January 29, 2022 - Preparations are underway for the WRC Croatia Rally 2022, in a special year in which the World Rally Championship celebrates its 50th anniversary. The big event will take place from April 21 to 24 and will feature spectators on 20 stages across five Croatian counties.

Following the excellent organization of the WRC Croatia Rally in its first edition in 2021, the FIA did not think twice about including Croatia again in the next two World Rally Championship calendars. Thus, this year, the country is once again preparing to host one of the most important sports and automobile events in the world, in April.

Photo: WRC Croatia Rally

The WRC Croatia Rally 2022, which will bring together the world's best rally drivers, will be held from April 21st to 24th, at attractive speed tests through five Croatian counties: Zagreb, Karlovac, Krapina-Zagorje, Primorje-Gorski Kotar and Varaždin, while the ceremonial start and finish and the driver's park, which this year provides a rich program, will be located in Zagreb, reports tportal.hr.

This year, a record number of spectators is expected. Namely, according to organizers, the competition will be watched by more than 350,000 spectators in special fan zones and along the track, whose arrivals are expected from Europe and many other countries. With many surprises and rich content for which preparations are in full swing, 2022 is a special year as the World Rally Championship celebrates its 50th anniversary, and this special anniversary will be marked by a new, hybrid era of Rally1 vehicles that use sustainable fuel and electricity.

Photo: WRC Croatia Rally

The WRC season started last weekend in Monte Carlo, and Sebastien Loeb and Isabelle Galmiche in the Ford Puma won an unpredictable race until the very end. At the age of 47, Loeb became the oldest winner of a WRC race in history, and he reached his 80th victory in the World Rally Championship in Monte Carlo.

''Croatia has proven to be a sports organizer that is well worth counting on. To include Croatia in the world calendar, to bring the World Championship, and to organize a race at such a high level is a huge success for our country. The race itself is a Croatian product because almost the entire race is organized by a Croatian sports staff, which we are very proud of. This race, in addition to giving the wind in the back to the development of motorsport, significantly contributes to the promotion of Croatia, and I am convinced that, like last year, we will host some of the most important people in the world sports'', said Davorin Štetner, president of the Croatian Automobile & Karting Federation.

Photo: WRC Croatia Rally

''Early Bird'' tickets will be on sale soon, which in addition to including privileged views of the big event, will also offer special benefits such as food catering and entertainment all day.

We remind you that, in addition to the spectacular races that this new edition of the WRC Croatia Rally will offer, those who are in Zagreb during the days prior to the start of the stage will be able to enjoy special moments, such as the presentation of the vehicles competing in the Ban Jelačić Square, which attracted a large number of people, including fans and onlookers.

Photo: WRC Croatia Rally

The organizers of the WRC Croatia Rally 2022 are already fine-tuning all the preparations to create a motorsport atmosphere throughout the country, especially in the Croatian capital. The excellent organization in 2021 left very positive numbers both in ratings, spectators, as well as in profits. However, all this is an extra motivation for this edition to overcome all the successes achieved last year, and in this way continue to convince the FIA and ensure its presence in the World Rally Championship calendar beyond 2023.

It should be noted that this year, for the first time, the WRC Croatia Rally 2022 will feature spectators in all instances, something that could not be done in 2021 due to the epidemiological situation. Those who purchase tickets must bear in mind that the epidemiological measures for the safe development of the championship, which will be confirmed in the coming weeks, must be complied with without exception. Last year, the spectators were able to be at the speed tests, but this year they will be able to closely follow all the stages of the race, something that excites both them and the organizers.

The first edition of the WRC Croatia Rally, held last year, left many memorable moments both on and off the track. Let us remind you that Sebastian Ogier was the first winner of the WRC edition in Croatia. Just before the last gear, the Welshman Elfyn Evans (Toyota) had a 3.9-second advantage over Ogier but made a mistake in the last turn of the rally and lost the victory by only six-tenths of a second. Ogier thus reached the 51st triumph in his career.

