After it was confirmed last year that Croatia Rally was included in the calendar of the World Rally Championship (WRC), today they published the stages location and schedule which will be a real challenge for top WRC drivers. From April 22 to 25, one of the most attractive sports events will be held on the local roads of Zagreb, Karlovac and Krapina-Zagorje counties.
Teams and service technicians will take care of the competition vehicles from the Zagrebački Velesajam. The presendtation of drivers and vehicles will be held at the National and University Library in Zagreb, the fastest will climb the podium on St. Mark’s Square, and test drives will start on Tuesday, April 20.
The first day and the initial special stage will be extremely attractive. After the ceremonial start, the ride will take place in the area of the Zagrebački Velesajam itself, while part of the track for the first time in the history of the WRC is located indoors, inside the pavilion.
The crews will start racing on April 23 in the area of Samoborsko Gorje, followed by high-speed stages in the wider area of Karlovac.
The day after, speed stages will also take place in the area of Samoborsko gorje and Karlovac, while on April 25 they will drive in the area of Hrvatsko zagorje (Zagorska sela and Kumrovec) and on the trails on Medvednica.
“We chose the tracks carefully to avoid crowds, but also to allow the audience to come and enjoy the attractive stages,” said the president of the Organizing Committee of the Croatia Rally 2021. Daniel Saskin.
“We hope that the epidemiological situation will allow this. Also, the WRC is a great opportunity to show the whole world the most beautiful parts of our country and we have no doubt that the competition will be exciting – both live and in front of TV screens.”
The holder of the project is the Croatian Car and Karting Association, the organizers are the automobile clubs D.T. Motorsport from Poreč and Cro Dakar Team from Zagreb, and the arrival of the World Rally Championship in Croatia is great news for all motoring fans in the region. The octane spectacle was watched by over 830 million viewers during 2019 and the WRC has seen a rise in popularity in the last seven years.
“With a huge international promotion, imagine the economic effect for Croatia of tens of thousands of overnight stays, local consumption of participants and the engagement of thousands of people needed for the organization,” added Davorin Stetner, president of the Croatian Auto and Karting Association and WRC Croatia.
“We hope the situation at the end of April will allow for the presence of spectators which would mean the arrival of a large number of WRC fans from all over the world. This is the best possible invitation ahead of this year’s tourist season.”
CROATIA RALLY – STAGES SCHEDULE
23 April | 24 April | 25 April |
Rude – Plešivica 1, 2 | Mali Lipovec – Grdanjci 1, 2 | Bliznec – Pila 1, 2 |
Kostanjevac – Petruš Vrh 1, 2 | Stojdraga – Gornja Vas 1, 2 | Zagorska Sela – Kumrovec 1, 2 |
Jaškovo – Mali Modruš Potok 1, 2 | Krašić – Vrškovac 1, 2 | |
Pećurkovo Brdo – Mrežnički Novaki 1, 2 | Vinski Vrh – Duga Resa 1, 2 |
ABOUT WRC
The World Rally Championship is a top sporting event, bringing a symbiosis of high technology and driver skills. It is a dramatic race where every tenth of a second is important, which requires maximum concentration and precision from the crew.
Uncompromising competition combines the speed, technology and reliability of the world’s leading car manufacturers, accompanied by well-coordinated teams led by the world’s best drivers, assisted by cool heads and calm voices of the world’s most capable passengers.
The WRC is a global challenge characterized by courage, passion, endurance and the ability to constantly adapt to constant changes in the environment and the unpredictability of driving conditions.