Renties Ypres Rally is set to host the final round of the 2020 WRC season on 19-22 November, becoming the 34th country to host a rally since the start in 1973 as it replaces the cancelled Rally Japan.
The tarmac event, which usually takes place in June but has been moved due the COVID-19 pandemic, will feature a variety of different stages including a final day of action based at Spa-Francorchamps, with a part of the actual circuit being used as the rally ending powerstage.
Rally Japan had been set to return to the championship at the end of 2020, but ongoing border restrictions in the country has prevented the event from going ahead.
“It was a great honour to receive that request and we got to work straight away,” Jan Huyghe, board member of Club Superstage, explained after finally confirming the news of Belgium’s addition to the championship.
“We have adapted the Legs on Friday and Saturday with well-known special stages in Ypres to the format and timing of the World Championship. Each loop will feature five stages and will be completed twice. On the final day of the rally, we will visit another icon of Belgian motorsport, the Spa-Francorchamps circuit, with its mythical Raidillon section.” Huyhge said and continued to talk about the Sunday’s stages;
“The final day will feature two special stages in the vicinity of the circuit, in Ster and Malmedy, and a special stage using the F1 circuit. That stage will also be used as PowerStage. In total, the Renties Ypres Rally Belgium will present stages of approximately 300 km against the clock.“
“As we are now organising the rally in November, several stages will be completed in the dark, thus reconnecting this event with the glorious past of the Ypres Rally. We are going to concentrate on the WRC event. The Ypres Rally Masters and the Ypres Historic Rally will not be organised this year. “
“It is an honour for Belgium to welcome a round of the FIA World Rally Championship,” François Cornelis, President of the Royal Automobile Club of Belgium, added.
“Motorsport is very popular in Belgium and with Thierry Neuville and Stoffel Vandoorne we have drivers at the highest echelon in international motorsport. After Formula 1, the WEC and World RX, the FIA WRC is now also coming to our country, more specifically to the Renties Ypres Rally Belgium, and we are very proud of that. “
The 2020 FIA World Rally Championship will finally return between August 4-6 with Rally Estonia.
| Round | Rally | Date |
| 1. | Monte-Carlo | 23 – 26 January |
| 2. | Sweden | 13 – 16 February |
| 3. | Mexico | 12 – 15 March |
| 4. | Estonia | 4 – 6 September |
| 5. | Turkey | 18 – 20 September |
| 6. | Germany | 15 – 18 October |
| 7. | Italy | 29 October – 1 November |
| 8. | Belgium | 19 – 22 November |
