The 2020 Rally Japan (also known as the Rally Japan 2020) was a motor racing event for rally cars that was scheduled to be held over four days between 19 and 22 November 2020, but was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was set to mark the seventh running of Rally Japan and planned to be the final round of the 2020 World Rally Championship, World Rally Championship-2 and World Rally Championship-3. The 2020 event was scheduled to be based in Nagoya in Chūbu.
Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia were the defending rally winners. Citroën World Rally Team, the team they drove for in 2010, were the reigning manufacturers' winners, but would not defending their titles after parent company Citroën withdrew from the sport.
Background Route Itinerary All dates and times are JST (UTC+9). Date Time No. Stage name Distance 08:56 — Expo Park R Short [Shakedown] 4.78 km Leg 1 — 153.68 km rowspan="6" 07:33 SS1 Isegami Tunnel 1 23.82 km 08:36 SS2 Inabu Dam 1 21.38 km 09:34 SS3 Shitara Town 1 31.64 km 13:37 SS4 Isegami Tunnel 2 23.82 km 14:40 SS5 Inabu Dam 2 21.38 km 15:38 SS6 Shitara Town 2 31.64 km Leg 2 — 103.86 km rowspan="9" 07:23 SS7 Nukata Forest 1 20.63 km 08:08 SS8 Lake Mikawa 1 20.06 km 09:04 SS9 Shinshiro City 1 7.65 km 10:30 SS10 SSS Okazaki Central Park 1 1.20 km 13:45 SS11 SSS Okazaki Central Park 2 1.20 km 14:23 SS12 Nukata Forest 2 20.63 km 15:08 SS13 Lake Mikawa 2 20.06 km 16:04 SS14 Shinshiro City 2 7.65 km 18:46 SS15 Expo Park R Short 4.78 km Leg 3 — 50.24 km rowspan="4" 08:43 SS16 Ena City 21.47 km 09:36 SS17 Nenoue Plateau 11.63 km 11:08 SS18 Expo Park 1 8.57 km 13:18 SS19 Expo Park 2 [Power Stage] 8.57 km Source:
Preparation and cancellation
Rally Japan was scheduled to return to the calendar for the first time since , replacing Rally Australia as the final round of the championship. The rally was scheduled to move its headquarters from Hokkaidō to a new base in Nagoya and was to be run on tarmac rather than gravel. A candidate event had run in 2019. However, in response to the national COVID-19 pandemic, the Japanese government had increased the country's border restrictions, which led to the cancellation of the rally. The vacant spot left by the rally was taken by Belgium.
References
External links
2020 Rally Japan at ewrc-results.com The official website of the World Rally Championship