2020 World Rally Championship-2
The 2020 FIA World Rally Championship-2 was the eighth season of the World Rally Championship-2, an auto racing championship for rally cars that was recognised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile as the second-highest tier of international rallying. The category was open to cars entered by manufacturers and complying with R5 regulations.[1]
2020 FIA World Rally Championship-2 | |||
Drivers' Champion: Mads Østberg Co-drivers' Champion: Torstein Eriksen Teams' Champion: Toksport WRT | |||
Previous: | 2019 (WRC-2 Pro) | Next: | 2021 |
Parent series: FIA World Rally Championship Support series: FIA World Rally Championship-3 FIA Junior World Rally Championship |
![](../I/ADAC_Rallye_Deutschland_2013_-_Empfang_der_Stadt_K%C3%B6ln_-_Mads_%C3%98stberg-4516.jpg.webp)
Kalle Rovanperä and Jonne Halttunen were the reigning drivers' and co-drivers' champions,[lower-alpha 1] but they did not defend their titles as they are contesting the World Rally Championship with Toyota.[2]
At the conclusion of the championship, Mads Østberg and Torstein Eriksen won the Drivers' and Co-Drivers' championships, while Toksport WRT won the teams' title.
Calendar
![](../I/WRC2020.png.webp)
The 2020 championship was due to be contested over thirteen rounds in Europe, Africa, Asia, the Middle East, North and South America and Oceania,[3][4] but the calendar had been reduced to seven rounds due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[5]
Round | Start date | Finish date | Rally | Rally headquarters | Surface | Stages | Distance | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 23 January | 26 January | ![]() |
Gap, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur | Mixed[lower-alpha 2] | 16 | 304.28 km | [6] |
2 | 13 February | 16 February | ![]() |
Torsby, Värmland | Snow | 11 | 171.64 km[lower-alpha 3] | [8] |
3 | 12 March | 15 March | ![]() |
León, Guanajuato | Gravel | 21 | 268.84 km[lower-alpha 4] | [10] |
4 | 4 September | 6 September | ![]() |
Tartu, Tartu County | Gravel | 17 | 232.64 km | [11] |
5 | 18 September | 20 September | ![]() |
Marmaris, Muğla | Gravel | 12 | 223.00 km | [12] |
6 | 8 October | 11 October | ![]() |
Alghero, Sardinia | Gravel | 16 | 238.84 km | [13] |
7 | 3 December | 6 December | ![]() |
Monza, Monza and Brianza | Tarmac | 16 | 239.20 km | [14] |
Source:[5][15][16] |
The following rounds were included on the original calendar published by WRC Promoter GmbH, but were later cancelled:
Calendar changes
With the addition of Rally Chile to the calendar in 2019, the FIA opened the tender process for new events to join the championship in 2020.[34] Bids to revive Rally Japan and the Safari Rally were received, and candidate events were run in 2019.[35][36] Both events were accepted to the 2020 calendar, as was a proposal to revive Rally New Zealand.[3] However, none of the aforementioned events were run due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[24][27][31]
- The Safari Rally was scheduled to be run as a World Championship event for the first time since 2002. The event is to be based in the Kenyan capital Nairobi and feature stages around Lake Naivasha.[37] In contrast to the event's traditional endurance format, which featured stages hundreds of kilometres long, the 2020 Safari Rally was planned to follow a compact route to comply with FIA regulations mandating the maximum route distance.[23]
- Rally Japan was scheduled to return to the calendar for the first time since 2010, replacing Rally Australia as the final round of the championship. The rally was scheduled to move away from its original headquarters in Hokkaidō to a new base in Nagoya and was to be run on tarmac rather than gravel.[38]
- Rally New Zealand was scheduled to return to the calendar for the first time since 2012. The event was planned to return to Auckland.[3]
The addition of these events saw the Tour de Corse and the Rallies of Catalunya and Australia removed from the calendar.[4] Organisers of Rally Catalunya agreed to forfeit their place on the 2020 calendar as part of a rotation system that will see European events host rallies in two out of three calendar years. The Tour de Corse was removed in response to concerns from teams about the logistics of visiting Corsica, while Rally Australia was removed as the event's base in a regional centre rather than a major metropolitan area meant that the rally struggled to attract spectators.[4] Rally Chile was included on the original calendar, but was later removed in the face of ongoing political unrest in the country.[17] The FIA sought a replacement event to ensure that the calendar retained its planned fourteen rounds,[39] but were unable to do so.[18]
The Rallies in Italy were postponed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.[20] Events in Argentina,[40] Portugal,[22] Kenya,[24] Finland,[26] New Zealand,[27] Germany,[28] Great Britain[29] and Japan were cancelled.[31] Organisers of the championship announced that they were considering adding events to the schedule that had not been part of the original calendar.[41] Estonia, Belgium, Latvia, Croatia and Czech Republic were among the countries who had expressed interest in hosting the event.[42]