Similarly, it should be remembered that the 2021 edition of the WRC Croatia Rally had an extra motivation after the earthquake that affected the county of Sisak Moslavina, and especially the town of Petrinja, at the end of December 2020. The earthquake was also felt in Zagreb, which itself was still recovering from the violent earthquake in March of that year. The organization behind the WRC Croatia Rally 2021 launched the humanitarian campaign ''Together to the Finish Line'', along with the Croatian Red Cross. A large number of drivers joined the initiative and this motivated many others in the world of motorsport to contribute with donations.

Photo: WRC Croatia Rally

Belgian Thierry Neuville, who came in third in Croatia Rally 2021, donated €4,000 for the reconstruction of the building of the General Hospital "Dr. Ivo Pedišić" in Sisak. Together with his colleagues Sebastien Ogier and Teemu Suninen, Neuville has been supporting the humanitarian campaign since the very start, and the Belgian had announced that he would donate €2,000 for participating and €4,000 if he won a second or third place that year.

For more about the WRC Croatia Rally 2022, such as news, accreditation information, accommodation, virtual store and more, visit the official website of the WRC Croatia Rally.

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September 14, 2021 - On September 18 and 19, Grobnik Racetrack near Rijeka will host Euronascar!

Last year was historic for Croatian motorsports, despite all of the complications due to COVID-19. Croatia hosted the WCR and NASCAR GP. The opportunity was accepted phenomenally because the events justified all expectations, and in fact, even exceeded them. As a reward, Croatia has been confirmed to host Nascar and WRC in the coming years, reports HRTurizam.

Thus, in one year, Croatia positioned itself on European soil as new motorsport and tourist destination.

"We are delighted with the agreement reached on long-term cooperation with Automotodrom Grobnik (Grobnik Racetrack). We found a fantastic place for NASCAR GP. It is located by the sea, on the beautiful Croatian "Riviera," the track is wonderful, and the drivers were thrilled with it. We found very motivated, dedicated partners in the employees of Grobnik Racetrack. There is great interest in NASCAR races in the area, and everyone has worked wonderfully together to organize the first NASCAR race there. The southeastern part of Europe is a new area for us that we are just discovering, and we have definitely found a new home in Croatia for EuroNASCAR. Also, we want to work with local federations and other partners to develop drivers from the region; there are many talents we need to discover. This is a very positive step for the future," said Jerome Galpin, President of the Nascar Euro Series.

"I hope that in the second year, the pandemic will not force us to close the facility to the public again because the interest of the audience exists. Except from the point of view of sports, this event can make a significant contribution to the development of Croatian motorsports and tourism," added Robert Žiković, a member of the Automotodrom Grobnik Management Board.

Such global events are certainly an excellent motive for coming to Croatia. In this case, we are talking about millions of octane sports enthusiasts, as well as a large number of visitors following Formula 1 or sporting events or the Ultra Festival around the world. Thus, the motive of arrival, in addition to the race itself, allows Croatia to impress tourists and give them an incentive to return, this time in the role of a real tourist.

They also generate large tourist consumption, which is dispensed with many industries, from the diversity of the technical organization itself, accommodation, catering facilities, transportation, and more.

For example, at the recent Formula 1 event in Budapest, all spectators had to show proof of vaccination or recovery to validate the purchased ticket, without which you could not enter the track - Hungaroring). The race gathered about 110,000 spectators who stayed in Budapest for up to five days.

When looking at the positive impact of the WRC on destinations, we can use 2019 as a reference. Thus, in 2019, the WRC races were watched by 836 million spectators, with 4.3 million spectators along the tracks. Studies show that the direct spending of followers, organizations, and teams during the 2019 Rally in Portugal exceeded 73 million euros. But, of course, the positive impact is much wider.

By comparison, NASCAR in Europe can be compared to Formula 1, while the WRC is the most-watched octane sport in the world after Formula 1. This is because it all revolves around Formula 1 setting the standards.

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