The 2020 Rally Sweden (also known as the Rally Sweden 2020) () was a motor racing event for rally cars that was held over four days between 13 and 16 February 2020. It marked the sixty-eighth running of Rally Sweden and was the second round of the 2020 World Rally Championship, World Rally Championship-2 and World Rally Championship-3. It was also the first round of the Junior World Rally Championship. The 2020 event was based in the town of Torsby in Värmland County and consists of eleven special stages. The rally was scheduled to cover a total competitive distance of , but was shortened to due to a lack of snow.
Ott Tänak and Martin Järveoja were the defending rally winners. Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT, the team they drove for in 2019, were the defending manufacturers' winners. Mads Østberg and Torstein Eriksen were the defending winners in the World Rally Championship-2 category. Ole Christian Veiby and Jonas Andersson were the reigning World Rally Championship-3 winners, but are not defending their WRC-3 title as they joined the WRC-2 category in 2020. Tom Kristensson and Henrik Appelskog were the defending winners in the Junior World Rally Championship.
Elfyn Evans and Scott Martin were the overall winners of the rally, winning the Rally Sweden for the first time. Their team, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT, were the manufacturers' winners. Mads Østberg and Torstein Eriksen successfully defended their titles in the WRC-2 category. Jari Huttunen and Mikko Lukka were the winners in the WRC-3 category, while Tom Kristensson and Henrik Appelskog won the junior class.
Background Championship standings prior to the event Thierry Neuville and Nicolas Gilsoul entered the round with an eight-point lead over the six-time world champions Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia. Elfyn Evans and Scott Martin were third, a further five points behind. In the World Rally Championship for Manufacturers, defending manufacturers' champions Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT held a two-point lead over Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT, followed by M-Sport Ford WRT.
In the World Rally Championship-2 standings, Mads Østberg and Torstein Eriksen held a seven-point lead ahead of Adrien Fourmaux and Renaud Jamoul in the drivers' and co-drivers' standings respectively, with Nikolay Gryazin and Yaroslav Fedorov in third. In the manufacturer' championship, M-Sport Ford WRT led PH-Sport by five points.
In the World Rally Championship-3 standings, Eric Camilli and François-Xavier Buresi led the drivers' and co-drivers' standings by seven points respectively. Nicolas Ciamin and Yannick Roche were second, with Yoann Bonato and Benjamin Boulloud in third in both standings, a further three points behind.
Entry list The following crews were 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 entries that were not registered to score points in any championship. Fifty-five entries were received, with eleven crews entered in World Rally Cars, six Group R5 cars entered in the World Rally Championship-2, sixteen in the World Rally Championship-3. A further sixteen crews were entered in the Junior World Rally Championship in Ford Fiesta R2s.
No. Driver Co-Driver Entrant Car Tyre World Rally Championship entries 3 Teemu Suninen Jarmo Lehtinen M-Sport Ford WRT Ford Fiesta WRC 4 Esapekka Lappi Janne Ferm M-Sport Ford WRT Ford Fiesta WRC 8 Ott Tänak Martin Järveoja Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 10 Jari-Matti Latvala Juho Hänninen Latvala Motorsport Toyota Yaris WRC 11 Thierry Neuville Nicolas Gilsoul Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 16 Craig Breen Paul Nagle Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 17 Sébastien Ogier Julien Ingrassia Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota