Rally Estonia 2025 - Route Preview

Rally Estonia returns to the WRC after a year's absence and is the first fast gravel rally of the calendar. The roads around Tartu are on a sandy surface, are fast and flowing, and also have crests and jumps, some of which are man-made. It features a familiar itinerary, but with some stages used in previous years seeing some changes.

Thursday

Day 1 of the rally includes the pre event Shakedown, as well as the ceremonial start in Tartu's city center before a run of the Tartu vald Super Special Stage.

Shakedown: Kastre - 4.08km

Changes compared to 2023: Identical to the Shakedown in 2023.

Stage description: The initial getaway is on tarmac, with the route joining the gravel shortly afterwards. That road is super fast and flowing, consisting of fast and some medium speed corners. At 2.37km there's a junction which leads the crews to a narrower and initially more technical road, which becomes very fast, with a long straight just before the finish. In 2023, Ott Tanak's engine expired on this stage, costing the Estonian a good result at home.

SSS1/17 Tartu vald - 1.76km

Changes compared to 2023: A shorter version of the Tartu vald SSS, similar to the one used last year in the ERC.

Stage description: The event's opening stage is next to the rally's Service Park, at the Majoraadi park. It uses a mix of long medium and slow speed corners, with roads inside the park. There are many rocks placed alongside the route, both to deter cutting, and also to make things more exciting in case someone runs wide. Armin Kremer broke his suspension here in 2023, and Pierre Louis Loubet also damaged his Puma on this stage in 2022.

Friday

Friday is the first full day of the rally and features 3 repeated stages, as well as a pass through the Elva Linn SSS. It's an unusual format, as the first loop is 2x2, with the first two stages immediately ran before service, but the afternoon loop is just Kambja ran twice, and then the SSS. Peipsiääre is the same as 2023, but Mustvee and Kambja see some changes to their route.

SS2/4 Peipsiääre - 24.35km

Changes compared to 2023: The same as 2023. This is the longest stage of the event.

Stage description: The start of the stage is technical, on a narrow road, with the stage entering a Mickey Mouse arena section in a quarry. There is also a huge man made jump 740m in. Esapekka Lappi had a heavy landing here in 2023 and took out his hybrid unit.

The stage leaves this section, and rejoins a proper road via a big jump at 2km, with a flat out section following, on a medium wide road that narrows when the stage is deep in the forest. At 5.72km there is a 1.5km tarmac section, after which another fast section on a narrow road ensues. It leaves the forest at 11.6km, and there's a short slow technical section afterwards at 14.5km.

There is another 1.5km tarmac section after that, with the stage joining another narrow and fast road, with a man-made jump at 18.7km, that leads the stage to a slower and more technical section. After a junction at 20.4km the stage becomes wider and faster, but it becomes narrower again, with a technical section near the finish, still with a lot of trees alongside the route. 

Oliver Solberg broke his suspension and retired from the lead in WRC2 here in 2023.

SS3/5 Mustvee - 11.37km

Changes compared to 2023: The stage has been modified and shortened, with a large portion of the stage being ran in reverse compared to previous years.

Stage description: The first few meters of the stage are on a wide and fast road, with the route turning onto a narrower one, with ditches alongside, which is technical and slow at first, before becoming very fast. A junction at 4.7km leads onto a new, similar, road, again fast and medium wide.

After a short tarmac section from 6.4km, there is a high-speed section, with the stage becoming very narrow at 8km, in a densely forested area. A tricky technical section follows, after which it gets faster again, with the finish of the stage being on tarmac, on the same road it passed by before.

SS6/7 Kambja - 23.74km

Changes compared to 2023: It's a combination of the Kambja and Neeruti stages used in 2023. The start is now at the place where the Shakedown was previously, only now in reverse, with the stage then following the route of the version of Kambja used last year in the ERC, and the finish being slightly earlier this time. It has served as the rally's Power Stage in the past.

Stage description: The start is on a nice wide and flowing road, that also has crests after a junction at 2.6km. Takamoto Katsuta rolled here in 2022. A short tarmac section later, and the stage joins a medium wide road that is still quite fast and flowing, with consecutive big jumps at about the 7 kilometer mark. The next few kilometers are ever so slightly more technical, with many jumps and crests.

Following a junction at 9.5km, the stage becomes narrower on a road resembling the narrower ones from the previous two stages, still fast, and from 12km it joins a wider and more flowing road. There's a big jump at 13.8km, after which there is a short technical section with junctions and hairpins, with the stage deviating from the 2023 version onwards.

After a short very fast and wide section, the stage joins a narrower road with crests and jumps, which becomes very sandy and technical at about 16km. At parts there's grass growing in the middle of the road. It leaves that road at 19km, and joins a very fast and wide one, which leads onto the route of Neeruti. 

This road is narrow to its entirety and features a mix of faster and slow sections.

SSS8 Elva linn - 1.56km

Changes compared to 2024: The stage is used for the first time in the WRC, but was also used last year in the ERC, and in the WRC promotional event in 2019 and 2018.

Stage description: It's a super special using roads in the town of Elva. All of the road is on tarmac, with many junctions and straights, with a very long donut round a roundabout just before the finish.

