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With the headquarters and service park in Otepää and the ceremonial start and finish in Tartu, Estonia’s second largest city, auto24 Rally Estonia marks the beginning of part two of the all-action ERC season when drivers and co-drivers will have four opportunities left from a possible five to score championship points.
Apart from the auto24-Tartu City asphalt superspecial, all the stages use fast and flowing gravel roads, meaning high speeds are guaranteed during the course of the three-day event, which celebrates its fifth anniversary this year and makes its first appearance on the ERC schedule.
While approximately 60 per cent of the route is unchanged from 2013, there have been some tweaks, with more narrow and tricky sections added to increase the challenge for the drivers and raise the spectacle for the fans who are expected to follow the action in great numbers.
As well as counting as round seven of the ERC, auto24 Rally Estonia is the third event where drivers will chase ERC Gravel Master points, a new initiative for 2014 to reward surface specialists competing in the European championship. Points are awarded to the fastest five drivers on each gravel stage on a 10-6-4-2-1 system. The event is also a round of the FIA Historic Sporting Rally Championship and the Estonian Autorally Championship.
More than 60 crews have entered the main ERC rally, which features 15 special stages over a competitive distance of 231.55 kilometres. Following Free Practice, the Qualifying Stage and the ceremonial start on Thursday 17 July, the first of two legs gets underway on Friday morning. The podium finish is scheduled for 20:45hrs local time on Saturday 19 July.