Yaris WRC 18 Takamoto Katsuta Daniel Barritt Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota Yaris WRC 19 Deividas Jocius Mindaugas Varža M-Sport Ford WRT Ford Fiesta WRC 33 Elfyn Evans Scott Martin Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota Yaris WRC 69 Kalle Rovanperä Jonne Halttunen Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota Yaris WRC World Rally Championship-2 entries 20 Mads Østberg Torstein Eriksen PH-Sport Citroën C3 R5 21 Nikolay Gryazin Yaroslav Fedorov Hyundai Motorsport N Hyundai NG i20 R5 22 Ole Christian Veiby Jonas Andersson Hyundai Motorsport N Hyundai NG i20 R5 23 Adrien Fourmaux Renaud Jamoul M-Sport Ford WRT Ford Fiesta R5 Mk. II 24 Rhys Yates James Morgan M-Sport Ford WRT Ford Fiesta R5 Mk. II 25 Pontus Tidemand Patrick Barth Toksport WRT Škoda Fabia R5 Evo World Rally Championship-3 entries 26 Johan Kristoffersson Stig Rune Skjærmoen Kristoffersson Motorsport Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 27 Eerik Pietarinen Miikka Anttila Eerik Pietarinen Škoda Fabia R5 Evo 28 Emil Lindholm Mikael Korhonen Emil Lindholm Škoda Fabia R5 Evo 29 Oliver Solberg Aaron Johnston Oliver Solberg Škoda Fabia R5 Evo 30 Raul Jeets Andrus Toom Raul Jeets Škoda Fabia R5 Evo 31 Roland Poom Ken Järveoja Roland Poom Ford Fiesta R5 32 Andrea Nucita Bernardo Di Caro Andrea Nucita Hyundai NG i20 R5 34 Filip Mareš Jan Hloušek Filip Mareš Škoda Fabia R5 Evo 35 Michał Sołowow Maciej Baran Barlinek Synthos RT Škoda Fabia R5 36 Joakim Roman Alexander Glavsjö Holm Joakim Roman Škoda Fabia R5 37 Paulo Nobre Gabriel Morales Paulo Nobre Škoda Fabia R5 38 Miguel Díaz-Aboitiz Diego Sanjuan De Eusebio Miguel Díaz-Aboitiz Škoda Fabia R5 39 Giacomo Costenaro Justin Bardini Giacomo Costenaro Škoda Fabia R5 40 Alberto Battistolli Fabrizia Pons Alberto Battistolli Škoda Fabia R5 41 Grégoire Munster Louis Louka Grégoire Munster Hyundai NG i20 R5 58 Jari Huttunen Mikko Lukka Jari Huttunen Hyundai NG i20 R5 Junior World Rally Championship entries 42 Tom Kristensson Joakim Sjöberg Tom Kristensson Motorsport Ford Fiesta R2 43 Mārtiņš Sesks Renars Francis LMT Autosporta Akadēmija Ford Fiesta R2 44 Ken Torn Kauri Pannas Estonian Autosport Junior Team Ford Fiesta R2 45 Fabio Andolfi Stefano Savoia Fabio Andolfi Ford Fiesta R2 46 Sami Pajari Marko Salminen Team Flying Finn Ford Fiesta R2 47 Raul Baidu Gabriel Lazar Raul Baidu Ford Fiesta R2 48 Pontus Lönnström Stefan Gustavsson Pontus Lönnström Ford Fiesta R2 49 Jon Armstrong Noel O'Sullivan Jon Armstrong Ford Fiesta R2 50 Lauri Joona Ari Koponen Lauri Joona Ford Fiesta R2 51 Fabrizio Zaldívar Fernando Mussano Fabrizio Zaldívar Ford Fiesta R2 52 Oscar Solberg Jim Hjerpe PS 110% AB Ford Fiesta R2 53 Ruairi Bell Darren Garrod Ruairi Bell Ford Fiesta R2 54 Enrico Oldrati Elia De Guio Enrico Oldrati Ford Fiesta R2 55 Tommaso Ciuffi Nicolò Gonella Tommaso Ciuffi Ford Fiesta R2 56 Marco Pollara Maurizio Messina Marco Pollara Ford Fiesta R2 57 Catie Munnings Ida Lidebjer-Granberg Catie Munnings Ford Fiesta R2 Other major entries 61 Dennis Rådström Johan Johansson Dennis Rådström Ford Fiesta R2 Source:
Route The brand-new Nyckelvattnet stage was introduced into the rally. The Finnskogen stage, which runs across the border in Norway, returned to the itinerary. The Svullrya, Röjden and Rämmen stages, which were featured in the 2019 rally, were not included in the 2020 route.
The route was heavily revised in the week before the rally. Eight stages were cancelled due to unseasonably light snowfall in the region; tyre supplier Pirelli provided teams with studded tyres designed for driving on snow and ice, but without the expected snowfalls, the winter studs would be unable to properly grip the road surface. The changes to the route saw the second leg of the rally cancelled and the first leg split in two and run over separate days.
