The 2020 Rally Monza (also known as ACI Rally Monza 2020) was a

motor racing Motorsport, motorsports or motor sport is a global term used to encompass the group of competitive sporting events which primarily involve the use of motorized vehicles. The terminology can also be used to describe forms of competition of two ...

event for

rally cars Rally or rallye may refer to: Gatherings * Demonstration (political), a political rally, a political demonstration of support or protest, march, or parade * Pep rally, an event held at a United States school or college sporting event Sports ...

that was scheduled to hold between 3 to 6 December 2020. It marked the forty-first running of

Monza Rally Show The Monza Rally Show (previously known as Rally di Monza or Rally dell'Autodromo) is a motoring event that has been held since 1978 at the Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, where rally and track racing experts compete, as well as protagonists of the ...

and was the final round of the 2020 World Rally Championship,

World Rally Championship-2 The FIA WRC2 (previously also known as World Rally Championship 2 and WRC 2), is a support championship of the World Rally Championship. The calendar consists of the same rallies and stages as the main class and crews usually compete immediately ...

World Rally Championship-3 The FIA WRC3 is a support championship of the World Rally Championship. The calendar consists of the same rallies and stages as the parent series and crews usually compete immediately after WRC2 entrants. Entry into WRC3 is limited to cars tha ...

. It was also the final round of the

Junior World Rally Championship The FIA Junior WRC, also known as JWRC and previously known as Junior World Rally Championship, is an international rallying competition restricted to drivers under 29 years old. The championship currently consists of five select rallies of th ...

. The event was based in the famous

Autodromo Nazionale di Monza The Monza Circuit ( it, Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, , National Automobile Racetrack of Monza) is a race track near the city of Monza, north of Milan, in Italy. Built in 1922, it was the world's third purpose-built motor racing circuit after ...

circuit near

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

, where the

Italian Grand Prix The Italian Grand Prix ( it, Gran Premio d'Italia) is the fifth oldest national Grand Prix motor racing, Grand Prix (after the French Grand Prix, the United States Grand Prix, the Spanish Grand Prix and the Russian Grand Prix), having been he ...

is held. The rally covered a total competitive distance of .

Sébastien Ogier Sébastien Ogier (born 17 December 1983) is a French rally driver, competing for the Toyota Gazoo Racing Team in the World Rally Championship (WRC), who is teamed with the co-driver Julien Ingrassia. He has won the World Rally Drivers' Champions ...

and

Julien Ingrassia Julien Ingrassia (born 26 November 1979) is a retired French rally co-driver. Working with Sébastien Ogier, he became World Rally Champion in 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2016 with Volkswagen Motorsport, 2017 and 2018 with M-Sport World Rally Team, ...

won the rally. Their team,

Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT is a World Rally Championship (WRC) team based in Finland that serves as Toyota's official factory team. Its team principal is former WRC driver Jari-Matti Latvala. The team made its début during the 2017 season, where i ...

, were the manufacturers' rally winners.

Mads Østberg Mads Østberg (born 11 October 1987) is a Norwegian rally driver. His co-driver is Torstein Eriksen. Career Østberg competed in his first rally in 2004. His first World Rally Championship event was the 2006 Swedish Rally, in which he finished ...

and

Torstein Eriksen Torstein Eriksen (born 29 April 1990) is a rallying co-driver from Norway. He is currently teamed with Andreas Mikkelsen and is competing for Toksport WRT in the World Rally Championship-2. Rally career Torstein Eriksen began his Rallying, rall ...

were the winners in the WRC-2 category.

Andreas Mikkelsen Andreas Mikkelsen (born 22 June 1989) is a Norwegian rally driver. He is currently competing in the World Rally Championship-2 for Toksport World Rally Team. He previously drove for the factory teams of Volkswagen, Citroën and Hyundai in the Wor ...

and Anders Jæger-Amland winners in the WRC-3 category.

Tom Kristensson Tom Krister Kristensson (born 30 April 1991) is a Swedish rally driver, who drives in the Junior World Rally Championship. He is originally from Lund, but now lives in Hörby. In 2016 and 2017, Kristensson competed in the ADAC Opel Rallye Cup ...

and

Henrik Appelskog Henrik is a male given name of Germanic origin, primarily used in Scandinavia, Estonia, Hungary and Slovenia. In Poland, the name is spelt Henryk but pronounced similarly. Equivalents in other languages are Henry (English), Heiki (Estonian), Heikk ...

won the junior class. Ogier and Ingrassia won their seventh world titles, while Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT secured their second consecutive manufacturers' titles. Østberg and Eriksen won the WRC-2 championship, while

Toksport WRT Toksport World Rally Team is a motorsport preparation and race team based at the Nürburgring in Quiddelbach, Germany. The team has prepared cars for, and entered events in 26 motorsports championship around the globe and has won notable FIA ch ...

claimed the teams' titles.

