# 2021 Junior WRC Championship

The 2021 FIA Junior WRC Championship was the ninth season of Junior WRC, a rallying championship governed by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, running in support of the World Rally Championship. The championship was open to drivers under the age of thirty—although no such restriction existed for co-drivers—competing in identical one-litre Ford Fiesta R2s built and maintained by M-Sport. The championship began in April 2021 at the Croatia Rally.
Tom Kristensson and Joakim Sjöberg were the defending drivers' and co-drivers' champions while Sweden was the defending Nations' Trophy winner. Sami Pajari and Marko Salminen became the first Finnish crew to win the championship. Finland took the Nations' Trophy victory.
The FIA Junior WRC Championship titles were not awarded in 2022, with WRC3 Junior titles taking their place. However, FIA Junior WRC titles would make a return in 2023.

## Calendar

The following events were included in the 2021 Junior WRC Championship. Each event was taken from the 2021 World Rally Championship calendar.
| Round | Start date | Finish date | Rally | Rally headquarters | Surface | Stages | Distance |
| 1 | 22 April | 25 April | Croatia Rally | Zagreb, City of Zagreb Region | Tarmac | 20 | 300.32 km |
| 2 | 20 May | 23 May | Rally de Portugal | Matosinhos, Porto | Gravel | 20 | 337.51 km |
| 3 | 15 July | 18 July | Rally Estonia | Tartu, Tartu County | Gravel | 24 | 319.38 km |
| 4 | 13 August | 15 August | Ypres Rally Belgium | Ypres, West Flanders | Tarmac | 20 | 295.78 km |
| 5 | 14 October | 17 October | RACC Rally Catalunya de España | Salou, Catalonia | Tarmac | 19 | 306.50 km |
| Source: |||||||||

### Calendar changes

Rally Croatia made its championship début. The Ypres Rally also made its début, replacing Rally GB. Rally Catalunya returned to the schedule after being removed from the 2020 calendar before the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the championship. Rally Italia Sardegna was removed from the calendar. Rally Sweden was omitted from the Junior WRC Championship calendar before it was removed from the wider World Rally Championship schedule. The Rally Monza was also removed from the calendar as it was only included on the 2020 schedule in response to the pandemic.

## Entries

The following crews competed in the championship:
| Entrant | Driver | Co-driver | Rounds |
| Team Flying Finn | Lauri Joona | Ari Koponen | 1–2 |
| Team Flying Finn | Lauri Joona | Mikael Korhonen | 3–5 |
| LMT Autosporta Akademija | Mārtiņš Sesks | Renārs Francis | All |
| Porvoon Autopalvelu | Sami Pajari | Marko Salminen | All |
| Autosport Team Estonia | Robert Virves | Sander Pruul | 1–3 |
| Autosport Team Estonia | Robert Virves | Aleks Lesk | 4–5 |
| Raul Badiu | Raul Badiu | Rareș Fetean | 1–3 |
| Jon Armstrong | Jon Armstrong | Phil Hall | All |
| Styllex Motorsport | Martin Koči | Petr Těšínský | 1–3 |
| Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy | William Creighton | Liam Regan | All |
| Source: ||||

## Results and standing
### Season summary

| Round | Event | Winning driver | Winning co-driver | Winning time | Report |
| 1 | Croatia Rally | Jon Armstrong | Phil Hall | 3:15:07.6 | Report |
| 2 | Rally de Portugal | Mārtiņš Sesks | Renārs Francis | 4:15:52.7 | Report |
| 3 | Rally Estonia | Sami Pajari | Marko Salminen | 3:19:03.2 | Report |
| 4 | Ypres Rally Belgium | Jon Armstrong | Phil Hall | 2:51:55.4 | Report |
| 5 | RACC Rally Catalunya de España | Sami Pajari | Marko Salminen | 2:58:02.5 | Report |

### Scoring system

Points were awarded to the top ten classified finishers. An additional point was given for every stage win. The best four results out of five counted towards the final drivers’ and co-drivers’ standings. However, all points gained from stage wins were retained. Double points were awarded for drivers' championship at the season's finale.
| Position | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9th | 10th |
| Points | 25 | 18 | 15 | 12 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 1 |

