The 2020 Rally Estonia (also known as the Rally Estonia 2020) was a motor racing event for rally cars that was held over three days between 4 and 6 September 2020. It marked the tenth running of Rally Estonia and was the fourth round of the 2020 World Rally Championship, World Rally Championship-2 and World Rally Championship-3. The 2020 event was based in the town of Tartu in Tartu County and consisted of seventeen special stages. The rally covered a total competitive distance of .
The rally marked the return of the FIA World Rally Championship after a half-year hiatus by the COVID-19 pandemic and was the 600th event since the championship was founded back to .
Ott Tänak and Martin Järveoja were the overall winners of the rally, winning their home event for the third straight year. Their team, Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT, were the manufacturers' winners. Mads Østberg and Torstein Eriksen were the winners in the WRC-2 category, while Oliver Solberg and Aaron Johnston won the WRC-3 class. In the junior championship, the Latvian crew of Mārtiņš Sesks and Renārs Francis won the event.
Background Championship standings prior to the event Six-time world champions Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia entered the round with an eight-point lead over Elfyn Evans and Scott Martin. Thierry Neuville and Nicolas Gilsoul were third, a further twelve points behind. In the World Rally Championship for Manufacturers, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT held a twenty-one-point lead over defending manufacturers' champions Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT, following by M-Sport Ford WRT.
In the World Rally Championship-2 standings, Mads Østberg and Torstein Eriksen held a nine-point lead ahead of Nikolay Gryazin and Yaroslav Fedorov in the drivers' and co-drivers' standings respectively, with Pontus Tidemand and Patrick Barth in third. In the manufacturer' championship, Hyundai Motorsport N led M-Sport Ford WRT by twenty-two points. PH-Sport sit in third, a slender two points behind.
In the World Rally Championship-3 standings, the crew of Eric Camilli and François-Xavier Buresi, Jari Huttunen and Mikko Lukka, and Marco Bulacia Wilkinson and Giovanni Bernacchini all held twenty-five points in the standings.
In the junior championship, Tom Kristensson and Joakim Sjöberg led Mārtiņš Sesks and Renars Francis by nine points. Ken Torn and Kauri Pannas were third, a slender four points further back. In the Nations' championships, Sweden held a seven-point lead over Latvia, with Estonia in third.
Schedule changes and event inclusion
Following the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the championship, a number of events were cancelled or postponed indefinitely for health and safety grounds, with Rally Mexico abridged to give time for crews to head home due to lockdowns being implemented across the world. It was then announced on 2 July 2020 that the season would return with an updated calendar, with Rally Estonia hosting the resuming round between 4 and 6 September. The country became the thirty-third nation to stage a championship round in the WRC.
Entry list The following crews 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. Sixty entries were received, with thirteen crews entered in World Rally Cars, six Group R5 cars entered in the World Rally Championship-2, twenty-two in the World Rally Championship-3. A further twelve 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 7 Pierre-Louis Loubet Vincent Landais Hyundai 2C Competition Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 8 Ott Tänak Martin Järveoja Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 11 Thierry Neuville Nicolas Gilsoul 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 33 Elfyn Evans Scott Martin Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota Yaris WRC 42 Craig Breen Paul Nagle Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 44 Gus Greensmith Elliott Edmondson M-Sport Ford WRT Ford Fiesta WRC 64 Georg Gross Raigo Mõlder OT Racing Ford Fiesta WRC 65 Kimmo Kurkela Reeta Hämäläinen JanPro Ford Fiesta WRC 69 Kalle Rovanperä Jonne Halttunen Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota Yaris WRC World Rally Championship-2 entries 21 Mads Østberg Torstein Eriksen PH-Sport Citroën C3 R5 22 Nikolay Gryazin Konstantin Aleksandrov Hyundai Motorsport N Hyundai NG i20 R5 23 