Jari Huttunen Jari Huttunen (born 28 February 1994) is a Finnish rally driver from Kiuruvesi. He currently competes in the World Rally Championship-2, the premier support category of the World Rally Championship, for M-Sport Ford World Rally Team. He gained n ...

and

Mikko Lukka Mikko Lukka (born 25 May 1974) is a Finnish rally co-driver. He is the co-driver of compatriot Jari Huttunen Jari Huttunen (born 28 February 1994) is a Finnish rally driver from Kiuruvesi. He currently competes in the World Rally Championship ...

became WRC-3 crowned champions. Kristensson and Appelskog sealed junior world titles.

Background

Championship standings prior to the event

Elfyn Evans Elfyn Rhys Evans (born 28 December 1988) is a Welsh rally driver. He is currently teamed with Scott Martin and is competing for Toyota Gazoo Racing in the World Rally Championship. Career The son of 1996 British Rally Championship Champion ...

and Scott Martin entered the round with a fourteen-point lead over six-time world champions

and

Thierry Neuville Thierry Jean Neuville (born 16 June 1988) is a Belgian rally driver who is competing in the World Rally Championship for Hyundai Motorsport. During his career, he has finished as runner-up in the drivers' championship five times (2013, 2016–201 ...

and

Nicolas Gilsoul Nicolas Gilsoul (born 5 February 1982) is a Belgian rally co-driver. He is the former co-driver for Thierry Neuville.

are third, a further ten points behind. In the World Rally Championship for Manufacturers, defending manufacturers' champions Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT held a seven-point lead over

, following by

M-Sport Ford WRT The M-Sport Ford World Rally Team (formerly M-Sport World Rally Team, Qatar M-Sport World Rally Team and Stobart M-Sport Ford Rally Team) is the privately run World Rally Championship team of M-Sport, the firm run by Malcolm Wilson that was previ ...

. In the World Rally Championship-2 standings,

Pontus Tidemand Pontus Johan Tidemand (born 10 December 1990) is a Swedish Rallying, rally and Rallycross, rallycross driver. He is the 2017 WRC-2 champion and a previous M-Sport World Rally Team, M-Sport and Škoda Motorsport driver. Pontus is the son of Swedi ...

and Patrick Barth held an eighteen-point lead ahead of

and

in the drivers' and co-drivers' standings respectively, with

Adrien Fourmaux Adrien Fourmaux (born 3 May 1995) is a French rally driver. Currently, He drives for M-Sport Ford in the WRC-RC1 category. Rally career After winning the Junior category of the 2018 French Rally Championship, Adrien Fourmaux made his WRC deb ...

and

Renaud Jamoul Renaud Jamoul (born 10 June 1984) is a Belgian rallying co-driver. He partnered with Adrien Fourmaux for M-Sport Ford World Rally Team in the World Rally Championship and World Rally Championship-2 categories in 2019-2021. Mid 2021, he was repla ...

in third. In the manufacturer' championship,

led Hyundai Motorsport N by forty-five points.

sit in third, a further fourteen points behind. In the World Rally Championship-3 standings,

Marco Bulacia Wilkinson Marco Bulacia Wilkinson (born 27 September 2000) is a Bolivian rally driver. He currently partners with co-driver Marcelo Der Ohannesian in the WRC-2 category. His younger brother Bruno is a rally driver also. Rally career Bulacia Wilkinson made ...

led

by two points in the drivers' standing, with

Kajetan Kajetanowicz Kajetan Kajetanowicz (born 5 March 1979) is a Polish rally driver. Titles He is a Four time Poland Rally Champion (2010 2011, 2012, 2013). In 2012 he became champion in the Central European Zone Rally Championship. He also became the ERC ...

in third. The co-drivers' standing was led by

Maciek Szczepaniak Maciej (Polish pronunciation: ) is a Polish given name, the etymological equivalent of Matthias. Its diminutive forms are Maciek, Maciuś. Namedays according to Polish calendar: 30 January, 24 February, 14 May Maciej may refer to: Arts and en ...

