Croatia (WRC) - 21-24 Apr 22

Tough fight awaits WRC leader Rovanperä in Croatia

Posted: April 20, 2022 1:13 PM

Toyota driver looking to banish memories of 2021 crash at all-asphalt round.

Kalle Rovanperä starts on the back foot this weekend as he defends an early-season FIA World Rally Championship lead in Croatia at the event that marked his low point of 2021.

The Toyota Gazoo Racing driver holds a 14-point advantage ahead of the Zagreb-based Croatia Rally (21 - 24 April), round three of the year and the first pure asphalt fixture of the new hybrid-powered era.

Twelve months ago the 21-year-old Finn was in a similar position at Croatia’s maiden WRC appearance, but the youngest driver ever to lead the series crashed out after just a handful of kilometres.

Rovanperä admits his lack of knowledge of the complex low-grip speed tests in the hills around the capital puts him at a disadvantage. But he is up for the fight.

“Everybody has now one more year of experience there so I think it’s going to be a bit difficult for us,” he explained. “But we have been in that situation also before and we just try to manage that the best way possible.

“It’s going to be more tricky for me this year. [Last year] it was a new event for everybody and it seems that it was quite a tricky one. Everybody said the stages were quite difficult with the grip. Watching the videos, it seems the grip was changing all the time.”

This second edition has a lot to live up to. Last year was a thriller with Sébastien Ogier snatching victory from Toyota team-mate Elfyn Evans when the Welshman slid onto the grass at the final corner. The 0.6s winning margin was the third-closest WRC finish ever.

Evans and Esapekka Lappi join Rovanperä in GR Yaris cars, with Takamoto Katsuta driving a fourth version for the Japanese manufacturer’s second team.

Gus Greensmith is M-Sport Ford’s frontrunner in a Puma. The Briton, who lies fourth in the standings, is joined by Craig Breen and Adrien Fourmaux, who scored an impressive fifth place last year at his top-level debut.

A fourth Puma will be in the hands of 2019 WRC2 champion Pierre-Louis Loubet for the first time.

Hyundai Motorsport fields the same line-up for the third consecutive rally. Thierry Neuville is Rovanperä’s closest challenger in the points after finishing second on the previous round in Sweden.

The Belgian is joined in i20 N Rally1 cars by Oliver Solberg and Ott Tänak, who is hoping for a big upturn after a disappointing start to the season.

The rally starts in Zagreb on Thursday evening ahead of three days of competition on asphalt which varies from smooth to badly broken and features many tricky crests and jumps. The 20 stages cover 291.84km.

CROATIA PRESENTS A TRICKY AND TECHNICAL SECOND ROUND FOR JUNIOR WRC

Posted: April 20, 2022 1:12 PM

The second round of the 2022 FIA Junior WRC Championship takes place in Croatia this week for the championship’s only sealed surface event on its five-round calendar.

The rally made its debut in 2021 and was Junior WRC’s opening round, which saw an epic fight open up at the front, with five different stage winners and four different leaders. The rally quickly became a favourite for all involved, offering stage characteristics never-before-seen in the World Rally Championship and providing crews with a tough and testing challenge.

Returning to Junior WRC from Croatia Rally is Jean-Baptiste Franceschi, the 2021 FIA ERC Junior Champion and winner of the 2018 Junior WRC Tour de Corse. Franceschi is returning to international competition after suffering almost career ending injuries just a week after winning his ERC Junior title in 2021. Franceschi is entering the championship thanks to his prize package for winning the 2021 ERC3 Junior title, which he earned four fully-funded drives in Junior WRC, all thanks to the support of M-Sport, Pirelli and WRC Promoter.

Croatia Rally’s stages feature many characteristics that are commonly found on fast gravel events such as fast corners that swoop over treacherous blind crests requiring supreme confidence and total commitment. Due to the high speeds and technical nature, crews must analyse every detail of their pace notes, Sami Pajari learned this the hard way in 2021, when leading the rally he went barrel rolling out after misjudging a high speed crest jump.

