The season is set to kick off with its traditional opener in Monte Carlo (just over a month after the final rally of 2020) before heading through Finland and the Arctic Circle, Croatia, Portugal and Italy before the convoy heads to Kenya in June.
Rally Estonia is currently pencilled in for mid-July, subject to final agreement, before trips to nearby Finland and Belgium. The final three rallies of 2021 see the WRC circus flying around the world, first to Chile, before they return to Europe for the Spanish round in Catlunya, and then fly to Japan to end the season.
WRC Promoter managing director Jona Siebel said: “The inclusion of Croatia to the WRC for the first time is an exciting new challenge to our fixture list and brings huge anticipation.
“COVID-19 has hit international sporting events extremely hard. WRC has not been spared, leading to the unfortunate cancellation of several events throughout 2020
“We could not foresee any long-haul events being held in a safe manner for the public, or for our large group of travelling staff, suppliers, competitors and media, for the first five months of 2021.
“It’s essential our event organisers are fully committed to managing the difficult COVID-19 controls we can expect to be in place next year while delivering high-quality championship rounds. I’m confident the 12 rallies chosen for next year will not let us down.”
In case of any drop offs due to COVID-19, rallies in Turkey Latvia, Greece, Italy (Monza) and Argentina are on a reserve list.