World Rally Championship organisers have already found a replacement for the Japanese round, which was cancelled a week ago due to the increasing coronavirus incidence in the country.
ACI Rally Monza 2021 will now be hosting the final race of the calendar, as it did in 2020. The twelfth and last rally of the season will thus take place from the 19 to the 21 of November, at the legendary Autodromo Nazionale Monza in the proximities of Milan, in Italy.
The section of the battle which is to take place inside the ‘Magic track’, will run across some highly spectacular and challenging sections of the circuit such as Lesmo and Curva Grande. Outside of the racetrack, contestants will have to race along winding roads at the foot of the Alpes’ mountain range, just north of the ‘Temple of Speed’.
As was the case in 2020, the snow, fogg, ice, mud and slippery tracks are expected to pose one of the greatest challenges for participants. Lombardy, the region where Monza is located, is well known for its freezing temperatures this time of the year.
The Monza Rally, as well as being the second Italian appointment of the season after Sardinia, is also on the schedule as the second stop of the National Italian Championship. The previous Italian race at the Mediterranean island was won by the French Sébastien Ogier (Toyota), who also conquered Montecarlo, Croatia, & Kenya in 2021.
The driver from Gap has very good memories from the 2020 edition of Rally Monza, indeed. It was there that he took his seventh World Title after defeating his own teammate Elfyn Evans following an accident that thwarted the Welshman’s chances of winning. Hyundai also claimed the coveted Constructor’s World Championship title at the same appointment.
FIA & ACI, very happy with the deal
In other hand, FIA rally director Yves Matton said: “The cancellation of Rally Japan due to Covid-19 is clearly very disappointing and another tough blow for the organisers who have worked so hard with no reward for a second year.”
“ACI Rally Monza stepped in at a very late stage last season and yet the organisers managed to deliver a strong and innovative event around the iconic circuit.
“President Angelo Sticchi Damiani and his team from ACI demonstrated they have all it takes to put on a top-class WRC event and it is very positive news to count on their commitment and professionalism this year to again host the championship finale,” he added.
As WRC promoter Jona Siebel himself has declared, the Italian race will constitute an exciting challenge for all participants, just as it did last year.
“There were plenty of thrills and spills at last year’s rally when wintry conditions played a crucial part,” he said. “This year’s event will be held earlier, but the ‘Temple of Speed’ allied with tough roads in the foothills of the Alps will ensure the action will be equally breathtaking.
“We are obviously tremendously disappointed at the cancellation, for unavoidable reasons, of FORUM8 Rally Japan after so much hard work. Equally we are grateful for ACI’s commitment in stepping in again at short notice to provide a fitting finale to the WRC season”.
“Our heartfelt thanks go to JAF, motorsport’s governing body in Japan, rally organisers SAN’S Inc., the government and the local authorities in the rally region which contributed so much preparation. We remain totally committed to returning to Japan in 2022 when we’re sure conditions will allow,” he added.
Angelo Sticchi Damiani, Automobile Club d’Italia president, comment: “The confirmation of the ACI Rally Monza within the World Rally Championship shows on the one side the great relationship among Automobile Club d’Italia, FIA and WRC Promoter”.
“Once again, Automobile Club d’Italia made itself available by providing a unique location. The Temple of Speed of Monza will welcome again the WRC cars hoping that fans can be the icing on the cake of this extraordinary event. The organisation work has started and all the staff is working to deliver the best possible event.”
Images of ACI Rally Monza: ACI Rally Monza Twitter.
Source: WRC.com.
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