Inclement weather could also be a huge factor to consider for the Junior WRC crews on Croatia Rally. Croatia’s smooth asphalt is slippy in dry conditions and with rain forecast throughout the rally, tyre choice will prove to be pivotal. Junior WRC crews will be permitted a total allocation of 22 Pirelli tyres to use on shakedown and the rally. Although their total allocation must not exceed 22 tyres, they will be able to choose from 18 x P Zero RA5 (hard), 10 x P Zero RA7+ (intermediate) and 12 x Cinturato RW1 (wet) tyres, all exclusively supplied by Pirelli.

Heading into Croatia it has been announced that championship partner Wolf Lubricants has extended its partnership with Junior WRC to continue its role as Official Technical Partner for the 2022, 2023 and 2024 seasons. The renewed commitment comes at an exciting new phase for Junior WRC, with the introduction of the new M-Sport Poland Ford Fiesta Rally3 with four-wheel-drive. The lubricant technology advances that Wolf delivers in the harsh conditions of Junior WRC testing helps Wolf to develop more advanced products for the road. Innovative frontier applications like Junior WRC are a perfect technological platform to develop the lubricants of tomorrow while also supporting exhilarating and ambitious young talent – the future champions of the WRC.

Maciej Woda, FIA Junior WRC Championship Manager, said:
“I am really excited about Croatia Rally, we had a huge fight here last year and I hope for the same again after what we saw on Rally Sweden. I expect it to be a very dramatic and entertaining rally, especially if there is inconsistent weather like the forecasts are predicting. It has been quite a while since we have had a truly mixed weather rally in Junior WRC, if we do it will be a true test of skill for the drivers. The low grip conditions on Croatia Rally are a unique characteristic and I think it means we could see some impressive overall times from the Fiesta Rally3 compared to the more powerful Rally2 cars. I am really happy to see the return of JB Franceschi to the championship for a variety of reasons. He was part of the championship in 2018 and was a contender for the title, he is sure to add some drama and he deserves the opportunity to fight for the title after the battle he has had to recover in the past few months. JB is also the first driver to benefit from the ERC Junior prize package as a reward for winning the 2021 ERC3 Junior Championship which is supported by M-Sport, Pirelli and the Promoter.”

52 Jon Armstrong / Brian Hoy: “I’m not so sure I have a target on my back, I think it’s one of those rallies where the conditions are going to be tricky and going absolutely flat out might not be the best option. Last year we were quite smart in our approach which worked and it won us the event. This year we need to do something similar, try to bed ourselves into the rally, get a feel for the conditions, try and stay out of trouble and see where we are at the finish.”

53 Lauri Joona / Mikael Korhonen: “I think my expectations depend on the weather, I think it’s a tough rally for the drivers. You need to be awake all the time and see where you can drive fast as well as slow down. Overall I think it’s a really tough rally, I only experienced wet Tarmac on a test day recently so it could be difficult for me if it rains.”

54 Sami Pajari / Enni Malkonen: “I think it will be quite interesting because now we have the experience of the rally, we are using a lot of the same stages as last year. To be honest I really enjoyed the rally last year, the stages are quite fast and flowing. The only negative or question mark for me is if it will rain which we don’t know yet. I think it’s a good challenge, the pace will be really high in the category.”

56 William Creighton / Liam Regan: “Feeling good and looking forward to it, I think it’s one of the most tricky events on the calendar so it is going to be difficult and a big challenge. The roads aren’t too dissimilar to what you have back home in Ireland so it will be nice if that works out well for us.”

57 Robert Virves / Aleks Lesk: “Last year was quite a disaster but overall I think it’s a nice rally, it’s a real challenge to everybody and I would say it’s one of the best rallies on the calendar. I enjoy driving on Tarmac, we had a short event on tarmac without much testing but I feel quite good as I have a good base feeling with the Fiesta Rally3.”

58 Jean-Baptiste Franceschi / Anthony Gorguilo: “Very excited to be back, it’s crazy for me to be here and looking forward to the rally. The last time I drove on tarmac was Rally du Var so I hope it will be ok but I am confident. First of all I want to find back my confidence which I hope won’t take too much time. I want to push as soon as possible to be in the fight at the front.”

