Andreas Mikkelsen og Jørn Listerud er klare for nok en VM-start. Jørgen Eriksen er også klar i kartleserstolen til Calle Carlberg når Kroatia Rally kjøres til helgen.
Det er asfalt som er underlaget i Kroatia og i Påsken ble det meldt om til dels mye snø på enkelte av fartsetappene i løpet. Totalt skal det kjøres 20 fartsetapper på tre dager. Shake down er torsdag formiddag, mens første etappe kjøres fredag morgen. Åtte etapper kjøres fredag, åtte på lørdag og fire på søndag.
Med 4.plass i Safari Rally ligger Andreas Mikkelsen på en 10.plass i WRC2, men har alvorlige planer om avansement til helgen.
En som ligger på topp i junior-VM er Calle Carlberg med Jørgen Eriksen som kartleser. De vant Rally Sweden, og er nå klar for sin andre VM-runde i Ford Fiesta Rally3.
Pressemelding fra Skoda Motorsport:
Croatia Rally:
Strong line up of Škoda crews sets sight on WRC2 podium positions
› Former WRC2 champions Andreas Mikkelsen and Emil Lindholm reunite as teammates and favourites for the win with Škoda Fabia RS Rally2
› Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 drivers Eric Camilli from France and Roberto Daprà from Italy are also among the top contenders in the WRC2 field
› Following the rounds in Monte-Carlo, Sweden and Kenya, Croatia Rally is the first proper tarmac event of the 2026 FIA World Rally Championship
Mladá Boleslav, 8 April 2026 – As the fourth round of the season, Croatia Rally
(9-12 April 2026) once again features a new line-up of podium contenders in the WRC2 category. Rallye Monte-Carlo WRC2 winner Léo Rossel and Roope Korhonen, who earned 25 points for finishing first in the WRC2 category at Rally Sweden, will be back in action. In their effort to win another WRC2 event, both will have to contend with four Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 drivers: former WRC2 champions Andreas Mikkelsen and Emil Lindholm, as well as Roberto Daprà and Eric Camilli. Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 driver Robert Virves, who recently won the WRC2 category at Safari Rally Kenya, will not be competing.
After a one-year break, Croatia Rally is back in the World Rally Championship. This time, the event will be based in the Mediterranean port city of Rijeka instead of Zagreb. Consequently, the route has changed from small tracks through farmlands to high-grip coastal roads and mountain passes in the Kvarner Gulf and Istria regions but the rally remains as an all-tarmac event. With the service park now located at the historic Automotodrom Grobnik, crews will have to tackle 20 stages covering 300.28 kilometres.
Andreas Mikkelsen, who shares a Toksport WRT-run Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 with fellow Norwegian Jørn Listerud, has not competed Rally Croatia with a Rally2 car since 2021. After finishing WRC2 fourth at the Safari Rally Kenya, he is aiming to score big points. «I love Croatia’s challenging tarmac roads,” the WRC2 champion of 2021 and 2023 looks ahead.
As with the upcoming Croatia Rally, Andreas Mikkelsen was already a teammate of Emil Lindholm at Toksport in 2022 and 2023. Emil Lindholm, who will be competing with Brazilian co-driver Gabriel Morales for the first time, already finished third twice in WRC2 at Rally Croatia. This year’s event marks the start of his 2026 campaign. “Therefore, it is essential to score a good result,” says the Finn, who won the WRC2 title in 2022 driving a Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo run by Toksport WRT.
Two years ago, Roberto Daprà and co-driver Luca Guglielmetti achieved a seventh place in WRC2 at Croatia Rally. This season, the Italians drove their Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 of Delta Rally Team to second place in the category at the Rallye Monte-Carlo. Since then, however, they have skipped the rounds in Sweden and Kenya. With a good result, proven asphalt specialist Roberto Daprà could take the lead in the WRC2 drivers’ standings.
Also strong on tarmac is Eric Camilli. Together with co-driver Thibault De La Haye, the French duo led WRC2 at Rallye Monte-Carlo at one point, eventually finishing fourth in the category. Competing with a Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 of team Orsák Rally Sport, they are among the favourites for a WRC2 podium finish. Also entered into WRC2 are Škoda crews Viliam Prodan/Marko Stiperski from Croatia and Uğur Soylu/Onur Vatansever from Turkey.
Croatia Rally begins on Thursday, 9 April at 6:30 pm local time with the ceremonial start in Rijeka. The action kicks off properly on Friday, when eight special stages totalling 126.86 kilometres are waiting for the drivers. Saturday features another eight stages covering 115.96 kilometres. The final leg on Sunday comprises four more stages, totalling 57.46 kilometres. The winners will be celebrated on the podium in Opatija at 4 pm.
Did you know, that…
…the Croatia Rally was held for the first time in 1974 in the former Yugoslavia under the name of INA Delta TLX Rally?
…the event was part of the FIA World Rally Championship already from 2021 to 2024? Last year the rally was counting towards the FIA European Rally Championship.
…the stages are run on a mix of fast and winding asphalt tracks with different surfaces, ranging from rough to smooth?
Standings WRC2/Drivers (after 3 of 14 events)
1 Robert Virves (EST), Škoda, 25 p
2 Roope Korhonen (FIN), Toyota, 25 p
3 Léo Rossel (FRA), Citroën, 25 p
4 Roberto Daprà (ITA), Škoda, 17 p
5 Gus Greensmith (GBR), Toyota, 17 p
6 Teemu Suninen (FIN), Toyota, 17 p
10. Andreas Mikkelsen (NOR), Skoda, 12 p
Standings WRC2/Teams (after 3 of 14 events)
1 Toksport WRT, Škoda, 42 points
2 Lancia Corse HF, Lancia, 42 Points
3 M-Sport Ford World Rally Team, Ford, 25 Points