The 2020 Rally Italia Sardegna (also known as the Rally Italia Sardegna 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 be held over four days between 4 and 7 June 2020, but had to be postponed 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 ...

. The event was reset to hold between 8 and 11 October 2020 following the cancellation of 2020 Rallye Deutschland. It marked the seventeenth running of

Rally Italia Sardegna The Rally Italia Sardegna (until 2010 Rally d'Italia Sardegna) is a Rallying, rally competition in Sardinia, Italy, which has been a round of the World Rally Championship (WRC) schedule and also the Intercontinental Rally Challenge (IRC). Chara ...

and was the seventh 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 ...

and

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 set to be the third 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 2020 event was based in

Alghero Alghero (; ca, label= Alguerese, L'Alguer ; sc, S'Alighèra ; sdc, L'Aliera ) is a city of about 45,000 inhabitants in the Italian insular province of Sassari in northwestern Sardinia, next to the Mediterranean Sea. The city's name comes from ...

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label=Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label=Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after ...

and consisted of sixteen special stages. The rally covered a total competitive distance of .

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 ...

were the defending rally winners. Their team, Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT, were the manufacturers' winners.

Kalle Rovanperä Kalle Rovanperä (; born 1 October 2000 in Jyväskylä) is a Finnish professional rally driver, who competes in the World Rally Championship for Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT, alongside co-driver Jonne Halttunen. He is the reigning World Champion. As t ...

and

Jonne Halttunen Jonne Halttunen (born 13 December 1985) is a Finnish rally co-driver. Currently, he is the co-driver of Kalle Rovanperä, driving the Toyota GR Yaris Rally1. Previously, they represented Škoda Motorsport to participate in the World Rally Champio ...

were the defending winners in the World Rally Championship-2 category, but they would not defend their titles as they were promoted to the higher class. In the

category,

Pierre-Louis Loubet Pierre-Louis Loubet (born 18 February 1997) is a French rally driver. He is the 2019 World Rally Championship 2 Champion. He is the son of the 1989 European Rally Champion Yves Loubet. Career Early career Loubet started karting at 7 yea ...

and

Vincent Landais Vincent Landais (born 17 October 1991) is a French rally co-driver. He is the co-driver of the French rally driver Sébastien Ogier, racing for Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT in the World Rally Championship. Rally career Landais and Loubet started in 2 ...

were the reigning rally winners, but they would not defend their titles neither as they were promoted to the sport's top category.

Jan Solans Jan Solans Baldó (born 25 December 1997) is a Spanish rally driver. He won the 2019 Junior World Rally Championship, Spanish champion of Group N in 2016, champion of two-wheel drive and Group R2 in the Spanish Rally Championship Gravel in 201 ...

and

Mauro Barreiro Mauro may refer to: Given name * Mauro (footballer, born 1932), Brazilian footballer * Mauro Silva (footballer, born 1978), Brazilian footballer * Mauro (footballer, born 1984), Portuguese footballer * Bruno Mauro (born 1973), Angolan footballer * ...

were the defending winners in the

. Sordo and del Barrio successfully defended their titles, winning their third career victory. Their team, Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT, were the manufacturers' winners.

Pontus Tidemand Pontus Johan Tidemand (born 10 December 1990) is a Swedish rally and rallycross driver. He is the 2017 WRC-2 champion and a previous M-Sport and Škoda Motorsport driver. Pontus is the son of Swedish rally driver Tomas Tidemand and ex-rally c ...

and Patrick Barth were the winners in the WRC-2 category.

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 ...

were the 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.

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 an eighteen-point lead over six-time world champions

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, ...

. Reigning world champions

Ott Tänak Ott Tänak (; born 15 October 1987) is an Estonian rally driver and the 2019 World Rally Champion. He is currently teamed with Martin Järveoja and is competing for Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT. Tänak achieved his maiden drivers' world title in t ...

and

Martin Järveoja Martin Järveoja (; born 18 August 1987) is an Estonian rally co-driver. He is currently teamed with Ott Tänak and is competing for Hyundai in the World Rally Championship. Rally career He is the son of Estonian politician Toomas Järveoja, an ...

were third, a further nine points behind. In the World Rally Championship for Manufacturers,

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 ...

held a nine-point lead over defending manufacturers' champions Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT, 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,

and Patrick Barth held a five-point lead ahead of

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 ...

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,

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 ...

led

by nineteen points. Hyundai Motorsport N sat in third, a slender four 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 World Rally Championship-2, WRC-2 category. His younger brother Bruno is a rally driver also. Rally c ...

led

by twelve 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

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 ...

held 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

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 ...

by eight points.

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 ...

were third, eleven 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 a thirteen-point lead over

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 ...

, with

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

in third.

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. Sixty-four entries were received, with thirteen crews entered in

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 ...

, six Group R5 cars entered in the World Rally Championship-2 and fifteen in the World Rally Championship-3. A further eight crews were 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

Itinerary

All dates and times are

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

and

were the crew who set the benchmark, while a

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 ...

issue created a back foot for

and

retired from the rally when they crashed out in the morning loop of the second leg. Sordo and del Barrio eventually won the rally for the second straight year. There was an epic battle for the runner-up spot between the crew of

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.

and Sebastien Ogier and

, with Neuville and Gilsoul ultimately came out on top.

Classification

Special stages

Championship standings

World Rally Championship-2

A trouble-free run assured championship leaders

and Patrik Barth to win the rally.

and

were pushing hard to catch the lead until they suffered a mechanical issue.

Classification

Special stages

Championship standings

World Rally Championship-3

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

led the class after the first leg. However, they picked up a

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 ...

on Saturday morning, which dropped them back to third. Despite reclaiming the lead after SS11, they went off the road during the final stage of the day, handing the lead back to

and

. Huttunen and Lukka's lead was threatened by

and

Maciej Szczepaniak Maciej Szczepaniak, born 16 December 1973 in Wałbrzych, is a Polish rally co-driver. In 2021 he became the WRC3 Co-Driver Champion as regular accomplice to driver Kajetan Kajetanowicz, who was himself beaten to the driver's championship title ...

until the Polish crew picked up a

during the second to last stage.

Classification

Special stages

Championship standings

Junior World Rally Championship

Steered out of dramas,

and

held a comfortable lead going onto Saturday. The Swedish crew stayed cool on Saturday, holding a huge gap of over eight minutes onto Sunday. Eventually, they won the rally to close the gap to championship leaders.

Classification

Special stages

Championship standings

Notes

References

External links

*
2020 Rally Italia Sardegna
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 Italia, 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

October 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- ...