The FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) has dropped Rally Chile from the 2020 calendar, while the date for Rally Argentina has been altered.
Due to the ongoing political unrest in Chile, the organisers requested WRC promoters to cancel the 2020 event, which was to take place on April 16-19. Their request has been taken into consideration, with the FIA undertaking an e-vote to decide its future.
The members in the World Motor Sport Council subsequently took an e-vote and confirmed the cancellation of Rally Chile – a gravel fixture – on the 2020 calendar. There will be no replacement as the WRC calendar will be trimmed down to 13 events now.
There has been a further change with Rally Argentina being brought forward by a week, which will take place on April 23-26 in Villa Carlos Paz. This will help in better transport of equipment from South America to Africa, in time for Safari Rally on July 16-19.
Chile was also to host the Junior WRC round but it has been shifted to Wales Rally GB now, where double points will be awarded. The South American country hosted the Formula E round in Santiago last weekend but it is unlikely to feature on 2020/21 calendar.
The 2020 WRC season kicks-off this weekend in the snow-capped Monte Carlo, which will be followed by Sweden in February. From there, it will move to South America in March-April, which will now only feature Mexico and Argentina.
The dates for the revised 2020 WRC calendar goes:
| Round | Rally | Date |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Monte-Carlo | 23 – 26 January |
| 2. | Sweden | 13 – 16 February |
| 3. | Mexico | 12 – 15 March |
| 4. | Argentina | 23 – 26 April |
| 5. | Portugal | 21 – 24 May |
| 6. | Italy | 4 – 7 June |
| 7. | Kenya | 16 – 19 July |
| 8. | Finland | 6 – 9 August |
| 9. | New Zealand | 3 – 6 September |
| 10. | Turkey | 24 – 27 September |
| 11. | Germany | 15 – 18 October |
| 12. | Great Britain | 29 October – 1 November |
| 13. | Japan | 19 – 22 November |
Here’s the Hyundai 2020 WRC car
Here’s the Toyota 2020 WRC car
Here’s the M-Sport 2020 WRC car