The running date of Rally Turkey was moved forward by a week, which facilitates the opportunity for additional rounds.[43] Further calendar options may include Ypres Rally and Croatia Rally.[40] Following the cancellation of Rallye Deutschland, the running date of Rally Sardegna was moving forward by three weeks.[44] This decision was intended to avoid the clash with the 2020 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix of Formula One.[28]
![](../I/Rally_Estonia_2019.jpg.webp)
On 2 July 2020, it was announced that the season would return with an updated calendar. The season restarted with newcomers Rally Estonia hosting the resuming round between 4 and 6 September. The country became the thirty-third nation to stage a championship round in the WRC.[45]
Following the cancellation of Rally Japan, it was announced that Ypres Rally, officially Renties Ypres Rally Belgium, would replace Rally Japan to hold the seventh round of the season. The Sunday's route would feature the iconic Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps in Stavelot, which would run with the 2020 World RX of Benelux of the World Rallycross Championship.[46] Belgium was set to be the thirty-fourth country to hold a WRC event,[47] but were unable to do so as the rally was eventually called off due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[5]
![](../I/MONZA_RALLY_2013_-_VALENTINO_ROSSI_2.JPG.webp)
Rally Monza was announced to be the final round of the season on 9 October. This meant Italy staged two WRC events in one season as the country also stages the Sardinia rally.[48] The rally was based in the famous Autodromo Nazionale di Monza circuit near Milan, where the Italian Grand Prix is held every year.[49]
Route changes
Prior to the Rally Sweden, it was confirmed that the route for the rally had to be shortened due to a lack of snow.[7] The route of Rally Mexico was shortened to allow teams time to pack up and return to their headquarters before several European nations imposed travel bans in a bid to manage the pandemic.[9]
Entries
The following teams and crews are entered in the 2020 World Rally Championship-2:
Entrant | Car | Driver name | Co-driver name | Rounds | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
![]() |
Citroën C3 R5 | ![]() |
![]() |
1–2, 4, 6–7 | |
![]() |
Hyundai i20 R5 | ![]() |
![]() |
1–3 | |
![]() |
4, 6 | ||||
![]() |
![]() |
1–4, 6 | |||
![]() |
Ford Fiesta R5 Mk. II | ![]() |
![]() |
1–2, 4–7 | |
![]() |
![]() |
1–2 | |||
![]() |
Škoda Fabia R5 Evo | ![]() |
![]() |
2–7 | |
![]() |
![]() |
4–6 | |||
![]() |
![]() |
7 | |||
Source:[50][51][52][53][54][55][56] | |||||
Summary
Citroën's factory team entered selected rounds of the 2019 championship, but will not compete in 2020 after the company withdrew from rallying. The Citroën C3 R5 will remain available to independent teams.[57] PH Sport will run one C3 R5 for Mads Østberg and Torstein Eriksen.[58]
M-Sport Ford WRT committed two cars to the championship for crews led by Adrien Fourmaux and Rhys Yates.[59] Gus Greensmith and co-driver Elliott Edmondson, who drove for the team in 2019, will not contest the championship as the joined the sport's premier class.[60]
Hyundai Motorsport entered the championship under the name Hyundai Motorsport N. The team entered two Hyundai i20 R5s, one for Nikolay Gryazin and Yaroslav Fedorov, and the other for Ole Christian Veiby and Jonas Andersson.[50]
Toksport WRT became the first independent team to join the championship. The team entered a Škoda Fabia R5 Evo for 2017 World Rally Championship-2 drivers' champion Pontus Tidemand, who returned to the championship.[61]
Škoda announced that they would not enter a works team, arguing that Škoda Motorsport had proven themselves as a team and that the company would instead turn to supporting independent teams and drivers in 2020.[62] Similarly, Volkswagen will not enter a works team. The company cancelled all of its petrol-powered motorsports programmes to focus on electric racing, but will allow development of the Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 to continue.[63]
Changes
In 2019, the championship was run as the World Rally Championship-2 Pro, a class within the World Rally Championship-2 for professional crews entered by manufacturer teams. However, the multi-class structure was found to be too confusing,[64] and so the category was re-structured for the 2020 season. Professional crews contested the World Rally Championship-2 and privateers will contest the World Rally Championship-3.[64]
Results and standings
Season summary
Round | Event | Winning driver | Winning co-driver | Winning entrant | Winning time | Report | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | ![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
3:25:19.4 | Report | [65] |
2 | ![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
1:15:53.1 | Report | [66] |
3 | ![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
2:58:16.9 | Report | [67] |
4 | ![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
2:08:10.9 | Report | [68] |
5 | ![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
2:56:02.4 | Report | [69] |
6 | ![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
2:51:58.4 | Report | [70] |
7 | ![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
2:21:18.4 | Report | [71] |
Scoring system
Points are awarded to the top ten classified finishers in each event. Unlike the World Rally Championship, extra points are not awarded for the Power Stage.