64 McRae Kimathi / Mwangi Kioni: “This is going to be tough, it’s a new surface for me, it’s my first time on Tarmac. From what the Junior WRC guys have told me there are lots of moments on this rally that are very tricky. It’s going to be very very interesting for me, I haven’t done any testing for this event due to my commitments at home so this is going to be a baptism of fire for me.”

M-SPORT FORD GEARS UP FOR TACKLING TARMAC IN CROATIA

Posted: April 20, 2022 1:09 PM

The M-Sport Ford World Rally Team is preparing to launch its fleet of Ford Puma Hybrid Rally1s at the first pure-asphalt event of the season, Croatia Rally.

It is only the second time Croatia Rally has run as part of the FIA World Rally Championship, following its thrilling debut in 2021 where the event saw one of the closest finishes the sport has ever seen. The rally became an instant hit with crews, teams and fans featuring some of the wildest and exciting asphalt stages, with some crews likening some stages to Rally Finland but on Tarmac.

This year’s edition of Croatia Rally consists of 291 competitive kilometres split over 20 special stages in and around the historic city of Zagreb.

Croatia Rally wasn’t the only WRC debut this time last year as M-Sport sensation Adrien Fourmaux made his WRC category debut here, claiming an impressive fifth overall in the process whilst coming an agonising 1.1 seconds off his first ever WRC stage win.

This year, M-Sport’s latest recruits, Pierre-Louis Loubet and co-driver Vincent Landais, make their debut in a Puma Hybrid Rally1 at WRC level in what will hopefully be a strong first event for the young French duo. The pair have already experienced driving the Puma Hybrid Rally1 following 150 kilometres of stages on the South Belgian Rally in March, as well as a pre-event test in the weeks leading up to the rally.

Gus Greensmith and Craig Breen are hoping to build on their strong performances on the asphalt of Monte-Carlo, where Greensmith claimed his maiden career stage win and Breen delivered a fantastic podium result after a very consistent weekend. Both drivers faced challenges in Sweden on what was an exceptionally tough snow-and-ice event, but the fast and thrilling asphalt of the Croatian countryside is expected to suit them well.

In the WRC2 category, Finnish talent Jari Huttunen is back in a Ford Fiesta Rally2 after his season launch in Sweden. The Finn claimed a strong third overall in Sweden and is feeling increasingly confident in the Fiesta, his first event in the car only being on Rally Monza in 2021.

The FIA Junior WRC also continues into its second round in Croatia, where the M-Sport Poland-built fleet of Fiesta Rally3 cars battle it out once again amongst the future stars of WRC.

Rich Millener, Team Principal, said:
“We are really looking forward to Croatia Rally following an encouraging pre-event test where all our drivers gave very good feedback about the car. After the strong performance we saw on Tarmac in Monte-Carlo back in January, we are very much looking forward to this rally following a slightly more difficult event in Sweden.

“I am looking forward to Pierre-Louis joining us in Croatia which sees us presenting a four-car line-up for the second time this season. I have known Pierre-Louis for a while now, he has been working very hard in the build-up to Croatia and is a great addition to the team.

“It's also great to have Jari with us again competing in WRC2, I think he’s starting to get very comfortable with the car and he has done a lot of work with the team to get everything feeling right. He brought a solid performance in Sweden so we’re hoping to see more of the same out in Croatia.

“The first event in Croatia last year was fantastic, we had encouraging pace with the Fiesta WRC which had limited development so I am incredibly excited to see what the Puma Hybrid Rally1 is capable of. The focus for everyone in the team on this event is to get a good haul of points. I also really liked the city of Zagreb and the passionate rally fans we have there, so I am looking forward to seeing them all again!”

Craig Breen said:
“I’m really looking forward to Croatia, it’s a rally I really enjoy. Tarmac rallying is actually what I prefer, so to get back out in Croatia is going to be great. We had a really good test last week, I found a really good feeling with the car and I was happy with everything, so let’s see if we can bring on the pace that we showed in Monte, our last part-Tarmac rally.