### FIA Junior WRC Championship for Drivers

| Pos. | Driver | CRO | POR | EST | BEL | ESP | Total Points | Best 4 |
| 1 | Sami Pajari | 6$^9$ | 2$^2$ | 1$^9$ | 2$^2$ | 1$^4$ | 145 | 137 |
| 2 | Jon Armstrong | 1$^2$ | Ret$^6$ | 2$^5$ | 1$^7$ | 4$^7$ | 119 | 119 |
| 3 | Mārtiņš Sesks | 2 | 1$^3$ | 3$^6$ | 6$^2$ | 6 | 93 | 85 |
| 4 | Lauri Joona | 3$^1$ | 6$^4$ | 4 | 4 | 2 | 88 | 80 |
| 5 | Robert Virves | 7 | 3 | 7 | 3 | 3$^5$ | 78 | 71 |
| 6 | William Creighton | 5 | 5 | 6 | 5$^7$ | 5$^1$ | 66 | 58 |
| 7 | Martin Koči | 4$^3$ | 4$^4$ | Ret$^3$ | | | 34 | 34 |
| 8 | Raul Badiu | 8$^3$ | Ret | 5 | | | 17 | 17 |
| Pos. | Driver | CRO | POR | EST | BEL | ESP | Total Points | Best 4 |
| Source: |||||||||
Key :
| Colour | Result |
| Gold | Winner |
| Silver | 2nd place |
| Bronze | 3rd place |
| Green | Points finish |
| Blue | Non-points finish |
| Blue | Non-classified finish (NC) |
| Purple | Did not finish (Ret) |
| Black | Excluded (EX) |
| Black | Disqualified (DSQ) |
| White | Did not start (DNS) |
| White | Cancelled (C) |
| Blank | Withdrew entry from the event (WD) |

### FIA Junior WRC Championship for Co-Drivers

| Pos. | Co-Driver | CRO | POR | EST | BEL | ESP | Total Points | Best 4 |
| 1 | Marko Salminen | 6$^9$ | 2$^2$ | 1$^9$ | 2$^2$ | 1$^4$ | 120 | 112 |
| 2 | Phil Hall | 1$^2$ | Ret$^6$ | 2$^5$ | 1$^7$ | 4$^7$ | 107 | 107 |
| 3 | Renārs Francis | 2 | 1$^3$ | 3$^6$ | 6$^2$ | 6 | 85 | 77 |
| 4 | Liam Regan | 5 | 5 | 6 | 5$^7$ | 5$^1$ | 56 | 48 |
| 5 | Mikael Korhonen | | | 4 | 4 | 2 | 42 | 42 |
| 6 | Aleks Lesk | | | | 3 | 3$^5$ | 35 | 35 |
| 7 | Petr Těšínský | 4$^3$ | 4$^4$ | Ret$^3$ | | | 34 | 34 |
| 8 | Ari Koponen | 3$^1$ | 6$^4$ | | | | 28 | 28 |
| 9 | Sander Pruul | 7 | 3 | 7 | | | 27 | 27 |
| 10 | Rareș Fetean | 8$^3$ | Ret | 5 | | | 17 | 17 |
| Pos. | Co-Driver | CRO | POR | EST | BEL | ESP | Total Points | Best 4 |
| Source: |||||||||
Key :
| Colour | Result |
| Gold | Winner |
| Silver | 2nd place |
| Bronze | 3rd place |
| Green | Points finish |
| Blue | Non-points finish |
| Blue | Non-classified finish (NC) |
| Purple | Did not finish (Ret) |
| Black | Excluded (EX) |
| Black | Disqualified (DSQ) |
| White | Did not start (DNS) |
| White | Cancelled (C) |
| Blank | Withdrew entry from the event (WD) |

### FIA Junior WRC Trophy for Nations

| Pos. | Co-Driver | CRO | POR | EST | BEL | ESP | Points |
| 1 | Finland | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 101 |
| 2 | United Kingdom | 1 | Ret | 2 | 1 | 3 | 83 |
| 3 | Latvia | 2 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 78 |
| 4 | Estonia | 6 | 3 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 64 |
| 5 | Ireland | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 54 |
| 6 | Slovakia | 4 | 4 | Ret | | | 24 |
| 7 | Romania | 7 | Ret | 4 | | | 18 |
| Pos. | Co-Driver | CRO | POR | EST | BEL | ESP | Points |
| Source: ||||||||
Key :
| Colour | Result |
| Gold | Winner |
| Silver | 2nd place |
| Bronze | 3rd place |
| Green | Points finish |
| Blue | Non-points finish |
| Blue | Non-classified finish (NC) |
| Purple | Did not finish (Ret) |
| Black | Excluded (EX) |
| Black | Disqualified (DSQ) |
| White | Did not start (DNS) |
| White | Cancelled (C) |
| Blank | Withdrew entry from the event (WD) |