A revised calendar will be discussed at the World Motorsport Council this week and a raft of non-WRC rounds are being considered to plug the gap for 2020.
It is no secret that the 2020 WRC season has been thrown into disarray and that innovative solutions are needed to save the season.
“We are closely working with WRC Promoter and host countries on alternative scenarios with a restart in September, to ensure that we have the best possible opportunity to complete the 2020 series,” the FIA Rally Department confirmed.
“With the information we have for the moment, we are hoping to host between four and five events before the end of the year.”
One non-WRC rally under consideration is the Ypres Rally in Belgium – an event run by Hyundai Motorsport team manager, Alain Penasse.
Its inclusion was revealed by multiple sources in Belgium, who quoted an FIA source as saying that: "Ypres is one of the options under investigation”.
The Ypres Rally currently hosts a Belgian Rally Championship round, and was to host the British Rally Championship before it was cancelled for 2020.
In the past, it was part of the European Rally Championship for many years, and featured two current specification WRC cars at the 2019 event, as part of the ‘Ypres Rally Masters’ class.
Thierry Neuville drove a Hyundai i20 R5 to victory in Ypres in 2017.
Additionally, a new date for the WRC’s Rally Italia Sardegna is expected to be confirmed shortly. The rally, held on the Mediterranean island, will feature the service park in Alghero once again.
Organisers are looking for an October date to hold the rally.
Spain’s Rally Islas Canarias has been rumoured to also be on the list. The event is the final round of the European Rally Championship and was again rescheduled last week, being brought forward a week to November 26-28.
Argentina, Turkey, German and Japan are the other remaining rounds of the 2020 WRC calendar which have not been run or formally cancelled.
Further details are expected after the FIA Motorsport Council meeting on June 19.
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