Estonian domestic rally season to include rounds in Latvia and Finland
The domestic Estonian rally series calendar for 2026 has been announced, with races also to take place in neighboring Latvia and Finland.
The Terminal autoralli Eesti championships will run six stages, while the sprint rally Estonian cup and youth rally Estonian championships will hold four events.
Four of the Terminal rally events will be held in Estonia, supplemented by one round in Alūksne, Latvia, and one in Jyväskylä, Finland. The Alūksne round is the season opener.
Estonian rally committee Janno Siitan noted that the Finnish round, along with the addition of a sprint rally round on Saaremaa, are among the highlights of the calendar.
Previously, the Finland stage has been held in and around Turku.
"I definitely recommend Estonian drivers take part. They will get the chance to race partly on World Rally Championship special stages. The experience will be exciting and valuable for development," Siitan went on.
The Saaremaa sprint rally event on May 9 is about half the length of a standard championship leg, and so half points will be awarded. The race also opens the local gravel, Siitan said.
The same Saaremaa event also opens the Estonian cup season in sprint rallies as well as the Estonian youth rally championship season, which will have three races in Estonia and one in Latvia.
Among the bigger rule changes ahead of the next season, Siitan highlighted the return to crew-based scoring and the return of overall results to the points system. In recent seasons, points were counted separately for drivers and co-drivers, as in the WRC, and class-based results only were used.
The Terminal autoralli Eesti Championship series 2026 calendar is as follows:
- January 23–24: Alūksne rally
- May 9: Saaremaa Sprint rally
- June 12–13: Jyväskylä rally
- July 3–4: South Estonia rally, Võru
- August 21–22: Paide rally
- October 9–10: Saaremaa rally
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Editor: Andrew Whyte, Kristjan Kallaste
