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wrc-–-2020-rally-estonia-preview

The FIA World Rally Championship season makes its eagerly awaited resumption at Rally Estonia (4-6 September), a set-new addition to a reshuffled 2020 calendar.

2019 Rally Estonia - C. Breen/P. Nagle (photo Jaanus Ree)

Larger than 5 months after round three in Mexico, the WRC will restart in step with the info characteristic by the FIA for the return of motor sport as well to the necessities of the Estonian authorities within the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. The strict protocol contains needed pre-checking out for teams, media and officials, the utilization of face masks, social distancing, the introduction of groups to minimise the likelihood of any imaginable spread and a managed change of spectators on the rally route in step with the restrictions for mass gatherings. 

While it is new to the World Championship, Rally Estonia has bustle successfully since 2010 when the country’s first WRC tournament-winner Markko Märtin acquired the inaugural edition. Between 2014 and 2016, it became fragment of the FIA European Rally Championship and in 2019, it became hosted as a WRC Promotional Tournament with the total manufacturer teams and several of the main drivers taking part. The stages in Estonia are same in nature to those in nearby Finland, especially when it comes to tempo and characteristic a at ease gravel ground.

Frenchman Sébastien Ogier leads the drivers’ championship by eight aspects over Toyota team-mate Elfyn Evans from Huge Britain after their respective victories in Mexico and Sweden firstly put of the yr, whereas 19-yr-old fashioned Finn Kalle Rovanperä is fourth within the standings in his rookie season in a World Rally Vehicle – a particular launch up for all three drivers with their new squad.

Hyundai driver Thierry Neuville from Belgium is third within the standings, 20 aspects within the aid of Ogier, but the centre of consideration in Estonia will most definitely be his team-mate Ott Tänak, with the reigning World Champion getting the possibility to shine on residence ground within the WRC for the principle time. Irishman Craig Breen makes his second launch up of the season within the third manufacturing unit Hyundai.

Finnish pair Esapekka Lappi and Teemu Suninen will most definitely be competing shut to residence for the M-Sport Ford team, joined as soon as extra by Brit Gus Greensmith within the third Fiesta WRC. Toyota fields a fourth Yaris for Eastern protege Takamoto Katsuta, whereas a fourth Hyundai i20 WRC lines up within the arms of Pierre-Louis Loubet: the reigning FIA WRC2 champion from France will create his debut at the sport’s top level alongside with the Hyundai 2C Rivals team.

The return of the WRC has attracted the greatest entry of the yr to this level across the WRC2 and WRC3 classes for Rally2 machinery, with a blended 28 crews characteristic to take dangle of part.

In WRC2, championship chief Mads Østberg (Norway) in a PH Sport Citroën takes on the Hyundai pair of Nikolay Gryazin (Russia) and Ole Christian Veiby (Norway), M-Sport Ford driver Adrien Fourmaux (France) and Toksport WRT adds a second Škoda Fabia for Eyvind Brynildsen (Norway) alongside Mexico winner Pontus Tidemand (Sweden).

In WRC3, Jari Huttunen (Finland) and Marco Bulacia (Bolivia) – every winners firstly up of 2020 – head the very finest WRC3 entry, where Oliver Solberg (Norway) will most definitely be among these to glance following his recent FIA European championship victory within the neighbouring Latvia.

Spherical two of the FIA Junior WRC takes effort in Estonia with Tom Kristensson from Sweden main the field of 12 drivers entered.

THE 2020 ROUTE

Rally Estonia will bustle below a compact layout, with the opening stage on Friday evening in Tartu subsequent to the Service Park at the Raadi airfield. Over half of of the rally’s 232.64 aggressive kilometres will most definitely be covered on Saturday. Prangli, the longest stage of the tournament at 20.23km, opens a loop of 5 stages which can be bustle for a second time following the mid-day provider. Sunday aspects a trio of checks, all bustle twice, ending with the Maaritsa Vitality Stage.

