WRC Ypres Rally Belgium – Tournament Preview

With its bad within the West-Flemish city and the tournament’s deciding leg on August 15 in and spherical Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps to the east in Wallonia, two icons of Belgian motor sport will unite for what promises to be a memorable weekend marvelous throughout the nation.

Beforehand a spherical of the FIA European Rally Championship, the tournament’s upward push in area is eagerly anticipated and follows a affected person wait after hopes of a well-known WRC look in November 2020 had been scuppered by restrictions resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.

A nation with a prosperous rally heritage – and a 13-time world championship tournament winner in Thierry Neuville – Belgium not without lengthen gets is chance to be half of the worldwide stage when it becomes the 35th nation to host a spherical of the WRC.

The most well-known edition of what grew to change into the Ypres Rally took residing in 1965, one yr after the city’s ancient Market Square became as soon as chosen as a plan for a time preserve watch over right thru a Rallye Monte-Carlo focus bustle. Since then, the tournament has grown in stature, as has the peril confronted by drivers and teams.

An asphalt rally esteem no other, driving precision is a well-known ingredient for a apt Ypres Rally mission. The farmland roads spherical Ypres are narrow and twisty and littered with tight junctions. Brake too late or push too exhausting and a outing into one in all the many drainage ditches that line colossal chunks of the route is incessantly the consequence. 

Corner ‘slicing’ is additionally long-established, which ends in mud and other debris being dragged onto the motorway. Within the tournament of rain – a constant chance – an awfully slippery ground is created with the peril multiplied on cobblestone sections.

To boot to being a fresh addition to the WRC calendar, Ypres Rally Belgium is fresh for nearly the total World Rally Automobile contingent. Only Thierry Neuville and Craig Been contain competed in Ypres forward of. And having received in 2018 and 2019 respectively, the Hyundai workers-mates could per chance be anticipated to location the tempo when the 20-stage tournament begins.

When it comes to the FIA World Rally Championship, Sébastien Ogier has been surroundings the tempo for noteworthy of the season. Having received four of the seven rounds held to this level in 2021, the Toyota-driving Frenchman heads the Drivers’ standings by 37 points over workers-mate Elfyn Evans, with Neuville 15 points further support. But having been handed the hard project of opening the motorway on day one in all the recent dry gravel rallies, Ogier is determined to contain the again of working at the entrance on the first cross thru Friday’s sealed-ground phases, which could well be anticipated to be in a shipshape roar.

Ogier, Evans and Neuville had been all upstaged on the old spherical in Estonia by Toyota’s rising essential person Kalle Rovanperä, who grew to change into the youngest WRC winner in historical previous primitive 20 years, 9 months and 17 days.

After his retirement on dwelling soil in Estonia closing month, Ott Tänak could per chance be hoping for a trade of fortune in Ypres, an tournament his co-driver Martin Järveoja has contested twice within the previous.

Adrien Fourmaux returns to M-Sport Ford’s World Rally Automobile line-up alongside Gus Greensmith having chased FIA WRC2 points in Estonia. The Frenchman will successfully swap vehicles with Teemu Suninen, who reverts to M-Sport’s Ford Fiesta Rally2 for his Ypres debut.

Toyota pattern driver Takamoto Katsuta has recruited Keaton Williams to deputise for traditional co-driver Daniel Barritt, who is stop to regaining beefy fitness following a support wreck sustained on Rally Estonia. Pierre-Louis Loubet completes the World Rally Automobile entry for 2C Competition.

With the FIA WRC2 championship top five both no longer competing in Ypres or no longer eligible for points, plenty of competitors contain the replacement to construct up misplaced ground within the title hump. They consist of Nikolay Gryazin, who became as soon as a competitor within the FIA ERC Junior Championship when he made his one and greatest Ypres start to this level in 2016, plus Jari Huttunen and Oliver Solberg. The Nordic pair contain the glory of giving the Hyundai i20 N Rally2 its competition debut. Suninen and reigning FIA Junior WRC champion Tom Kristensson total the WRC2 runners.

In FIA WRC3, which has attracted 19 entries, Frenchman Yohan Rossel could per chance be aiming to lengthen his lead at the head of the standings however faces strong opposition from a replacement of main native drivers, an expansion of whom contain in depth Ypres recordsdata to name on. Amongst them are primitive Ypres winner Pieter Tsjoen, whose closing WRC look became as soon as as a co-driver on Rallye Monte-Carlo in January, Belgian champion Adrian Fernémont and most up-to-date Belgian championship leader Ghislain de Mevius.

Sami Pajari moved to the head of the FIA Junior WRC standings alongside with his first victory on Rally Estonia closing month, however his again over Mārtiņš Sesks is a narrow four points. Spherical one winner Jon Armstrong is additionally neatly positioned within the title fight, which has one tournament closing after Ypres.

Ypres Rally Belgium is additionally a spherical of the FIA RGT Cup. To boot to French frontrunner Emmanuel Guigou, the all-Alpine A110 entry involves legendary Belgian motor sport all-rounder Marc Duez, the 1982 Ypres winner.

THE 2021 ROUTE

Located within the Flanders residing in northwest Belgium, legs one and two observe ultra-compact routes north and south of Ypres respectively and comprise tight and twisty farmland roads lined by drainage ditches and telegraph poles. Following morning Shakedown, eight phases – including the classic Kemmelberg total with a cobblestone climb – are scheduled for Friday August 13 from early afternoon till late evening. Hollebeke, the rally’s longest stage at 25.86 kilometres, is bustle twice on Saturday August 14, while Dikkebus and Watou are amongst the Ypres favourites to additionally characteristic on day two. The deciding leg on Sunday August 15 is all-fresh and located some 300 kilometres to the east with roads in and throughout the notorious Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, dwelling of the Belgian Extensive Prix, offering the peril. While they are extra flowing in nature, they are no longer to be underestimated.

RALLY DATA

Complete distance:   949.49 km
Stage distance:    295.78 km
Selection of phases:  20

MEDIA ACCREDITATION

Media accreditation and attendance is strictly managed by modified phrases beneath COVID-19 guidelines. All attendees are required to follow the COVID protocol as outlined by the tournament organisers (Please consult with recordsdata published on the tournament web roar, www.ypresrally.com, and Bulletin 2 in particular within the Legitimate Whine Board part).

Media accreditation ought to be composed personally by approved Stagger Holders at the Accreditation Desk, located at the Media Center at the Novotel Ieper Centrum, Sint Jacobsstraat 15, 8900 Ypres, Belgium (GPS coordinates: 50.8504° N, E 2.8894° E)

The hole hours are:
Tuesday 10 August: 14: 00 – 20: 00 hrs
Wednesday 11 August: 10: 00 – 18: 00 hrs
Thursday 12 August: 10: 00 – 18: 00 hrs

2021 WRC YPRES RALLY BELGIUM TIMETABLE AND MEDIA OPPORTUNITIES

FIA PRESS CONFERENCE ATTENDANCE

MANUFACTURER WRC ENTRIES, 2021 YPRES RALLY BELGIUM

2021 FIA WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP CLASSIFICATIONS

The provisional classifications for the total WRC championships could per chance be found right here.