"It should be a good event - if not tough - but the stages are similar to last year, there are some new ones, but most are relatively the same. So we’re looking forward to it, and let’s hope that together as a team we can do a good job and bring home some good points.”

Gus Greensmith said:
“After the team’s performance in Monte-Carlo, on what was a very dry version of the rally, we’re feeling very confident going into Croatia, and I think the pre-event test has validated that. We started on a very similar surface to Monaco, and the car immediately felt so alive. It’s just such an impressive car on Tarmac so we’re feeling very good, I’m very excited for this rally. It’s been a long time away so we’re looking forward to getting going.”

Adrien Fourmaux said:
“Last year I started my first event in a WRC car in Croatia, so it feels like we have come full circle now after a full year. We’re very happy to be going back to Croatia, where I managed to get a good result last year, and to get back out on asphalt before a long line of gravel events is going to be great. I think we’re really going to enjoy it, it’s a tricky rally with lots of different grip levels, but it’s a great rally to do because you have so much variety between the stages.

"The team gave a strong performance on asphalt at the beginning of the season, so we hope to be in a strong position after that. I’m looking forward to the event, and it marks the first time I’ve competed twice on the same event in a WRC car, so I’m pretty happy about that as well.”

Pierre-Louis Loubet said:
“I’m really happy to be going back to Croatia and to be joining the M-Sport team. We did a pre-event test with the team a few weeks ago, as well as a rally in Belgium, and everything was working really well and the feeling in the car is nice. I hope I will be able to do my best for the team this week in my first rally, we’re going to take this one step-by-step and try our best to be competitive. We’ll see you there!”

Jari Huttunen, WRC2 Driver, said:
“This year is my first time competing in Croatia, so I’m not really sure what to expect, but I’ve watched some footage and the conditions look nice. This will be my fourth event with the M-Sport team, starting in Monza last year, and so far is it going well and the car feels good. Hopefully we will be somewhere in the top three, but the aim will be to maintain a consistent pace over the weekend.”

Hyundai Motorsport Preview: Round 3 – Croatia Rally

Posted: April 20, 2022 1:07 PM

Hyundai Motorsport is filled with renewed determination as it heads to Croatia Rally, the third round of the 2022 FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) season, which takes place next weekend (April 21-24).

Croatia Rally marks the first full tarmac event to be tackled by the new hybrid Rally1 cars. Based in and around the nation’s capital city of Zagreb, crews will contest 20 special stages covering 291.84km of the region’s scenic roads. Despite being a single surface rally, the profile of terrain varies from stage to stage; some tests offer smooth surfaces while others boast severe bumps caused by water and weather damage. The roads are fast throughout and contain a series of highly demanding narrow sections, as well as differing grip levels.

The team’s line-up for Croatia Rally remains unchanged from the opening two rounds of the season, with Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe, Ott Tänak/Martin Järveoja and Oliver Solberg/Elliott Edmondson set to be back behind the wheel of the Hyundai i20 N Rally1. At the previous event in February, Rally Sweden, Neuville and Wydaeghe claimed the team’s first podium of the hybrid era with second place. Tänak and Järveoja secured maximum points in the Power Stage in a positive finish to a difficult weekend, with Solberg and Edmondson bringing home important points for the championship in sixth place.

Following a Thursday shakedown, Croatia Rally begins with the longest day of the event on Friday with eight stages that cover a total distance of 120.38km. Saturday presents another tough series of tests, with a further eight stages and 116.98km for crews to navigate. Sunday’s distance total is considerably shorter than the two previous days – 54.48km – with just four stages on the itinerary. Additional points are on offer for crews and manufacturers in the final stage of Croatia Rally, which acts as the event’s Power Stage.

Following three days of pre-event tests in Croatia, all three crews will enter the weekend aiming to get up to speed quickly on the challenging tarmac stages and battle at the top of the timesheets.