Position | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9th | 10th |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Points | 25 | 18 | 15 | 12 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 1 |
FIA World Rally Championship-2 for Drivers
(Results key)
Pos. | Driver | MON![]() |
SWE![]() |
MEX![]() |
EST![]() |
TUR![]() |
ITA![]() |
MNZ![]() |
Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | ![]() |
1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 112 | ||
2 | ![]() |
3 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 108 | |
3 | ![]() |
2 | 4 | 2 | 2 | Ret | 4 | 78 | |
4 | ![]() |
Ret | 2 | 3 | Ret | 2 | 51 | ||
5 | ![]() |
3 | 6 | 2 | 5 | Ret | 51 | ||
6 | ![]() |
4 | 3 | 3 | 42 | ||||
7 | ![]() |
4 | 5 | 22 | |||||
8 | ![]() |
3 | 15 | ||||||
Pos. | Driver | MON![]() |
SWE![]() |
MEX![]() |
EST![]() |
TUR![]() |
ITA![]() |
MNZ![]() |
Points |
Source:[72] |
FIA World Rally Championship-2 for Co-Drivers
(Results key)
Pos. | Co-Driver | MON![]() |
SWE![]() |
MEX![]() |
EST![]() |
TUR![]() |
ITA![]() |
MNZ![]() |
Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | ![]() |
1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 112 | ||
2 | ![]() |
3 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 108 | |
3 | ![]() |
2 | 4 | 2 | 2 | Ret | 4 | 78 | |
4 | ![]() |
Ret | 2 | 3 | Ret | 2 | 51 | ||
5 | ![]() |
4 | 3 | 3 | 42 | ||||
6 | ![]() |
3 | 6 | 2 | 41 | ||||
7 | ![]() |
4 | 5 | 22 | |||||
8 | ![]() |
3 | 15 | ||||||
9 | ![]() |
5 | Ret | 10 | |||||
Pos. | Co-Driver | MON![]() |
SWE![]() |
MEX![]() |
EST![]() |
TUR![]() |
ITA![]() |
MNZ![]() |
Points |
Source:[72] |
FIA World Rally Championship-2 for Teams
(Results key)
Pos. | Team | MON![]() |
SWE![]() |
MEX![]() |
EST![]() |
TUR![]() |
ITA![]() |
MNZ![]() |
Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | ![]() |
3 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 147 | ||
4 | 3 | 3 | |||||||
2 | ![]() |
1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 112 | ||
3 | ![]() |
3 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 102 | ||
Ret | 6 | 3 | Ret | Ret | |||||
4 | ![]() |
2 | 4 | 2 | 2 | Ret | 88 | ||
4 | 5 | ||||||||
Pos. | Team | MON![]() |
SWE![]() |
MEX![]() |
EST![]() |
TUR![]() |
ITA![]() |
MNZ![]() |
Points |
Source:[72] |
Notes
- Rovanperä and Halttunen won their titles when the championship was known as the World Rally Championship-2 Pro.
- The Monte Carlo Rally is run on a tarmac and snow surface.
- The route of Rally Sweden was shortened from 301.26 km over 19 stages to 9 stages totalling 148.55 km. The route was shortened due to a lack of snow and bad weather conditions.[7]
- The route of Rally Mexico was shortened by 56.01 km.[9]
- The running date of Rally Argentina was initially scheduled to hold between 30 April to 3 May.[18]
References
- "2019 WRC Sporting Regulations" (PDF). Retrieved 1 February 2019.
- "Toyota reveals 2020 line-up". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. 27 November 2019. Retrieved 27 November 2019.
