It’s time for the 2021 World Rally Championship season to start already, even though 2020’s season-ending event at Monza seems like it was only yesterday.
The running of the Monte Carlo Rally did for some time seem in doubt as COVID-19 travel restrictions continue across Europe, but all of the crews and teams have managed to make their way to Gap to begin another year of WRC action.
Reigning World Rally Champion Sébastien Ogier heads the running order ahead of Toyota team-mate and 2020 title-rival Elfyn Evans as the crews head into the Hautes-Alpes region, with the weather for the event often being the most unpredictable of the year.
Here’s all the numbers and stats you need to know to prepare for the 2021 season-opener.
Running order
1 Sébastien Ogier/Julien Ingrassia (Toyota Yaris WRC)
33 Elfyn Evans/Scott Martin (Toyota Yaris WRC)
8 Ott Tänak/Martin Järveoja (Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC)
11 Thierry Neuville/ Martijn Wydaeghe (Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC)
69 Kalle Rovanperä/Jonne Halttunen (Toyota Yaris WRC)
3 Teemu Suninen/Jarmo Lehtinen (Ford Fiesta WRC)
6 Dani Sordo/Carlos Del Barrio (Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC)
44 Gus Greensmith/Elliott Edmonson (Ford Fiesta WRC)
18 Takamoto Katsuta/Dan Barritt (Toyota Yaris WRC)
7 Pierre-Louis Loubet/Vincent Landais (Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC)
Photo: Hyundai Motorsport
Monte Carlo Rally entry breakdown
Total 81 crews
10 Priority 1 crews
6 Priority 2 crews (WRC2)
13 Priority 3 crews (WRC3)
6 RGT crews
46 Non-Priority crews
Rally Monte Carlo itinerary
Thursday January 21
SS1 St-Disdier – Corps (12.78 miles) 1408
SS2 St-Maurice – St-Bonnet (12.91 miles) 1506
Friday January 22
SS3 Aspremont – La Bâtie-des-Fonts (12.18 miles) 0610
SS4 Chalancon – Gumiane (13.43 miles) 0728
SS5 Montauban-sur-l’ouvèze – Villebois-les-Pins (13.81 miles) 0901
SS6 Aspremont – La Bâtie-des-Fonts (12.18 miles) 1217
SS7 Chalancon – Gumiane (13.43 miles) 1338
Photo: Hyundai Motorsport
Saturday January 23
SS9 La Bréole – Selonnet (11.37 miles) 0630
SS10 St-Clément – Freissinières (12.72 miles) 0818
SS11 La Bréole – Selonnet (11.37 miles) 1208
Sunday January 24
SS12 Puget- Theniers – La Penne (8.03 miles) 0830
SS13 Briançonnet – Entrevaux (8.89 miles) 1008
SS14 Puget-Theniers – La Penne (8.03 miles) 1045
SS15 Briançonnet – Entrevaux (8.89 miles) 1218
Total competitive distance: 160.09 miles
Total liaison distance: 705.40 miles
Total distance: 865.49 miles
DirtFish coverage
Keep an eye on DirtFish and all our social media channels for the most comprehensive Monte Carlo Rally coverage this week.
We’ll have reports on each stage, all the latest news and regular insights from Colin Clark and David Evans.
From Monday onwards we’ll have in-depth analysis of how the event was won, discussion of all the weekend’s biggest talking points and our driver ratings.