and

Marcelo Der Ohannesian Marcelo is a given name, the Spanish and Portuguese form of Marcellus. The Italian version of the name is Marcello, differing in having an additional "l". Marcelo may refer to: * Marcelo Costa de Andrade (born 1967), Brazilian serial killer, rapi ...

hold second and third respectively. In the Junior championship,

Mārtiņš Sesks Mārtiņš is a Latvian masculine given name. It is a cognate of the name Martin. Mārtiņš may refer to: * Mārtiņš, ancient Latvian deity * Mārtiņš Antons (1888–1941), Latvian lawyer and politician *Mārtiņš Bondars (born 1971), La ...

and Renars Francis led

and

Joakim Sjöberg Joakim or Joacim is a male given name primarily used in Scandinavian languages and Finnish. It is derived from a transliteration of the Hebrew יהוֹיָקִים, and literally means "lifted by Jehovah". In the Old Testament, Jehoiakim was ...

by eight points.

Sami Pajari Sami Pajari (born 1 December 2001) is a Finnish rally driver. He won the Junior World Rally Championship in 2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myan ...

and

Marko Salminen Marko Salminen (born 10 October 1978) is a Finnish rally co-driver. He is currently competing in the Junior World Rally Championship as the co-driver of Sami Pajari and in the Finnish Rally Championship alongside Teemu Asunmaa. Rally career Ma ...

were third, four points further back. In the Nations' championships,

Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

held an eight-point lead over

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

, with

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

in third.

Schedule changes and event inclusion

The event was included in the 2020 World Rally Championship as the final round of the season due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

Entry list

The following crews entered into the rally. The event was open to crews competing in the World Rally Championship, its support categories, the World Rally Championship-2, World Rally Championship-3, and Junior World Rally Championship and

privateer A privateer is a private person or ship that engages in maritime warfare under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign or deleg ...

entries that were not registered to score points in any championship. Ninety-five entries were received, with eleven crews entered

World Rally Cars A World Rally Car is a racing automobile built to the specific regulations set by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) and designed for competition in the World Rally Championship (WRC). The cars were introduced in 1997 as a repl ...

, four Group R5 cars entered in the World Rally Championship-2 and thirteen in the World Rally Championship-3. A further six crews entered in the Junior World Rally Championship in

Ford Fiesta R2 The Ford Fiesta Rally4 is a rally car developed and built by M-Sport to Group Rally4 regulations and designed for competition in the fourth tier of the Rally Pyramid. It is based upon the Ford Fiesta road car and is the updated version of the Ford ...

Route

The first and last day of action, including the

Power Stage The Power Stage (abbreviated as PS) is a special stage that usually runs as the final stage of a rally in the World Rally Championship (WRC). Additional championship points are available to the fastest five crews through the stage regardless of ...

, followed

to take place in stages inside the

, while the second leg was focused on public stages north of

Bergamo Bergamo (; lmo, Bèrghem ; from the proto- Germanic elements *''berg +*heim'', the "mountain home") is a city in the alpine Lombardy region of northern Italy, approximately northeast of Milan, and about from Switzerland, the alpine lakes Como ...

in the foothills of the

Alps The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Sw ...

Itinerary

All dates and times were

CEST CEST or cest may refer to: * Central European Summer Time (UTC+2), daylight saving time observed in the central European time zone * Cognitive-Experiential Self-Theory * Chemical Exchange Saturation Transfer, a subset of Magnetization transfer in ...

(

UTC+2 UTC+02:00 is an identifier for a time offset from UTC of +02:00. In ISO 8601, the associated time would be written as 2020-11-08T23:41:45+02:00. This time is used in: As standard time (year-round) ''Principal cities: Cairo, Pretoria, Cape ...

Report

World Rally Cars

Dani Sordo Daniel "Dani" Sordo Castillo (born 2 May 1983) is a Spanish rally driver. He competes in the World Rally Championship for Hyundai Motorsport. He achieved his first WRC victory at the 2013 Rallye Deutschland. Career Sordo began in motocross whe ...

and

Carlos del Barrio Carlos del Barrio (born 15 August 1968) is a Spanish rally co-driver. He is currently teamed with Dani Sordo and is competing for Hyundai in the World Rally Championship. Rally career Carlos del Barrio began his rally career in 1991, co-driving ...

held a narrow lead going onto Saturday, despite a ten-second time penalty for cutting a

chicane A chicane () is a serpentine curve in a road, added by design rather than dictated by geography. Chicanes add extra turns and are used both in motor racing and on roads and streets to slow traffic for safety. For example, one form of chicane is ...