- Herrero, Daniel (27 September 2019). "Australia drops off WRC calendar in 2020". speedcafe.com. Speedcafe. Retrieved 28 September 2019.
- Evans, David (27 September 2019). "WRC drops Corsica, Spain and Australia, three events return for 2020". autosport.com. Motorsport Network. Retrieved 28 September 2019.
- "Belgium's Ypres rally off as coronavirus numbers rise". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. 30 October 2020. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
- "88th Rallye Monte-Carlo". acm.mc. Automobile Club de Monaco. Retrieved 28 September 2019.
- "Green light for Rally Sweden". rallysweden.com. Rally Sweden. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
- "The race". rallysweden.com. Rally Sweden. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
- Herrero, Daniel (15 March 2020). "Rally Mexico shortened by a day due to travel restrictions". speedcafe.com. Speedcafe. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
- "ItineraryMx20" (PDF). rallymexico.com. Rally Mexico. Retrieved 18 February 2020.
- "Appendix 1 Timetable" (PDF). rallyestonia.com. Rally Estonia. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
- "Itinerary" (PDF). rallyturkey.com. Rally of Turkey. 17 August 2020. Retrieved 2 September 2020.
- "Itinerary". rallyitaliasardegna.com. Rally Italia Sardegna. Retrieved 25 March 2020.
- "Itinerary". acirallymonza.com. Monza Rally Show. Retrieved 1 December 2020.
- "WRC Calendar". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. Retrieved 17 March 2020.
- "Events Calendar Season 2020". fia.com. Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. Retrieved 1 May 2020.
- Evans, David (29 November 2019). "WRC's 2020 Rally Chile cancelled due to political and social unrest". autosport.com. Motorsport Network. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
- "Calendar changes confirmed". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. 20 January 2020. Retrieved 20 January 2020.
- "Itinerary" (PDF). rallyargentina.com. Rally Argentina. Retrieved 17 March 2020.
- Elizalde, Pablo (25 March 2020). "WRC 2020 season hit by more rally postponements due to coronavirus". autosport.com. Motorsport Network. Retrieved 25 March 2020.
- "Programa". rallydeportugal.pt (in Portuguese). Rally de Portugal. Retrieved 25 March 2020.
- "Portugal WRC round called off". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. 30 April 2020. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
- "Rally Guide 1" (PDF). safarirally.co.ke. Safari Rally. p. Appendix I. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
- Thukral, Rachit (15 May 2020). "WRC News: Kenya's Safari Rally cancelled due to coronavirus". autosport.com. Motorsport Network. Retrieved 16 May 2020.
- "Itinerary and route map". nesterallyfinland.fi. Rally Finland. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
- "No Neste Rally Finland for 2020". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. 3 June 2020. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
- "New Zealand's 2020 WRC return off". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. 4 June 2020. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
- Craig, Jason (26 August 2020). "Rally Germany cancelled as Italian WRC round moves to avoid Imola F1 clash". autosport.com. Motorsport Network. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
- Herrero, Dan (9 June 2020). "Rally GB cancelled". speedcafe.com. Speedcafe. Retrieved 9 June 2020.
- "Rally Guide 1" (PDF). rally-japan.jp. Rally Japan. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
- Klein, Jamie (19 August 2020). "Belgium gets WRC round for the first time after Rally Japan axed". autosport.com. Motorsport Network. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
- "Belgium's Ypres Rally off as Coronavirus numbers rise". wrc.com. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
- Craig, Jason; Klein, Jamie (30 October 2020). "WRC's Ypres Rally called off amid COVID-19 restrictions". autosport.com. Motorsport Network. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
- "FIA announces World Motor Sport Council decisions". fia.com. Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. 12 October 2018. Retrieved 12 October 2018.
- Evans, David (8 April 2019). "FIA visits Japan and Kenya in next step for WRC returns in 2020". autosport.com. Motorsport Network. Retrieved 5 May 2019.
- Evans, David (2 July 2019). "Safari Rally could officially return in WRC calendar vote this week". autosport.com. Motorsport Network. Retrieved 3 July 2019.
- "Safari back in 2020". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. 27 September 2019. Retrieved 28 September 2019.
- "Three new rounds in 2020 WRC calendar". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. 27 September 2019. Retrieved 28 September 2019.
- Evans, David (16 December 2019). "Rally Chile replacement call unclear, could be made during 2020 WRC". autosport.com. Motorsport Network. Retrieved 2 January 2020.