Pontus Tidemand Patrik Barth Toksport WRT Škoda Fabia R5 Evo 24 Ole Christian Veiby Jonas Andersson Hyundai Motorsport N Hyundai NG i20 R5 25 Adrien Fourmaux Renaud Jamoul M-Sport Ford WRT Ford Fiesta R5 Mk. II 26 Eyvind Brynildsen Ilka Minor Toksport WRT Škoda Fabia R5 Evo World Rally Championship-3 entries 27 Jari Huttunen Mikko Lukka Jari Huttunen Hyundai NG i20 R5 28 Marco Bulacia Wilkinson Marcelo Der Ohannesian Marco Bulacia Wilkinson Citroën C3 R5 29 Nicolas Ciamin Yannick Roche Nicolas Ciamin Citroën C3 R5 30 Emilio Fernández Ruben Garcia Emilio Fernández Škoda Fabia R5 Evo 31 Yohan Rossel Benoit Fulcrand PH-Sport Citroën C3 R5 32 Eerik Pietarinen Antti Linnaketo Eerik Pietarinen Škoda Fabia R5 34 Kajetan Kajetanowicz Maciej Szczepaniak Kajetan Kajetanowicz Škoda Fabia R5 Evo 35 Oliver Solberg Aaron Johnston Oliver Solberg Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 36 Grégoire Munster Louis Louka Grégoire Munster Hyundai i20 R5 37 Raul Jeets Andrus Toom Raul Jeets Škoda Fabia R5 Evo 38 Roland Poom Erik Lepikson Roland Poom Ford Fiesta R5 Mk. II 39 Karl Kruuda Dale Moscatt Karl Kruuda Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 40 Rainer Aus Simo Koskinen Rainer Aus Škoda Fabia R5 41 Egon Kaur Silver Simm Kaur Motorsport Škoda Fabia R5 Evo 43 Priit Koik Alari-Uku Heldna Priit Koik Ford Fiesta R5 45 Georg Linnamäe Volodymyr Korsia Georg Linnamäe Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 46 Gustav Kruuda Ken Järveoja Gustav Kruuda Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 47 Jan Solans Mauro Barreiro Jan Solans Ford Fiesta R5 Mk. II 48 Radik Shaymiev Alexey Arnautov Radik Shaymiev Ford Fiesta R5 Mk. II 49 Jarosław Koltun Ireneusz Pleskot Jarosław Koltun Ford Fiesta R5 Mk. II 50 Sean Johnston Alex Kihurani Saintéloc Junior Team Citroën C3 R5 51 Rakan Al-Rashed Hugo Magalhães Rakan Al-Rashed Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 Junior World Rally Championship entries 52 Tom Kristensson Joakim Sjöberg Tom Kristensson Motorsport Ford Fiesta R2 53 Mārtiņš Sesks Renars Francis LMT Autosporta Akadēmija Ford Fiesta R2 54 Ken Torn Kauri Pannas Estonian Autosport Junior Team Ford Fiesta R2 55 Sami Pajari Marko Salminen Team Flying Finn Ford Fiesta R2 56 Raul Baidu Gabriel Lazar Raul Baidu Ford Fiesta R2 57 Fabrizio Zaldívar Fernando Mussano Fabrizio Zaldívar Ford Fiesta R2 58 Ruairi Bell Matthew Edwards Ruairi Bell Ford Fiesta R2 59 Pontus Lönnström Stefan Gustavsson Pontus Lönnström Ford Fiesta R2 60 Marco Pollara Maurizio Messina Marco Pollara Ford Fiesta R2 61 Fabio Andolfi Stefano Savoia Fabio Andolfi Ford Fiesta R2 62 Enrico Oldrati Elia De Guio Enrico Oldrati Ford Fiesta R2 63 Robert Virves Sander Pruul Estonian Autosport Junior Team Ford Fiesta R2 Source:
Route The rally features a short format schedule, which lasts only three days. This leads to the change of road order rules—Saturday's first loop would start as championship order, while the second loop would revert to the standard reversed order, which usually comes into effect on the second leg.
Itinerary All dates and times are EEST (UTC+3). Date Time No. Stage name Distance 4 September 09:01 — Abissaare [Shakedown] 5.51 km Leg 1 — 1.28 km 4 September 19:08 SS1 Tartu 1.28 km Leg 2 — 146.40 km 5 September 07:40 SS2 Prangli 1 20.23 km 08:21 SS3 Kanepi 1 16.89 km 09:08 SS4 Otepää 1 9.60 km 10:00 SS5 Mäeküla 1 14.76 km 11:19 SS6 Elva 1 11.72 km 14:37 SS7 Prangli 2 20.23 km 15:18 SS8 Kanepi 2 16.89 km 16:08 SS9 Otepää 2 9.60 km 17:00 SS10 Mäeküla 2 14.76 km 18:19 SS11 Elva 2 11.72 km Leg 3 — 84.96 km 6 September 07:35 SS12 Arula 1 6.97 km 08:09 SS13 Kaagvere 1 15.46 km 09:08 SS14 Kambja 1 20.05 km 10:49 SS15 Arula 2 6.97 km 11:28 SS16 Kaagvere 2 15.46 km 13:18 SS17 Kambja 2 [Power Stage] 20.05 km Source:
Report World Rally Cars Local heroes Ott Tänak and Martin Järveoja led almost the entire rally to win their home event. Kalle Rovanperä and Jonne Halttunen received a one-minute time penalty for illegally removing the radiator blanking plate. Thierry Neuville and Nicolas Gilsoul retired from Saturday afternoon after they damaged their rear-right suspension. The Belgian crew's rally was further compromised as they suffered an electrical issue in the penultimate Power Stage. Takamoto Katsuta and Daniel Barritt crashed out on Sunday, while Pierre-Louis Loubet and Vincent Landais retired from their top-tier debut when they broke their steering.
