2020 Rally New Zealand 40. Rally New Zealand | |
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Part of the 2020 World Rally Championship | |
Host country | New Zealand |
Rally base | Auckland, Auckland Region |
Held on | Scheduled for 3–6 September 2020 |
Stage surface | Gravel |
Statistics | |
Cancellation | Rally cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic. |
The 2020 Rally New Zealand (also known as the Rally New Zealand 2020) was a motor racing event for rally cars that was scheduled to be held over four days between 3 and 6 September 2020,[1] but was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[2] It was set to mark the forty-fifth running of Rally New Zealand and planned to be the ninth 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 Auckland in Auckland Region.
Sébastien Loeb and Daniel Elena were the overall reigning rally winners.[3] Citroën Total World Rally Team, the team they drove for in 2012, when Rally New Zealand held a World Rally Championship event last time, were the defending manufacturers' winners.[3] However, they would not defend the rally either as they withdrew from the championship at the end of 2019.[4]
The rally had been planned to be the mark of Rally New Zealand after an eight-year absence from the championship, sharing a spot with Rally Australia in the WRC calendar since 2020.[5] However, concerns regarding whether the rally should be held were raised in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.[6] On 4 June 2020, it was officially announced that the rally would not be held in 2020, but a 2021 event is expected.[7]