- "WRC sets return date". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. 2 July 2020. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
- Ridge, Hal (16 June 2020). "Discussions ongoing over staging a WRC round in Latvia in 2020". autosport.com. Motorsport Network. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
- "Rally Estonia organizer: Estonian WRC round will be decided this week". err.ee. 29 June 2020. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
- "WRC's Rally Turkey finalises September date change". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. 31 July 2020. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
- "New date confirmed for Italy's 2020 FIA WRC fixture". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. 26 August 2020. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
- Evans, David (2 July 2020). "WRC reveals new calendar with Estonia restart". dirtfish.com. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
- Ridge, Hal (1 September 2020). "WRX to run alongside WRC at Spa as Belgium round moved to November". autosport.com. Motorsport Network. Retrieved 11 September 2020.
- "Belgium added to 2020 FIA World Rally Championship". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. 19 August 2020. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
- Thukral, Rachit (9 October 2020). "Monza Rally to hold final round of season for WRC". autosport.com. Motorsport Network. Retrieved 10 October 2020.
- "Rally Monza to form 2020 FIA World Rally Championship finale". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. 9 October 2020. Retrieved 9 October 2020.
- "88e Rallye Automobile Monte-Carlo Entry List" (PDF). acm.mc. Automobile Club de Monaco. 13 January 2020. Retrieved 13 January 2020.
- "Rally Sweden 2020 Entry List" (PDF). rallysweden.com. Rally Sweden. 27 January 2020. Retrieved 27 January 2020.
- "Rally Guanajuato Mexico 2020 Entry List" (PDF). rallymexico.com. Rally Mexico. 26 February 2020. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
- "Rally Estonia 2020 Entry List" (PDF). rallyestonia.com. Rally Estonia. 3 September 2020. Retrieved 6 September 2020.
- "Rally Turkey 2020 Entry List" (PDF). rallyturkey.com. Rally of Turkey. 31 August 2020. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
- "Rally Italia Sardegna 2020 Entry List". rallyitaliasardegna.com. Rally Italia Sardegna. 25 September 2020. Retrieved 28 September 2020.
- "Rally Monza 2020 Entry List". acirallymonza.com. Monza Rally Show. 26 November 2020. Retrieved 26 November 2020.
- Evans, David (20 November 2019). "Citroen ends WRC programme, cites Ogier's exit as reason". motorsport.com. Motorsport Network. Retrieved 20 November 2019.
- Evans, David (9 January 2020). "Mads Ostberg gets works-supported Citroen in WRC 2 for 2020". autosport.com. Motorsport Network. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
- "Yates bags M-Sport WRC-2 deal". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. 9 January 2020. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
- Evans, David (2 January 2020). "Citroen WRC exile Lappi joins M-Sport alongside Suninen and Greensmith". autosport.com. Motorsport Network. Retrieved 2 January 2020.
- "Tidemand signs up for WRC 2 in Sweden". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. 14 January 2020. Retrieved 18 January 2020.
- Evans, David (12 December 2019). "No works Skoda team in WRC next year, team could sign Oliver Solberg". autosport.com. Motorsport Network. Retrieved 12 December 2019.
- Coch, Mat (23 November 2019). "Volkswagen ends TCR program amid electric focus". speedcafe.com. Speedcafe. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
While development of the forthcoming TCR car has now been scrapped, the company will continue to support the Polo GTI R5, though will not run the car in a factory-backed capacity.
- Evans, David (8 October 2019). "FIA steps up plan to simplify WRC into five-tier career ladder". autosport.com. Motorsport Network. Retrieved 8 October 2019.
- "WRC 2 in Monte: Østberg takes top spot". wrc.com. WRC. 26 January 2020. Retrieved 27 January 2020.
- "Sunday in Sweden: Østberg sales WRC 2 victory". wrc.com. WRC. 16 February 2020. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
- "Saturday in Mexico: Dominant Tidemand claims WRC 2 win". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. 15 March 2020. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
- "Østberg takes the spoils in WRC 2". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. 6 September 2020. Retrieved 6 September 2020.
- "WRC 2: Tidemand takes championship lead with Turkey win". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. 20 September 2020. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
- "Tidemand extends championship lead with WRC 2 triumph". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. 11 October 2020. Retrieved 11 October 2020.
- "Østberg triumphs to secure maiden world title". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. 6 December 2020. Retrieved 7 December 2020.
- "WRC 2 standings". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. Retrieved 26 January 2020.
External links
- Official website
- FIA World Rally Championship-2 2020 at ewrc-results.com