Saturday

Saturday is roughly the same length as Friday, but has 8 forest stages and one SSS compared to the 6 and one from the day before. It has two loops, this time both using the 2x2 format, with all of them being to the south of the country. All of the day's stages were used in the ERC last year, and all of them are on the same roads as 2023, but Kanepi is ran in reverse. 

SS9/11 Raanitsa - 21.45km

Changes compared to 2023: Same stage as in 2023, this time on Saturday instead of Friday. Craig Breen broke his steering and went off the road here in 2022, and Georg Gross had a big off here in 2020.

Stage description: The first part of the stage is generally on fast, medium wide, and flowing roads, including a very fast section from 3.8km to 5km and another one from 6.2km, which includes a big jump at 7km, and another one at 7.62km. Ott Tänak had a massive accident here last year in the ERC.

There are a lot of surface changes, from a white-ish gravel to the more usual looser yellowish one, as the route uses a variety of roads in the forest.

After a short tarmac section, the stage becomes wide and very fast, flat out at times, with a big jump at 9.6km. It turns away from that road at 15.3km, and becomes narrow and more technical. There's a very fast part with 3 jumps, after which the stage exits the forest momentarily. After another jump at 19.4km, the stage becomes slower and technical until the finish.

SS10/12 Kanepi - 17.43km

Changes compared to 2023: It's the same stage, only in reverse. It was last ran in this direction in 2020.

Stage description: The beginning of the stage is on a fast and wide road. Right after the start, there is a slow and technical section that lasts for roughly two kilometers, and rejoins the previous fast road at 3.15km. A fast section with a series of jumps follows, before it turns onto another fast and flowing road with crests, and also ditches on the side of the road. This road is mostly on open spaces, sporadically passing through more forested areas as well. 

There is a big jump at 8.9km, and the stage continues to be fast and flowing until 12.3km, after which it turns onto a narrower road via a hairpin. After a series of crests right after the hairpin, it passes through some densely forested areas and is fast, but generally more technical than before, and remains the same until the finish.

Ott Tänak picked up two punctures and retired after going off the road here in 2021. 

SS13/15 Otepää - 11.15km

Changes compared to 2023: It's the same stage as in 2023. It was a puncture fest here in 2022, with three drivers having to stop and change a wheel.

Stage description: The first 2 and a half kilometers are on a fast and wide road that has two big jumps. It then becomes more technical and narrow, still fast, and has a big jump at 3.8km.

After a junction right after that jump, there's a flat out section, with many man-made crests and jumps, with the stage then entering an "arena" section at 6.6km, with jumps and slow corners. After leaving the spectator zone, the stage then joins a fast and wide road, with ditches on either side for 1.3km, before turning onto a very narrow and exceptionally technical road, which eventually becomes faster, and has a series of jumps just before the finish. 

Pierre Louis Loubet rolled there in 2022, back when the end of the stage was in the Vastsemõisa stage.

SS13/15 Karaski - 11.97km

Changes compared to 2023: It's the same stage as in 2023, when it was used for the first time.

Stage description: The first kilometer of the stage has a series of long medium speed corners, with a sideways jump at 400m. After that it becomes faster, and also wider after a hairpin at 2.3km. A nice open section with crests follows, after which there's a fast tarmac passage. It then turns onto a slightly narrower road, which is still mostly fast, with a few medium speed corners. The end of the stage is on a very narrow and technical road, with the finish being after a junction onto tarmac.

Sunday

Sunday is the final day of action, and features two stages, one of which is repeated. Both of the day's stages are essentially new for this year, with only a handful of sections ever used before in the WRC.

SS18 Hellenurme - 11.79km

Changes compared to 2023: A brand new stage. It's the Raiga 2 stage from 2015 in reverse. The second half of the route has been used for the rally's pre-event shakedown twice, with 2024 being the most recent instance (in reverse).

Stage description: The start is on a narrow but fast road, that widens briefly, before turning onto another very narrow road at about 2km via a junction.

It's technical at first, but it becomes a lot faster, with two very big straights. After that the stage joins a very wide and fast path for about 700m, and then turns left onto the route of the 2024 Shakedown, only in reverse.

It's technical and narrow at first, but after a hairpin at 7km, it becomes more wide and a lot more faster and flowing.

At 9.1km there's a jump as the stage crosses a tarmac road. It is then fast and flowing, mostly on an open area until the finish.

SS19/20 Kääriku - 24.2km

Changes compared to 2023: Essentially a brand new stage. It uses parts of the Mäeküla stage, which was lengthened for last year's rally. The ending of the stage has also been used in the Arula test. 

The first 8km have not been used in the WRC before.

Stage description: Initially, the stage is fast and flowing, on a medium wide road. At 2.23km, it turns onto a wider one with similar characteristics, continuing to be flowing and fast, with long fast corners and also some cambered turns. 

Following a junction at 8.4km, the stage joins a narrower route which is slower and more technical. It was used last year in Mäeküla, only in reverse. At 10.4km there's a series of two jumps, after which it turns onto tarmac.

It then joins the route of Mäeküla on the same direction, with a flatout section. The stage becomes more technical as it enters the forest, and also very narrow following a junction at 16.55km.

After a brief stint on a wide road, it again becomes narrow for the next 2.6km, after which it follows a very narrow but fast section, which passes next to Kääriku's sports complex, just before the finish.