Classification Position Driver Entrant Car Time Points Event Class Event Stage 1 1 8 Ott Tänak Martin Järveoja Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 1:59:53.6 0.0 25 3 2 2 42 Craig Breen Paul Nagle Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 2:00:15.8 +22.2 18 1 3 3 17 Sébastien Ogier Julien Ingrassia Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota Yaris WRC 2:00:20.5 +26.9 15 2 4 4 33 Elfyn Evans Scott Martin Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota Yaris WRC 2:00:35.5 +41.9 12 4 5 5 69 Kalle Rovanperä Jonne Halttunen Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota Yaris WRC 2:01:12.3 +1:18.7 10 5 6 6 3 Teemu Suninen Jarmo Lehtinen M-Sport Ford WRT Ford Fiesta WRC 2:02:33.2 +2:39.6 8 0 7 7 4 Esapekka Lappi Janne Ferm M-Sport Ford WRT Ford Fiesta WRC 2:02:45.6 +2:52.0 6 0 8 8 44 Gus Greensmith Elliott Edmondson M-Sport Ford WRT Ford Fiesta WRC 2:04:47.4 +4:53.8 4 0 25 9 65 Kimmo Kurkela Reeta Hämäläinen JanPro Ford Fiesta WRC 2:15:35.7 +15:42.1 0 0 Retired SS17 11 Thierry Neuville Nicolas Gilsoul Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC Electrical 0 0 Retired SS13 7 Pierre-Louis Loubet Vincent Landais Hyundai 2C Competition Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC Steering 0 0 Retired SS13 18 Takamoto Katsuta Daniel Barritt Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota Yaris WRC Rolled 0 0 Retired SS2 64 Georg Gross Raigo Mõlder OT Racing Ford Fiesta WRC Accident 0 0
Special stages Date No. Stage name Distance Winners Car Time Class leaders 4 September — Abissaare [Shakedown] 5.51 km Tänak / Järveoja Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 2:56.8 SS1 Tartu 1.28 km Lappi / FermOgier / Ingrassia Ford Fiesta WRCToyota Yaris WRC 1:17.0 Lappi / FermOgier / Ingrassia 5 September SS2 Prangli 1 20.23 km Rovanperä / Halttunen Toyota Yaris WRC 9:52.1 Rovanperä / Halttunen SS3 Kanepi 1 16.89 km Tänak / Järveoja Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 8:16.6 Tänak / Järveoja SS4 Otepää 1 9.60 km Tänak / Järveoja Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 5:04.5 SS5 Mäeküla 1 14.76 km Ogier / Ingrassia Toyota Yaris WRC 7:46.2 SS6 Elva 1 11.72 km Neuville / Gilsoul Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 6:05.1 SS7 Prangli 2 20.23 km Ogier / Ingrassia Toyota Yaris WRC 9:45.3 SS8 Kanepi 2 16.89 km Tänak / Järveoja Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 8:10.6 SS9 Otepää 2 9.60 km Breen / Nagle Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 5:00.4 SS10 Mäeküla 2 14.76 km Breen / Nagle Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 7:40.1 SS11 Elva 2 11.72 km Rovanperä / Halttunen Toyota Yaris WRC 5:58.0 6 September SS12 Arula 1 6.97 km Evans / Martin Toyota Yaris WRC 3:15.3 SS13 Kaagvere 1 15.46 km Rovanperä / Halttunen Toyota Yaris WRC 8:42.5 SS14 Kambja 1 20.05 km Ogier / Ingrassia Toyota Yaris WRC 10:26.9 SS15 Arula 2 6.97 km Ogier / Ingrassia Toyota Yaris WRC 3:14.7 SS16 Kaagvere 2 15.46 km Rovanperä / Halttunen Toyota Yaris WRC 8:34.1 SS17 Kambja 2 [Power Stage] 20.05 km Rovanperä / Halttunen Toyota Yaris WRC 10:12.4
Championship standings