Fabrizio Zaldívar and Carlos del Barrio have changed their team and car for 2021. After initially announcing their start aboard a Hyundai i20 R5, it will finally not be like that. They will compete the WRC3 together with the Toksport WRT team, aboard a Skoda Fabia Rally2 Evo.
The crew will begin their new adventure next February. Their first rally, as they have detailed in a statement, will be the Artic Rally Finland, the second round of the World Rally Championship. With its epicenter in Rovaniemi-Lapland (Finland), it will be held on February 25.
They will have as teammates Andreas Mikkelsen and Marquito Bulacia, who will do their job in the WRC2 category with a similar car. Without breaking the tradition of its last two seasons – in the JWRC – again the snow will be the surface to begin with. Both will compete in at least seven WRC rallies and two in the ERC.
Words from Zaldívar: “Being part of Toksport WRT is the biggest step I have taken so far. We are going to drive a Fabia that will have all the recently approved improvements. However, being in a team with factory support is the most relevant point”.
As we reported in Tramalon, the Czech brand launched the upgrade package for its Rally2 Evo model. They introduced radical changes in terms of the engine map, intercooler, turbo, differential ramp, suspension and even a new gear ratio, which will allow in events such as Estonia or Finland, to reach a maximum speed of 202 km/h.
Carlos del Barrio, who has just completed the Monte-Carlo Rally in good shape in his last journey with Dani Sordo, has the memory of ice and snow very fresh, although he clarifies that in Finland everything will be different: “A large amount is expected of snow, which will make it a very beautiful event, demanding – and in some way – new for everyone.
The team has planned 200 kilometers of tests – spread over two days – in Rovaniemi, the week before the event. Although Zaldivar has two years of experience in two-wheel drive, now it will be the turn of all-wheel drive, in what will be a triple debut: car, team and category.