MEDIA ACCREDITATION

Media accreditation and attendance is precisely managed with modified terms below COVID-19 guidelines. Media applications wants to be serene in my conception by licensed Pass Holders at the Accreditation Desk situated at the Media Middle within the Estonian National Museum (Eesti Rahva Muuseum, Muuseumi tee 2, 60532 Tartu, Estonia. GPS coordinates: N 58° 23.743 E 026° 44.757)

The opening hours are:

Wednesday 2 September: 14: 00 – 21: 00 hrs

Thursday 3 September: 08: 00 – 21: 00 hrs

Friday 4 September: 08: 00 – 21: 00 hrs

2020 WRC RALLY ESTONIA TIMETABLE AND MEDIA OPPORTUNITIES

Thursday 3 September   
Valuable media security briefing, Photographers’ Room, Media Middle 18: 00 hrs
   
Friday 4 September  
Valuable Shakedown for P1, P2 and invited drivers, SD Abissaare 09: 00 – 11: 00 hrs
Shakedown P1, P2, P3 and P4 drivers, SD Abissaare 11: 00 – 13: 00 hrs
Shakedown for others, SD Abissaare 13: 00 – 15: 00 hrs
FIA Press Conference, accessible via Zoom name (info TBC) 14: 15 hrs
– P4 drivers 14: 15
– P2 & P3 drivers 14: 25
– P1 Toyota Gazoo Racing drivers 14: 35
– P1 Hyundai Shell Mobis drivers 14: 45
– P1 M-Sport Ford drivers 14: 55
Ceremonial launch up, Podium, Raadi 18: 00 hrs
   
Saturday 5 September  
Starting up of Half 2, Parc Fermé, Raadi 06: 33 hrs
First car arrives for regroup, media zone & provider, Raadi 12: 24 hrs
First car arrives for media zone & flexi provider, Raadi 19: 24 hrs
   
Sunday 6 September  
Starting up of Half 4, Parc Fermé, Raadi 06: 02 hrs
First car arrives for regroup and technical zone after Kambja 1 10: 00hrs
First car arrives for regroup and technical zone after Kaagvere 2 12: 04 hrs
Rally Attain, Podium Ceremony & Mark Giving, Raadi 15: 30 hrs
FIA Press Conference, accessible via Zoom name (info TBC) 16: 30 hrs

FIA PRESS CONFERENCE ATTENDANCE

Friday 4 September FIA JUNIOR WRC
  Ken Torn (EST)
  Martin Sesks (LVA)
  FIA WRC3
  Jari Huttunen (FIN)
  Karl Kruuda (EST)
  FIA WRC2
  Mads Østberg (NOR), PH Sport
  Nicolay Gryazin (RUS), Hyundai Motorsport N
  FIA WRC
  Toyota Gazoo Racing – S. Ogier (FRA), E. Evans (GBR), K. Rovanperä (FIN)
  Hyundai Shell Mobis – T. Neuville (BEL), O. Tänak & M. Järveoja (EST), C. Breen (IRL)
  M-Sport Ford – T. Suninen (FIN), E. Lappi (FIN), G. Greensmith (GBR)
   
Sunday 6 September Winning FIA JWRC Championship crew
  Winning FIA WRC2 Championship crew
  Winning FIA WRC3 Championship crew
  Top three crews within the total classification
  Representative of the a hit manufacturer

MANUFACTURER WRC ENTRIES, 2020 WRC RALLY ESTONIA

Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Sébastien Ogier / Julien Ingrassia (#17)
  Elfyn Evans / Scott Martin (#33)
  Kalle Rovanperä / Jonne Halttunen (#69)
   
Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT Thierry Neuville / Nicolas Gilsoul (#11)
  Ott Tänak / Martin Järveoja (#8)
  Craig Breen / Paul Nagle (#42)
   
M-Sport Ford WRT Teemu Suninen / Jarmo Lehtinen (#3)
  Esapekka Lappi / Janne Ferm (#4)
  Gus Greensmith / Elliott Edmonson (#44)

2020 FIA WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP CLASSIFICATIONS

The provisional classifications in your total WRC Championships is equipped on the next hyperlink:
https://www.fia.com/events/world-rally-championship/season-2020/standings


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