The route for Rally Estonia was revealed on Thursday. Small – and in some cases historic – changes have been made to the course.
Rally Estonia was last part of the WRC calendar in 2023, when Toyota’s Kalle Rovanperä celebrated victory in the high-speed gravel event.
This year’s Rally Estonia will feature a total of 20 special stages, 12 of which are either different in layout compared to two years ago or are nearly entirely new. The event covers 308.35 competitive kilometres, with the rally’s base located in Tartu.
A completely new stage, Hellenurme, has been added to the route, and two stages will be run around Lake Peipus.
On Friday, a brand-new stage will also feature in the WRC event as the Elva city stage is included for the first time. However, the Elva forest stage has been dropped this year.
On Saturday, stages will be run twice – once in the morning loop and again in the afternoon. All of Saturday’s stages are familiar from 2023, but the Kanepi stage will now be driven in the opposite direction compared to two years ago.
The first special stage on the final Sunday of the rally will be a new one. The Power Stage will be run on the Arula stage, which features both new sections and parts familiar from previous years.
Overall, Rally Estonia’s profile remains the same as in previous years: a fast gravel rally. However, Rally Estonia’s commercial director, Tarmo Hõbe, emphasises the wider significance that the event has managed to build over the years.
“At one time, we dreamed that Rally Estonia could become something more than a world-class motorsport event – and over the years, this dream has been realised many times over,” he said, according to Ralli.ee.
“Today, it’s a wide-ranging family festival that attracts participants and spectators from all over Estonia, the Baltic countries, and many other parts of the world,” he continued.
Rally Estonia will be held from 17–20 July.
