| 2021 Arctic Rally Finland | |
| Native Name: | Arctic Rally Finland Powered by CapitalBox 2021 |
| Round: | 2 |
| Season No: | 12 |
| Championship: | 2021 World Rally Championship |
| Previous Round: | 2021 Monte Carlo Rally |
| Next Round: | 2021 Croatia Rally |
| Rallybase: | Rovaniemi, Lapland |
| Startdate: | 26 |
| Enddate: | 28 February 2021 |
| Stages: | 10 |
| Stagekm: | 251.08 |
| Stagekm Note: | [1] |
| Transportkm: | 604.97 |
| Overallkm: | 856.05 |
| Surface: | Snow |
| Driver1: |  Ott Tänak |
| Codriver1: | Martin Järveoja |
| Team1: |  Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT |
| Time1: | 2:03:49.6 |
| Driver2: |  Esapekka Lappi |
| Codriver2: | Janne Ferm |
| Team2: |  Movisport |
| Time2: | 2:09:56.6 |
| Driver3: | Teemu Asunmaa |
| Codriver3: | Marko Salminen |
| Time3: | 2:11:55.3 |
| Powerstage Driver: | Kalle Rovanperä |
| Powerstage Codriver: | Jonne Halttunen |
| Powerstage Team: |  Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT |
| Powerstage Time: | 10:02.4 |
| Crewsreg: | 56 |
| Teamsstart: | 55 |
| Teamsfinish: | 52 |
The 2021 Arctic Rally Finland (also known as the Arctic Rally Finland Powered by CapitalBox 2021) was a motor racing event for rally cars that was held over three days between 26 and 28 February 2021.[2] It marked the fifty-seventh running of the Arctic Rally, and the first time the event has been run as a round of the World Rally Championship. The event was the second round of the 2021 World Rally Championship, World Rally Championship-2 and World Rally Championship-3. The 2021 event was based in Rovaniemi in Lapland and was contested over ten special stages totalling 251.082NaN2 in competitive distance.[1]
Kalle Rovanperä and Jonne Halttunen were the defending rally winners, having won the 2020 rally when it was held as part of the Finnish Rally Championship.
Ott Tänak and Martin Järveoja won the event.[3] Esapekka Lappi and Janne Ferm won the World Rally Championship-2 category,[4] while Teemu Asunmaa and Marko Salminen were the winners in the World Rally Championship-3.[5]
The Arctic Rally was not included on the first calendar published by the World Motorsport Council.[6] The event was a late addition when Rally Sweden was cancelled in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.[7] [8] The Arctic Rally was chosen over six other reserve events because Rally Sweden was the only snow-based event on the calendar, and none of the reserve events were planned to run on snow.[9] Competitors are required to wear warmer overalls than usual for safety reasons.[10]
The Arctic Rally was run twice in 2021. The first running in January was held as a round of the Finnish national rally Championship, while the second running in February was a World Championship round. The national-level event was won by Juho Hänninen, driving a Toyota Yaris WRC.[11] The two events have the same organisers and similar routes.
Reigning World Champions Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia entered the round with a nine-point lead over Elfyn Evans and Scott Martin. Thierry Neuville and Martijn Wydaeghe were third, a further four points behind. In the World Rally Championship for Manufacturers, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT held a twenty-two-point lead over defending manufacturers' champions Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT, followed by M-Sport Ford WRT.
In the World Rally Championship-2 standings, Andreas Mikkelsen and Ola Fløene held an eight-point lead ahead of Adrien Fourmaux and Renaud Jamoul in the drivers' and co-drivers' standings respectively, with Eric Camilli and François-Xavier Buresi in third. In the teams' championship, Toksport WRT led Movisport by ten points.
In the World Rally Championship-3 standings, Yohan Rossel and Benoît Fulcrand led the drivers' and co-drivers' standings by six points respectively. Yoann Bonato and Benjamin Boulloud were second, with Nicolas Ciamin and Yannick Roche in third in both standings, trailing by two points.
The following crews were entered into the rally. The event was open to crews competing in the World Rally Championship, its support categories, the World Rally Championship-2 and World Rally Championship-3, and privateer entries that were not registered to score points in any championship. Thirteen entries for the World Rally Championship were received, as were ten in the World Rally Championship-2 and twenty-three in the World Rally Championship-3.