Deputy Team Director Julien Moncet said:
“The two-month break since Rally Sweden has been helpful, as it has given us the time to regroup and reset before we begin the next phase of the season, which starts with Croatia Rally. The podium finish we secured with Thierry and Martijn at the previous round was a positive step forward for us as we continue to get to grips with the new hybrid regulations. We are very lucky to have a great team in Alzenau who are working hard to improve our overall package. We want to be consistently competing for podiums and wins throughout the season. Our aim is to continue the momentum of our recent progress and achieve a positive result on the tarmac roads of Croatia.”

Crew Notes: Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe (#11 Hyundai i20 N Rally1)
Crew claimed first podium of hybrid era at previous round in Sweden
Belgians targeting second consecutive podium in Croatia

Neuville said: “Croatia Rally is a very challenging event as the grip is quite low and the profile of the stages is very demanding. There’s lots of blind corners, crests, jumps and cutting, and the roads can be quite dirty as well as being very narrow. Last year we were lucky with the weather and the conditions were quite dry, but it was still quite cold. There are definitely a lot of challenges we are going to face again in potentially tricky conditions, especially with these new cars, but it is a surface I feel very comfortable on. It is a rally I enjoyed a lot last year and I am looking forward to it.”

Crew Notes: Ott Tänak/Martin Järveoja (#8 Hyundai i20 N Rally1)
Estonians aiming for first podium of the season
Duo finished in fourth place at Croatia Rally in 2021

Tänak said: “Competing at Croatia Rally for the first time last year was a bit more demanding than we expected as the tarmac there is very different – it looks good but the grip is very low. The surface changes and the general characteristics of the roads also make it quite challenging to drive, with lots of crests and jumps that you normally don’t have too much on tarmac. It was a big job to manage in 2021 but we expect it will be a lot more fun this year now that we have experience and know what to expect from the event.”

Crew Notes: Oliver Solberg/Elliott Edmondson (#2 Hyundai i20 N Rally1)
Crew to compete at Croatia Rally for the first time
Solberg/Edmondson focused on continuing development in new car

Solberg said: “Croatia Rally looked like a fantastic event last year. It is very exciting for me to go there for the first time– it’s a beautiful country and I think it will be a fantastic tarmac rally, although I know it is very tricky. The roads don’t have a lot of grip, but personally I like a bit of slippery tarmac, so that makes me happy. My expectations for the event are difficult to set as unlike my team-mates, I haven’t driven there before. For me it will be about getting lots of experience and not as much about pace. We will just drive and have fun and see where we end up.”

Weekend at a Glance
Croatia Rally begins on Friday with two loops of Mali Lipovec – Grdanjci (19.20km), Stojdraga – Gornja Vas (20.77km), Kraši? – Vrškovac (11.11km) and Pe?urkovo Brdo – Mrežni?ki Novaki (9.11km), covering a total distance of 120.38km
The itinerary on Saturday contains a further eight stages, as the crews twice tackle Kostanjevac – Petruš Vrh (23.76km), Jaškovo – Mali Modruš Potok (10.10km), Platak (15.85km) and Vinski Vrh – Duga Resa (8.78km)
Two passes each of Trakoš?an – Vrbno (13.15km) and Zagorska Sela – Kumrovec (14.09km) make up Sunday’s schedule, with the second run of the latter acting as the rally’s Power Stage.

CROATIA RALLY: Preview TOYOTA GAZOO Racing back in action on challenging Croatian roads

Posted: April 20, 2022 1:04 PM

The TOYOTA GAZOO Racing World Rally Team will aim to build upon its positive start to the FIA World Rally Championship’s new hybrid era when the 2022 season resumes for round three at the Croatia Rally on April 22-24.

The team currently leads the manufacturers’ championship with Kalle Rovanperä heading the drivers’ standings after claiming the first victory for the GR YARIS Rally1 on the previous round in Sweden in February. Elfyn Evans has been among the pacesetters so far and will be keen to get back on the podium in Croatia, where he was part of a thrilling final-stage showdown with team-mate Sébastien Ogier when the country made its WRC debut one year ago.

With the event not forming part of Ogier’s programme of selected rallies for 2022, Esapekka Lappi again completes the TGR WRT line-up after finishing third on his comeback in Sweden. Fourth in Sweden was Takamoto Katsuta, who continues his full campaign with TGR WRT Next Generation on a rally he claimed two stage wins on in 2021.