Original itinerary All dates and times are CET (UTC+1). Date Time No. Stage name Distance 13 February 09:01 — Skalla [Shakedown] 6.86 km Leg 1 — 133.01 km 13 February 20:08 SS1 Karlstad SSS 1.90 km 14 February 08:00 SS2 Hof-Finnskog 1 21.26 km 09:01 SS3 Finnskogen 1 20.89 km 09:57 SS4 Nyckelvattnet 1 18.94 km 13:49 SS5 Hof-Finnskog 2 21.26 km 14:55 SS6 Finnskogen 2 20.89 km 15:51 SS7 Nyckelvattnet 2 18.94 km 17:04 SS8 Torsby 1 8.93 km Leg 2 — 116.94 km 15 February 08:13 SS9 Torntorp 1 19.92 km 09:04 SS10 Hagfors 1 19.80 km 10:08 SS11 Vargåsen 1 16.40 km 13:02 SS12 Torntorp 2 19.92 km 13:53 SS13 Hagfors 2 19.80 km 15:08 SS14 Vargåsen 2 16.40 km 17:45 SS15 Karlstad SSS 2 1.90 km 19:30 SS16 Torsby Sprint 2.80 km Leg 3 — 51.31 km 16 February 07:50 SS16 Likenäs 1 21.19 km 09:51 SS17 Likenäs 2 21.19 km 12:18 SS18 Torsby 2 [Power Stage] 8.93 km Source:
Revised itinerary All dates and times are CET (UTC+1). Date Time No. Stage name Distance 13 February 09:01 — Skalla [Shakedown 1] 7.21 km Leg 1 — 65.58 km 13 February 20:08 — Karlstad SSS [Shakedown 2] 1.90 km 14 February 08:42 SS1 Hof-Finnskog 1 21.26 km 10:08 SS2 Finnskogen 1 20.68 km 11:08 SS3 Nyckelvattnet 1 18.94 km 15:00 SS4 Torsby Sprint 1 2.80 km Leg 2 — 63.68 km 15 February 08:42 SS5 Hof-Finnskog 2 21.26 km 10:08 SS6 Finnskogen 2 20.68 km 11:08 SS7 Nyckelvattnet 2 18.94 km 15:00 SS8 Torsby Sprint 2 2.80 km Leg 3 — 42.38 km 16 February 10:08 SS9 Likenäs 1 21.19 km 12:18 SS10 Likenäs 2 [Power Stage] 21.19 km Source:
Report World Rally Cars Elfyn Evans and Scott Martin broke clear in the lead to win the rally. Defending world champions Ott Tänak and Martin Järveoja inherited second after Kalle Rovanperä and Jonne Halttunen dropping vital seconds when he stalled his engine in the final test of Friday. Jari-Matti Latvala made his championship return with ex-driver Juho Hänninen, but they retired from the rally due to mechanical issue.
Classification Position Driver Entrant Car Time Points Event Class Event Stage 1 1 33 Elfyn Evans Scott Martin Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota Yaris WRC 1:11:43.1 0.0 25 0 2 2 8 Ott Tänak Martin Järveoja Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 1:11:55.8 +12.7 18 2 3 3 69 Kalle Rovanperä Jonne Halttunen Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota Yaris WRC 1:12:03.3 +20.2 15 5 4 4 17 Sébastien Ogier Julien Ingrassia Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota Yaris WRC 1:12:06.7 +23.6 12 3 5 5 4 Esapekka Lappi Janne Ferm M-Sport Ford WRT Ford Fiesta WRC 1:12:15.5 +32.4 10 1 6 6 11 Thierry Neuville Nicolas Gilsoul Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 1:12:16.9 +33.8 8 4 7 7 16 Craig Breen Paul Nagle Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 1:12:44.0 +1:00.9 6 0 8 8 3 Teemu Suninen Jarmo Lehtinen M-Sport Ford WRT Ford Fiesta WRC 1:13:07.6 +1:24.5 4 0 9 9 18 Takamoto Katsuta Daniel Barritt Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota Yaris WRC 1:13:42.7 +1:59.6 2 0 Retired SS5 10 Jari-Matti Latvala Juho Hänninen Latvala Motorsport Toyota Yaris WRC Mechanical 0 0 Did not start 19 Deividas Jocius Mindaugas Varža M-Sport Ford WRT Ford Fiesta WRC Withdrawn 0 0
Special stages Date No. Stage name Distance Winners Car Time Class leaders 13 February — Skalla [Shakedown 1] 7.21 km Rovanperä / Halttunen Toyota Yaris WRC 3:57.7 rowspan="2" — Karlstad SSS [Shakedown 2] 1.90 km Latvala / Hänninen Toyota Yaris WRC 1:26.1 14 February SS1 Hof-Finnskog 1 21.26 km Evans / Martin Toyota Yaris WRC 9:43.9 Evans / Martin SS2 Finnskogen 1 20.68 km Tänak / Järveoja Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 10:13.4 SS3 Nyckelvattnet 1 18.94 km Evans / Martin Toyota Yaris WRC 9:02.9 SS4 Torsby Sprint 1 2.80 km Tänak / Järveoja Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 1:42.4 15 February SS5 Hof-Finnskog 2 21.26 km Evans / Martin Toyota Yaris WRC 9:25.2 SS6 Finnskogen 2 20.68 km Evans / Martin Toyota Yaris WRC 9:53.7 SS7 Nyckelvattnet 2 18.94 km Evans / Martin Toyota Yaris WRC 8:53.1 SS8 Torsby Sprint 2 2.80 km Neuville / Gilsoul Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 1:42.4 16 February SS9 Likenäs 1 21.19 km Stage cancelled SS10 Likenäs 2 [Power Stage] 21.19 km Rovanperä / Halttunen Toyota Yaris WRC 10:55.1 Evans / Martin
Championship standings