. Teammate

and

Nicolas Gilsoul Nicolas Gilsoul (born 5 February 1982) is a Belgian rally co-driver. He is the former co-driver for Thierry Neuville.

's title hope was washed away as their i20 was drawn out when the engine expired in heavy standing water after damaging their right-front

suspension Suspension or suspended may refer to: Science and engineering * Suspension (topology), in mathematics * Suspension (dynamical systems), in mathematics * Suspension of a ring, in mathematics * Suspension (chemistry), small solid particles suspend ...

Teemu Suninen Teemu Suninen (born February 1, 1994) is a Finnish rally driver. Suninen was driving for Malcolm Wilson's M-Sport WRT in WRC between 2017 and 2021. His manager is Timo Jouhki. Rally career Suninen won the WRC-3 class in the 2014 Rally Finl ...

and

Jarmo Lehtinen Jarmo Lehtinen (born 3 January 1969) is a rally co-driver from Finland. He was the co-driver to former World Rally Championship driver Mikko Hirvonen and have scored 15 WRC wins competing under Ford World Rally Team and Citroën Total. As of 2 ...

retired from the rally because of an unfixable misfiring engine. Championship situation was shifted on Saturday as

and Scott Martin went off road in the afternoon loop. Other major retirements of the day included

Gus Greensmith Fergus "Gus" Greensmith (born 26 December 1996) is a British rally driver. Rally career Greensmith's family owns fuel and lubricants distributor Crown Oil. A former youth goalkeeper for Manchester City F.C. and karter before moving into the r ...

and

Elliott Edmondson Elliott Edmondson (born 29 August 1994) is a British rally co-driver. Currently, he is the co-driver of Oliver Solberg for Hyundai Motorsport in the World Rally Championship The World Rally Championship (abbreviated as WRC) is the highest l ...

, and

Ole Christian Veiby Ole Christian Veiby is a professional rally driver from Norway driving for Hyundai Motorsport in the WRC-2 category of the World Rally Championship The World Rally Championship (abbreviated as WRC) is the highest level of global competition ...

and Jonas Andersson. Eventually,

and

won the event, which was enough to overhaul their teammate Evans and Martin to snatch their seventh world titles.

Classification

Special stages

Championship standings

*Bold text indicates 2020 World Champions.

World Rally Championship-2

and

led the category, but a right-rear

puncture Puncture, punctured or puncturing may refer to: * a flat tyre in British English (US English "flat tire" or just "flat") * a penetrating wound caused by pointy objects as nails or needles * Lumbar puncture, also known as a spinal tap * Puncture ...

lost their lead to

and Patrik Barth.

and

turned the tables to their favour on Saturday. The Norwegian crew eventually won the class to seal the WRC-2 titles.

Classification

Special stages

Championship standings

*Bold text indicates 2020 World Champions.

World Rally Championship-3

and Anders Jæger-Amland avoided any drama to lead the class. The Norwegian crew ran as high as third in the overall standings. However, their lead was narrowed by

Oliver Solberg Oliver Solberg (born 23 September 2001) is a Sweden, Swedish-Norway, Norwegian rally (sports), rally driver. He is the son of the 2003 World Rally Championship, 2003 List of World Rally Championship Drivers' champions, World Rally Champion, Pett ...

and

Aaron Johnston Aaron Johnston is an American author, comics writer, and film producer. Johnston was an associate producer on the movie ''Ender's Game'', including a cameo appearance as an International Fleet officer. He co-authored with Orson Scott Card the Fi ...

by the end of the second leg. Mikkelsen and Jæger-Amland refused to give their lead away and eventually won the category.

and

became WRC-3 crowned champions.

Classification

Special stages

Championship standings

*Bold text indicates 2020 World Champions.

Junior World Rally Championship

and

comfortably led the class, while their title rivals

and Renars Francis, and

and

both in trouble. Championship leader Sesks and Francis' rally went even worse when they crashed out on Saturday. Kristensson and Sjöberg comfortably brought the car home to put the victory in their pockets, and with that, junior world titles in hands.

Classification

Special stages

Championship standings

*Bold text indicates 2020 World Champions.

Notes

References

External links

*
2020 Rally Monza
at ewrc-results.com * Th
official website
of the

World Rally Championship The World Rally Championship (abbreviated as WRC) is the highest level of global competition in the motorsport discipline of rallying, owned and governed by the FIA. There are separate championships for drivers, co-drivers, manufacturers and t ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rally Monza, 2020

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

2020 in Italian motorsport December 2020 sports events in Italy

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...