After the two winter rounds in Monte Carlo and Sweden, Croatia provides the first pure asphalt test for the new Rally1 cars. The event is based out of the capital city Zagreb with the stages taking place close to neighbouring Slovenia. The roads are characterised by a wide variety of different asphalt types, meaning grip levels are constantly changing. Many sections are fast and flowing and include jumps and crests, while others are more technical and twisting.

Following shakedown on Thursday morning and a ceremonial start in Zagreb in the evening, the rally begins on Friday with the longest leg of the event, consisting of two loops of four stages all familiar from the 2021 event. Much of Saturday takes place in similar territory just to the south-west of Zagreb, but there is also a longer trip towards the Adriatic coast near Rijeka for the new Platak stage. As on Friday, all four stages are repeated after midday service. The final day takes place to the north of the capital and includes another new stage, Trakoš?an – Vrbno, which is run twice together with Zagorska Sela – Kumrovec, host to the rally-ending Power Stage.

Quotes:
Jari-Matti Latvala (Team Principal)
“The first two events of the season with the new regulations were very intense and the break in the schedule has given us the chance to evaluate what we have learned and to keep developing the GR YARIS Rally1. We had some test days on gravel in Sardinia and then the pre-event test in Croatia last week. Until now, a lot of the focus has been on reliability and the function of the hybrid system, but now we can really work on optimising the setup of the car and trying to make it even stronger. The big challenge in Croatia is that the asphalt surface is often changing during the stages and the level of grip differs a lot. I think this surprised many drivers last year and those going back for a second time will know what to expect. Kalle didn’t do so many kilometres last year but knows it’s important to keep scoring points, Elfyn was so close to winning in 2021 and will want to get a strong result, and then for Esapekka the rally is completely new. So our drivers may be approaching the rally differently but hopefully this can be good for the team result at the end of the weekend.”

Elfyn Evans / Scott Martin
Elfyn Evans (Driver car 33)
“It’s been quite a long break since the last rally so it’s been good to get back in the car for some testing and to get ready for Croatia. For me it has not been the start to the year that we wanted by a long way and we need to look forward and focus on performing in the coming events. Croatia is not an easy rally but it was a good one for us last year and hopefully we can have a strong run again. There are some things from last year that we have tried to learn from so that we have a car that’s suited to all of the different conditions. On our test we had a particularly slippery road that’s similar to what we’ll face on the rally, and that was a good place to work through some options.”

Kalle Rovanperä / Jonne Halttunen
Kalle Rovanperä (Driver car 69)
“I have been waiting to get back in the car for Croatia and that’s always a good sign! We’ve only had two rallies but it’s always nice to have some good points in the beginning of the season. We are in the same situation as last year leading the championship going to Croatia and hopefully we can do better there this time around. It will be a big challenge for us because we didn’t get to experience most of the stages last year, but we have been in this situation before with less experience than our rivals and I will do my best to manage. The feeling in the test was positive and I think there has been really good progress with the car. Hopefully it will go well on the event too.”

Esapekka Lappi / Janne Ferm
Esapekka Lappi (Driver car 4)
“Sweden was a great start to our season sharing the car with Seb. I hope I can take the confidence from there, but that was in conditions I know well and something I’m comfortable with, while Croatia will be a completely new rally for me. But I’m still really looking forward to what we could do there. The car felt really good in the test. It had been a while since I had driven on asphalt and it’s crazy how impressive the grip is on this surface. You can also really appreciate how much extra power we have from the hybrid. It was a bit like a Finnish road with a lot of crests and jumps, which is not so common on asphalt and pretty fun. There’s also a lot of dirt on the roads and managing that is something I want to be better at. I want to perform well and have a clean rally and I’m sure we can do it.”

Entry List

Posted: April 20, 2022 1:01 PM

Croatia (WRC) - 21-24 Apr 22 - ENTRY LIST

Rally Guide / Details / Event Website

Posted: March 7, 2022 4:13 AM

Rally Croatia (WRC)