| 20 | nowrap |  Andreas Mikkelsen | Ola Fløene |  Toksport WRT | nowrap | Škoda Fabia R5 Evo | ||
| 21 |  Adrien Fourmaux |  Renaud Jamoul |  M-Sport Ford WRT | Ford Fiesta R5 Mk. II | ||||
| 22 | nowrap | Eyvind Brynildsen | nowrap | Veronica Engan | Toksport WRT | nowrap | Škoda Fabia R5 Evo | |
| 23 |  Sean Johnston | Alex Kihurani | Saintéloc Junior Team | Citroën C3 Rally2 | ||||
| 24 | Jari Huttunen | Mikko Lukka | Hyundai Motorsport N | Hyundai i20 R5 | ||||
| 25 | Esapekka Lappi | Janne Ferm | Movisport | nowrap | Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 | |||
| 26 | Ole Christian Veiby |  Jonas Andersson | Hyundai Motorsport N | Hyundai i20 R5 | ||||
| 27 | Nikolay Gryazin | Konstantin Aleksandrov | Movisport | nowrap | Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 | |||
| 28 | Georg Linnamäe |  Volodymyr Korsia | ALM Motorsport | nowrap | Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 | |||
| 29 |  Martin Prokop | Michal Ernst | M-Sport Ford WRT | Ford Fiesta R5 Mk. II | ||||
| Source: | ||||||||
| 30 | Teemu Asunmaa | Marko Salminen | Teemu Asunmaa | Škoda Fabia R5 Evo | |||
| 31 | Emil Lindholm | Mikael Korhonen | Emil Lindholm | Škoda Fabia R5 Evo | |||
| 32 | Mikko Heikkilä | Topi Luhtinen | Mikko Heikkilä | Škoda Fabia R5 Evo | |||
| 34 | Eerik Pietarinen | Antti Linnaketo | Eerik Pietarinen | Škoda Fabia R5 Evo | |||
| 35 | Johan Kristoffersson | Patrik Barth | nowrap | Kristoffersson Motorsport | Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 | ||
| 36 | Mattias Ekström | Emil Bergkvist | Mattias Ekström | Škoda Fabia R5 Evo | |||
| 38 | Egon Kaur | Silver Simm | Kaur Motorsport | Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 | |||
| 39 | Gregor Jeets | Andrus Toom | Gregor Jeets | Škoda Fabia R5 Evo | |||
| 40 | Ville Ruokanen | Timo Pallari | Ville Ruokanen | Škoda Fabia R5 Evo | |||
| 41 | Pekka Keski-Korsu | Markus Silfvast | Pekka Keski-Korsu | Škoda Fabia R5 | |||
| 43 | Tuomas Skantz | Kari Kallio | Tuomas Skantz | Škoda Fabia R5 | |||
| 45 | Jussi Keskiniva | Mikko Kaikkonen | Jussi Keskiniva | Škoda Fabia R5 | |||
| 46 | Ari-Pekka Koivisto | Jussi Kärpijoki | Ari-Pekka Koivisto | Škoda Fabia R5 | |||
| 47 | Fabrizio Zaldívar |  Carlos del Barrio | Fabrizio Zaldívar | Škoda Fabia R5 Evo | |||
| 48 | Lars Stugemo | Karl-Olof Lexe | Lars Stugemo | Škoda Fabia R5 | |||
| 49 |  Rakan Al-Rashed |  Hugo Magalhães | Rakan Al-Rashed | Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 | |||
| 50 | nowrap | Albert von Thurn und Taxis |  Bernhard Ettel | nowrap | Albert von Thurn und Taxis | Škoda Fabia R5 Evo | |
| 51 |  Michał Sołowow | Maciek Baran | Michał Sołowow | Citroën C3 Rally2 | |||
| 52 |  Vladas Jurkevičius | Aisvydas Paliukėnas | Vladas Jurkevičius | Škoda Fabia R5 Evo | |||
| 53 | Marko Viitanen | Tapio Suominen | Marko Viitanen | Škoda Fabia R5 | |||
| 54 | Mauro Miele | Luca Beltrame | Mauro Miele | Škoda Fabia R5 | |||
| 55 | Miguel Díaz-Aboitiz | Rodrigo Sanjuan | Miguel Díaz-Aboitiz | Škoda Fabia R5 Evo | |||
| 56 | Adrian Chwietczuk | Jarosław Baran | Adrian Chwietczuk | Škoda Fabia R5 Evo | |||
| Source: | |||||||
Oliver Solberg is set to make his Rally1 début in a Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC prepared and entered by Hyundai's satellite team Hyundai 2C Competition at the rally. His co-driver for this rally is Sebastian Marshall as his regular co-driver Aaron Johnston has to miss the rally after he was found positive with COVID-19.[13] FIA World Rallycross Championship driver Mattias Ekström will make a one-off appearance in the rally.[14]
The rally will be contested over ten special stages totalling 251.082NaN2 in competitive distance. The route of the rally is different to that of the first running of the event in January 2021. All of the stages will be run in reverse, with the exception of the Aittajärvi Power Stage. The Mustalampi stage returned to the itinerary from previous runnings of the Arctic Rally, with some sections being brand-new.
All dates and times are EET (UTC+2).