja. The 2019 rally attracted more than 52,000 fans, a 25 per cent rise on 2018. More than 100 countries screened the event on television and it also proved a big hit on social media, with 25.8 million impressions and 2.7 million video views on WRC and event channels.

2020–2023, 2025–present: WRC event

2020

The 2020 edition of the non-championship rally and the second as a WRC Promotional Rally was scheduled to slot into the 2020 WRC calendar a week after Kenya’s Safari Rally, round eight of the series, and two weeks ahead of the following fixture at Rally Finland. However, it was announced in February that the 2020 edition had been cancelled after the event organizers were unable to find agreement with the national governing body, the Estonian Autosport Union (EAU). Principal issue in the dispute was the competition registration fee, which the EAU raised 5,000 percent from €2,000 to €100,000 in January, just six months before the scheduled start of the rally in July. Paying that level of a fee was not possible, both legally and budget-wise, as stated by the organizers.

In March the spreading COVID-19 pandemic led to cancellation of six World Rally Championship rounds. Organizers of the championship announced that they were considering adding events to the schedule that had not been part of the original calendar. Estonia was among the countries who had expressed interest in hosting the event. On July 2, 2020, WRC Promoter announced that the season would return with an updated calendar with newcomers Rally Estonia hosting the resuming round between 4 and 6 September making Estonia the thirty-third nation to stage a championship round in the WRC.

The rally marked the return of the World Rally Championship after a half-year hiatus by the COVID-19 pandemic and was the 600th event since the championship was founded back to . Winning the warm-up event, local favourites Tänak and Järveoja were determined to vanquish their home soil for the third straight year. The reigning world champions showed an impressive speed throughout the weekend, leading almost the entire rally to win their first victory for Hyundai in their motherland. Teammates Craig Breen and Paul Nagle finished second after a consistent performance to complete a Hyundai 1–2. The event was widely praised and considered by some of the FIA members as one of the best WRC events of all time. The 2020 edition was awarded with the WRC Team Spirit Award by successfully executing a COVID-safe maiden WRC event in just 63 days.

2021

After last years' success, Rally Estonia was included in the 2021 WRC calendar as round seven of the twelve-round championship. Ahead of home crowds, local favourites Tänak and Järveoja were keen to repeat their success one year ago. It wasn't long until they led the rally, but double puncture happened in two consecutive stages on Friday's morning loop put them from heroes to zeroes — They run out of spare wheel to change, meaning they could not go any further on Friday. Following Tänak and Järveoja's issue, Kalle Rovanperä and Jonne Halttunen put them in advantage for the victory contention. Having fended off the pursuit of Craig Breen and Paul Nagle, they increasingly extend their lead to the eventual shy off one minute to claim their maiden WRC win. At 20 years and 290 days, Rovanperä became the youngest driver to win a WRC event, breaking the previous record of 22 years and 313 days held by Jari-Matti Latvala. Breen and Nagle achieved their first podium of the season by finishing second, with teammates Thierry Neuville and Martijn Wydaeghe rounded out of the podium with their fifth third place of the season.

2022

The 2022 edition was scheduled as round seven of the thirteen-round championship. Rally Estonia marked the first high-speed gravel rally for the WRC's hybrid-powered Rally1 cars and turned out to be quite a spectacle. Twelve months ago Kalle Rovanperä became the WRC's youngest rally winner with victory in Estonia. This time the 21-year-old Finn finished the four-day gravel road fixture 1min 00.9sec clear of Toyota team-mate Elfyn Evans. Evans dominated initially but Rovanperä grabbed the lead in Friday's final rain-soaked speed test. After fine-tuning his car's set-up on Saturday morning, he reeled off seven consecutive fastest times to distance the Welshman and more than double his advantage. Rain again ensured slippery conditions in Sunday's closing leg but Rovanperä was in no mood to compromise. He won the final Power Stage by an astounding 22.4sec to gain maximum bonus points. Such was his dominance that he won 14 of the rally's 24 tests. Rovanperä and co-driver Jonne Halttunen continued their unstoppable form, when the Finnish crew claimed their fifth win in six rallies of the 2022 season. Home hero Ott Tänak completed the podium a further 54.8sec adrift in a Hyundai i20, with only a single stage win. He never looked like threatening those ahead as he wrestled handling problems but the four-time Estonia winner was more than good enough to finish best of the rest.

2023

Rally Estonia was part of the WRC calendar for the fourth consecutive year as the 2023 edition was scheduled as round eight of the thirteen-round championship. Ott Tänak and Martin Järveoja were the pre-event favourites but their hopes of a home victory were squashed before the rally had even started. Issues in Thursday's shakedown forced a last-minute engine change and landed them a five-minute penalty before the opening stage.

Kalle Rovanperä and Jonne Halttunen secured their third consecutive Rally Estonia triumph as the Finns finished the four-day gravel road fixture 52.7sec ahead of Hyundai's Thierry Neuville and Martijn Wydaeghe, who initially led after Friday's opening loop. Rovanperä seized the top spot later that day before reeling off nine consecutive fastest times on Saturday to exert his supremacy. Rovanperä also remained untouchable in Sunday's closing leg winning all four speed tests in his Toyota GR Yaris and gaining maximum Power Stage bonus points in the process. Such was his dominance that he won 15 of the rally's 21 special stages. Rovanperä and Halttunen posted 13 consecutive fastest times over the final two days. The last time similar kind of domination was seen in WRC was in when Sébastien Loeb and Daniel Elena won all 12 stages of 2005 Tour de Corse.

