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Photo Credit: World Rally Championship

BEST RALLY DRIVERS IN THE WORLD

Everything is ready for Croatia Rally, and the best rally crews in the world have already started testing the Croatian asphalt.

The world’s most famous rally drivers will collect points for the Croatia Rally from April 22 to 25 World Rally Championship (WRC). Croatia is the third stage in this year’s WRC calendar, and it will be driven on the local roads of Zagreb, Karlovac and Krapina-Zagorje counties and the City of Zagreb.

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Photo Credit: World Rally Championship

“The eyes of the whole automotive world these few weeks will be fixed on Croatia”

“After years of preparation and thousands of hours of hard work, we have only 13 days left until the start of the World Rally Championship in Croatia. We are extremely proud and excited that the best drivers of today will race on our roads and that we have succeeded in our intention to make Croatia part of a top rally story that is watched by almost a billion spectators around the world every year. It is a great success that would not have happened without the strong support of our partners and sponsors, whom I thank from the bottom of my heart. It should be mentioned more than a thousand people will work hard to organize the largest sporting event in our country after many years. The eyes of the whole automotive world these few weeks will be fixed on our country, I am sure we will justify the trust of the FIA ​​and the WRC Promoter,” pointed out Daniel Shashkin, President of the Organizing Committee of Croatia Rally.

The Croatian stage of the World Rally Championship is characteristic because it is the first completely asphalt rally this season, and numerous changes to the asphalt surface will require teams to adjust vehicle settings and find optimal tires.

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Photo Credit: Meet In Zagreb

“By organizing this spectacle in extremely difficult conditions, we will show that Croatia is a responsible partner for the world’s largest events. With the strong support of primarily the City of Zagreb and other local government units, the Croatian police, firefighters and other institutions, and of course many Croatian automotive clubs, we are ready for the final step of the organization itself. It was in April 1906, 115 years ago that the First Croatian Automobile Club was founded – the predecessor of the Croatian Automobile and Karting Association, and we will mark this great anniversary during the WRC race. The arrival in Croatia was announced by the most important people in world sports, led by FIA President Jean Todt, and Croatia is expecting an incredible media promotion at the world level because hundreds of the world’s strongest media report on the event,” added the president of the Croatian Auto and Karting Association and the Steering Committee of the Croatia Rally Davorin Stetner.

The complete route of the rally is 1284,83 km long and will pass through the City of Zagreb, Zagreb, Karlovac and Krapina-Zagorje County. The first day and the initial special stage will be extremely attractive. The ride will take place at the Zagreb Fair, while part of the track is for the first time in the history of the WRC located indoors, inside the pavilion. The crews will start racing on April 23 in the area of ​​Samoborski Gorje, followed by speed tests in the wider area of ​​Karlovac. On the third day, the speed tests will take place again in the area of ​​Samoborski gorje and Karlovac, while on April 25 they will drive across Medvednica and in the vicinity of Kumrovec.

A total of 68 crews have been confirmed for the Croatia Rally, and Croatia will have as many as seven representatives – Niko Pulić, Viliam Prodan, Martin Ravenščak, Krešimir Ravenščak, Ivica Siladić, Mateo Butorac and Željko Magličić.

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