The final dates for the 2021 World Rallycross Championship season – the first under WRC Promoter’s tenure as promoter – have been announced with no room for Finland, Abu Dhabi or South Africa.
Plans for a 10-round calendar that began at Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium and ended in South Africa were unveiled last December, but the final 2021 schedule will be entirely European-based as it was in 2020.
Instead, there will be eight rounds at seven venues, with Kouvola in Finland losing out in favor of Riga, Latvia.
Holding the series exclusively within Europe was a conscious decision by the series organizer, however, with the effects of the coronavirus pandemic still being felt around the world.
In keeping the series’ footprint smaller than is usual for a world championship, it can comply with health protocols and travel restrictions while also save budget for competing teams.
The World RX organizer intends to take the championship to more continents in 2022 when it is safer to do so.
The final year of the Supercar (now called RX1) era – which will be replaced by the long-awaited electric RX1e class of machines in 2022 – begins at Hell, Norway on June 12-13 before a trip to the iconic Höljes venue three weeks later.
Another three weeks later after Sweden, World RX will host three championship rounds in just two weekends with round three at the Circuit de Barcelona, Spain on July 23-24 before a double-header at the Nürburgring – which was set to debut in World RX in 2020 before the event was canceled – in Germany.
There is then a one-month break for the French round at Lohéac in its traditional early September slot (3-5) which is followed by Riga on September 18-19 and finally Spa in Belgium which, despite initially being penciled in as the season-opener, will host the 2021 season finale on the October 9-10 weekend.
DirtFish understands there were discussions to hold the Belgian round on the same weekend as the country’s first ever World Rally Championship round – something that was also discussed in 2020 – in August, but these plans appear to have fallen through.
WRC Promoter managing director Jona Siebel said: “The calendar has been revised with the support of the World RX teams to ensure a fitting finale for the Supercars ahead of the start of the exciting electric era in 2022.
“We want maximum participation, whilst retaining a mouth-watering array of the best circuits.
“We’ve made a strategic decision to start midway through the year to give organizers every possible opportunity to open their doors to fans in these challenging COVID-19 times.
“World RX fans are renowned for creating an exceptional atmosphere during race weekends and, along with individual country organizers, we’re doing all we can to provide the best chance of welcoming them.”
The European Rallycross Championship and the inaugural RX2e series will visit five and six of the seven venues World RX is traveling to in 2021 respectively.
Euro RX will be present at all venues except Hell and the Nürburgring, culminating in a five-round calendar, while RX2e will head to all rounds on the calendar apart from Riga in Latvia.
2021 World RX calendar:
June 12-13 World RX of Norway
July 2-4 World RX of Sweden
July 23-24 World RX of Spain
July 31-August 1 World RX of Germany
September 3-5 World RX of France
September 18-19 World RX of Latvia
October 9-10 World RX of Belgium