2025

In 2025, Rally Estonia returned to the WRC calendar. Tänak and Rovanperä were the favourites going to the rally, but as soon as the rally started, it was clear that Oliver Solberg will intervene to the fight for the victory. Solberg fininshed Friday in first place, ahead of Tänak by 12.4 seconds. Everybody expected that Tänak will take the lead by Saturday evening, but a mistake from Tänak in the first stage of Saturday widened the gap with Solberg. Solberg was then elusive, and Tänak started to battle hard with Neuville, changing their positions repeatedly. However, Tänak managed to take second place at the end of Saturday, leaving Neuville third. The battle was meant to continue on Sunday, but a false start from Neuville gave him a 10 second penalty. Oliver Solberg won the rally and took his first ever victory in WRC.

Winners

Multiple winners

• Years in bold mark WRC event
• Years in italic mark ERC event

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Detailed results

Accolades

• 2014 ERC Rally of the Year
• 2014 Tartu Sports Event of the Year
• 2020 Tartu Deed of the Year
• 2020 WRC Asahi Kasei Team Spirit Award
• 2022 FIA 3 star rating in Environmental accreditation

References

References

1. "auto24 Rally Estonia". [[European Rally Championship]].
2. (14 November 2014). "Newcomer Estonia is ERC Rally of the Year". Rally Estonia.
3. (12 November 2014). "FIA ERC names Rally Estonia 'Rally of the Year 2014'". [[Eesti Rahvusringhääling]].
4. (19 July 2015). "Lukyanuk takes first ERC win on ultra-fast auto24 Rally Estonia". Federation Internationale de l'Automobile.
5. (17 July 2016). "ERC Rally estonia day three report: Sirmacis wins after late Lukyanuk drama". Federation Internationale de l'Automobile.
6. (17 February 2023). "FIA World Rally Championship adds Latvia to 2024 calendar". [[WRC Promoter GmbH]].
7. (19 October 2023). "Revealed: 2024 WRC Calendar". [[WRC Promoter GmbH]].
8. (22 November 2023). "New-look calendar brings added excitement and appeal to ERC in 2024". [[WRC Promoter GmbH]].
9. (22 November 2023). "Rally Estonia will be part of the European Rally Championship calendar in 2024 and will return to the WRC calendar in 2025". Rally Estonia.
10. (29 May 2018). "Ott Tänak and Martin Järveoja starting in Shell Helix Rally Estonia with Toyota Yaris WRC". Rally Estonia.
11. (1 March 2019). "Estonia to host Promotional Rally". World Rally Championship.
12. ERR, Kristjan Kalkun. (1 March 2019). "WRC promotsiooniralli korraldatakse Eestis, koostöölepe sai allkirja".
13. Evans, David. (5 July 2019). "Estonia begins three-year plan in a bid to join WRC calendar". [[Motorsport Network]].
14. (14 July 2019). "Tänak the master in Estonia". [[World Rally Championship]].
15. (18 November 2019). "WRC promo rally confirmed". [[World Rally Championship]].
16. (26 February 2020). "Rally Estonia cancelled amid funding dispute". DirtFish.
17. (26 February 2020). "Potential future full WRC calendar Rally Estonia canceled for 2020". Eesti Rahvusringhääling.
18. (27 February 2020). "The statement from Rally Estonia director Urmo Aava". Rally Estonia.
19. Ridge, Hal. (16 June 2020). "Discussions ongoing over staging a WRC round in Latvia in 2020". [[Motorsport Network]].
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22. Evans, David. (2 July 2020). "WRC reveals new calendar with Estonia restart". DirtFish.
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30. (14 July 2021). "Preview – Rally route". [[WRC Promoter GmbH]].
31. Barry, Luke. (16 July 2021). "Tänak takes Estonia lead with victory on first Friday stage". DirtFish.
32. Barry, Luke. (16 July 2021). "Double puncture on SS4 prompted Tänak's retirement". DirtFish.
33. Barry, Luke. (16 July 2021). "Tänak retires from Raaly Estonia". DirtFish.
34. Barry, Luke. (16 July 2021). "Rovanperä Stretches Estonia lead with stunning SS5 win". DirtFish.
35. (16 July 2021). "Rovanperä fends off Breen in fierce fight". [[WRC Promoter GmbH]].
36. (18 July 2021). "Record-breaking Rovanperä triumphs in Estonia". [[WRC Promoter GmbH]].
37. Barry, Luke. (19 July 2021). "The 10 youngest WRC winners". DirtFish.
38. (20 July 2021). "Breen's Estonia message: "Come and get me"". [[WRC Promoter GmbH]].
39. (15 October 2021). "WRC roars into hybrid era with expanded 2022 calendar". [[WRC Promoter GmbH]].
40. (17 July 2022). "Dazzling Rovanpera triumphs in Estonia". [[WRC Promoter GmbH]].
41. (25 November 2022). "WRC powers into 2023 with exciting new-look calendar". [[WRC Promoter GmbH]].
42. (23 July 2023). "Untouchable Rovanperä clinches Rally Estonia win". [[WRC Promoter GmbH]].
43. (24 July 2023). "Latvala draws Loeb comparison as Rovanperä dominates in Estonia". [[WRC Promoter GmbH]].
44. (20 July 2025). "Solberg stuns with first WRC triumph in Estonia". [[WRC Promoter GmbH]].
45. (8 December 2014). "auto24 Rally Estonia pälvis Tartu aasta sporditeo auhinna".
46. (29 December 2020). "Tartu aasta tegu on autoralli MM-etapp Rally Estonia". [[Tartu.
47. (11 January 2021). "RALLY ESTONIA ORGANISERS EARN ASAHI KASEI TEAM SPIRIT AWARD".
48. (19 September 2022). "Rally Estonia sai FIA-lt kõrgeima taseme tunnustuse".