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2023 WRC Rally Estonia
July 20, 2023 - July 23, 2023
One of the WRC’s youngest encounters – this is only the championship’s fourth visit to southern Estonia. The pace is relentless as gravel roads featuring plenty of crests and jumps are paired with more technical sections on wide and narrow forest roads. They’re billiard-table smooth too. It’s the biggest motorsport event in the Baltic countries.
Challenge
- Super-fast, smooth and, in places, technical gravel roads, with numerous jumps and crests, demand pin-point pace note accuracy. At such speed there is no room for error.
- If a driver does make a mistake, the pace is so high that it is extremely difficult to regain those vital dropped seconds.
Car spec
- Gravel suspension.
- Packed gravel roads mean Pirelli’s soft compound Scorpion tyres will be the template choice, but the hard compound version will also be available.
Servicepark
- Based at the Estonian National Museum at Tartu’s Raadi Airfield. The museum tracks the history, life and traditions of the country’s inhabitants.
History
- The rally was born when former co-driver Silver Kütt, driver Urmo Aava and marketing mastermind Tarmo Hõbe dreamed up the idea for Rally Estonia.
- First held in 2010, when home hero Markko Märtin won, it hosted the European Championship for three years between 2014 and 2016.
- It became popular with manufacturer teams preparing for Rally Finland on similar roads before making its WRC debut in 2020.
- Estonian favourite Ott Tänak tops the roll of honour with four victories from the 11 editions.
- In 2021 Kalle Rovanperä became the youngest WRC rally winner ever at the age of 20 years and 289 days.