WRC Croatia Rally 2022: 8 Croatian crews alongside world’s biggest stars
- by croatiaweek
- in Sport
(Photo credit: Uroš Modlic)
Alongside world stars, eight local crews will also showcase their skills. Niko Pulić announced his farewell.
ZAGREB, March 39th 2022 – A total of 66 crews from five continents, 26 countries are on the Entry List for WRC Croatia Rally 2022, including eight Croatian crews.
Young Finn Kalle Rovanpera arrives in Croatia as the leader in the WRC standings for the second consecutive year. His maiden Croatia Rally appearance is not a fond memory for him, as he went off the road on the very first stage.
This year’s rally will be crucial as he will be looking for points that would keep him at top of the standings. He will have a tough competition in Belgian Thierry Neuville and his own teammate Elfyn Evans. Neuville was the leader in Croatia after the first day of competition, but on Saturday he dropped the lead because of the wrong tyre choice. Evans, on the other hand, gave the win to Sebastien Ogier on the final corner of the Wolf Power Stage in Kumrovec.
Sebastian Ogier near Ozalj (Photo:Walter Sirotic)
Fans declared this finale of the Croatia Rally a turning point of the 2021 season in the WRC poll. The man behind the most attractive jump of last year’s event, Frenchman Adrien Fourmaux, who gave the crowd at the Kostanjevac-Petruš Vrh a jaw-dropping jump, will also return.
Croatian colours will be defended by eight crews led by the legendary Niko Pulic. The reigning Croatian champion Viliam Prodan has also entered for the rally, father and son Krešimir and Martin Ravenščak, Ivica Siladić and Željko Magličić will return to the Stages of the Croatia Rally, while Jan Pokos and Vjekoslav Čičko should have their premiere. Most Croatian crews have entered with Rally4 cars, while Siladic and Pulic will perform in the stronger classes.
(Photo credit: WRC Croatia)
“Preparations for the most popular motorsport competition in the world alongside F1 and probably the biggest sporting event in Croatia in the last 30 years are in full swing,” said Daniel Šaškin, president of the Croatia Rally Organizing Committee. “The excitement grows more and more with each passing day, while the last details are being finely tuned. We are eagerly preparing to welcome the best rally drivers of today, and for the first time in Croatia we will have crews from Brazil, Kenya, Mexico and even the United States. Teams will be coming here for tests soon, in order to prepare crews and cars for the second run of the WRC Croatia Rally. Octane sports fans are in for a great atmosphere and a rich programme in fan zones. Pictures from Croatia will reach millions of people around the world. I wish all drivers good luck, especially our crews who will drive side by side with the biggest ones.”
Tickets for all Fan Zones with the best views of the most attractive passages of world rally stars are on sale via ulaznice.hr/web/. Visitors can expect complete comfort, a rich catering offer and an all-day entertainment programme, including a live WRC+ broadcast of the entire rally on video walls with commentary lead by the programme hosts, as well as additional entertainment and educational content. The full package, which includes accommodation at a price of 215 € and above, can be purchased via Btravel agency at the link https://www.btravel.pro/en/wrc/.
(Photo credit: Uroš Modlic)
Due to the limited number of parking spaces at locations and possible crowds that could affect the
undisturbed running of the race and due to the efforts of the organizers to minimize their impact on the environment as much as possible, we kindly ask visitors to connect with friends, relatives and acquaintances wherever possible and travel to the location together, at least 3 hours before the start of the competition.
About WRC Croatia Rally
The WRC Croatia Rally will be taking place from April 21st to 24th at 20 attractive special stages through five Croatian counties – Zagreb County, Karlovac County, Krapina-Zagorje County, Primorje-Gorski Kotar County and Varaždin County; while the ceremonial start, the finish line and the service park will be located in Zagreb.
This year, a record number of spectators is expected at one of the biggest ever sporting events in the country. Namely, according to the predictions of the Organizer the event will be followed by more than 350,000 people in special fan areas and along the stages, arriving from Europe and many countries worldwide. At the competition in April, fans will be able to see the revolutionary new generation of hybrid Rally1 cars.
Croatia has been mentioned many times as a refreshing and a real surprise in the WRC calendar due to the excellent organization of the sporting side, the protection of the environment and the accompanying programme of the race. Thus, following the excellent assessment of the overall impression, the organizer was given the opportunity to sign a three-year contract to organize a World Rally Championship event. The importance and the success of this event has been recognized by the Government of the Republic of Croatia and the City of Zagreb, that decided to provide co-funds for the organization of the competition in 2022 and in the following years.
(Photo credit: WRC Croatia)
About WRC
WRC (World Rally Championship) is, along with F1, the most popular motorsports competition in the world, which is regularly broadcast by over 250 TV stations and watched by about 836 million people worldwide.
After many years of talks and negotiations, Croatia has had the opportunity to organize a World Championship run for the first time in 2021, which took place in Zagreb and the surrounding area in April under the name WRC Croatia Rally.
