The Italian round of the World Rally Championship will be brought forward by three weeks at the request of the event organiser, Automobile Club d’Italia.
The request was made to ensure that Rally Italia Sardegna avoids clashing with Formula 1’s third Italian round, which is to be held at the Imola circuit.
The Emilia Romagna Grand Prix is scheduled to take place across the final weekend of October, the same date as Italy’s WRC round, but this will now take place three weeks earlier on October 8-11.
Organisers are also hopeful that an earlier date, which has been made possible by of the cancellation of Rallye Deutschland, will also provide better weather on the Mediterranean island for the gravel road fixture, as well as additional daylight hours.
“In ACI we have worked hard to redefine the new dates for the 2020 Rally Italia Sardegna,” explained Angelo Sticchi Damiani, president of Automobile Club d’Italia.
“It has not been easy to find the right days which could put together the needs of all stakeholders and could work well for the region of Sardinia.
“In this very difficult year ACI has wanted, as already shown with the F1 GPs in Monza, Mugello and Imola, to protect national and international motorsport by confirming also our competition. I personally thank the region of Sardinia for their absolute support to make all this happen.”
ADAC Rallye Deutschland, as expected, has been called off after the government imposed restrictions on mass gatherings in Germany related to Covid-19.
| # | Event | Date | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Rally Monte Carlo | 20-23 January |
| 2 |  | Rally Sweden | 24-27 February |
| 3 |  | Rally Croatia | 21-24 April |
| 4 |  | Rally Portugal | 19-22 May |
| 5 |  | Rally Italy | 02-05 June |
| 6 |  | Rally Kenya | 23-26 June |
| 7 |  | Rally Estonia | 14-17 July |
| 8 |  | Arctic Rally Finland | 04-07 August |
| 9 | TBC | 18-21 August | |
| 10 |  | Rally Greece | 08-11 September |
| 11 |  | Rally New Zealand | 29 September - 02 October |
| 12 |  | Rally Spain | 20-23 October |
| 13 |  | Rally Japan | 10-13 November |
