The FIA and WRC Promoter GmbH have revealed a new update to the current situation of the championship, with Rally Argentina now confirmed to be not able to run until at least October.
The fourth round of the series was postponed following the COVID-19 outbreak earlier this month with government restrictions in the country now meaning the event won’t go ahead until late in 2020, if indeed at all.
The update also revealed details of the upcoming rounds in the championship – Rally’s Portugal, Italy and the returning Safari Rally, with all three still “being planned”.
The scheduled next round in Portugal does however note the state of emergency currently in the country with an update on the situation to be released between April 3-8 by the government in the country.
Italy, planned to be visited by the WRC in early June, is one of the most badly affected countries by the pandemic and the rally organisers are waiting for a government announcement on March 25 to further assess the situation.
Kenya’s return meanwhile depends on a decision in the country after the current 30 day border restrictions runs out – currently it doesn’t permit any foreigners into the country.
A statement from the WRC Promoters GmbH read:
“Our goal is to now continue to monitor as best as we can with the evolving situation around the pandemic and the Government restrictions. No decisions on event dates will be made before updates on the respective emergency status are available.”
“We remain committed to continuing with as many rallies as we can either on their current date , or where possible , a rescheduled date . A WRC event can be a difficult event to change given the many logistical, environmental , road/forest access and even weather conditions , but all efforts will be made to run as many events as possible.”
“There is a duty of care to all stakeholders including fans, drivers, teams, media , suppliers and others to protect not only ourselves but also the wider community , and this remains our key focus. We plan to provide a regular update to keep you as informed as we can.”
COVID-19 also affected Rally Mexico last weekend after the organisers took the decision to end the event early to enable the people working in the championship to get home quicker with border restrictions around the world coming into force.
