2020 Rally Monza

2020 ACI Rally Monza 41. ACI Rally Monza 2020
Round 7 of 7 in the 2020 World Rally Championship ← Previous event
Rally Monza marked the end of the 2020 season.
Host country	Italy
Rally base	Monza, Brianza
Dates run	3 – 6 December 2020
Start location	Monza, Brianza
Finish location	Monza, Brianza
Stages	16 (239.20 km; 148.63 miles)[1]
Stage surface	Tarmac
Transport distance	272.84 km (169.53 miles)
Overall distance	512.04 km (318.17 miles)
Statistics
Crews registered	95
Crews	91 at start, 71 at finish
Cancellation	SS10 cancelled due to a road-blocked crash. SS12 cancelled due to heavy snow.
Overall results
Overall winner	Sébastien Ogier Julien Ingrassia Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT 2:15:51.0
Power Stage winner	Takamoto Katsuta Daniel Barritt Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT 11:05.5
Support category results
WRC-2 winner	Mads Østberg Torstein Eriksen PH-Sport 2:21:18.4
WRC-3 winner	Andreas Mikkelsen Anders Jæger-Amland 2:19:47.2
J-WRC winner	Tom Kristensson Joakim Sjöberg Tom Kristensson Motorsport 2:35:21.4

The 2020 Rally Monza (also known as ACI Rally Monza 2020) was a motor racing event for rally cars that was scheduled to hold between 3 and 6 December 2020.^[2] It marked the forty-first running of Monza Rally Show and was the final round of the 2020 World Rally Championship, World Rally Championship-2, World Rally Championship-3. It was also the final round of the Junior World Rally Championship.^[3] The event was based in the famous Autodromo Nazionale di Monza circuit near Milan, where the Italian Grand Prix is held. The rally covered a total competitive distance of 239.20 km (148.63 mi).^[1]

Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia won the rally. Their team, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT, were the manufacturers' rally winners.^[4] Mads Østberg and Torstein Eriksen were the winners in the WRC-2 category.^[5] Andreas Mikkelsen and Anders Jæger-Amland winners in the WRC-3 category.^[6] Tom Kristensson and Henrik Appelskog won the junior class.^[7]

Ogier and Ingrassia won their seventh world titles, while Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT secured their second consecutive manufacturers' titles.^[4] Østberg and Eriksen won the WRC-2 championship, while Toksport WRT claimed the teams' titles.^[5] Jari Huttunen and Mikko Lukka became WRC-3 crowned champions.^[6] Kristensson and Appelskog sealed junior world titles.^[7]

Elfyn Evans and Scott Martin entered the round with a fourteen-point lead over six-time world champions Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia. Thierry Neuville and Nicolas Gilsoul are third, a further ten points behind. In the World Rally Championship for Manufacturers, defending manufacturers' champions Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT held a seven-point lead over Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT, following by M-Sport Ford WRT.

In the World Rally Championship-2 standings, Pontus Tidemand and Patrick Barth held an eighteen-point lead ahead of Mads Østberg and Torstein Eriksen in the drivers' and co-drivers' standings respectively, with Adrien Fourmaux and Renaud Jamoul in third. In the manufacturer' championship, Toksport WRT led Hyundai Motorsport N by forty-five points. M-Sport Ford WRT sit in third, a further fourteen points behind.

In the World Rally Championship-3 standings, Marco Bulacia Wilkinson led Jari Huttunen by two points in the drivers' standing, with Kajetan Kajetanowicz in third. The co-drivers' standing was led by Mikko Lukka. Maciek Szczepaniak and Marcelo Der Ohannesian hold second and third respectively.

In the Junior championship, Mārtiņš Sesks and Renars Francis led Tom Kristensson and Joakim Sjöberg by eight points. Sami Pajari and Marko Salminen were third, four points further back. In the Nations' championships, Latvia held an eight-point lead over Sweden, with Finland in third.

The event was included in the 2020 World Rally Championship as the final round of the season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.^[8]

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. Ninety-five entries were received, with eleven crews entered World Rally Cars, four Group R5 cars entered in the World Rally Championship-2 and thirteen in the World Rally Championship-3. A further six crews 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	M
4	Esapekka Lappi	Janne Ferm	M-Sport Ford WRT	Ford Fiesta WRC	M
6	Dani Sordo	Carlos del Barrio	Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT	Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC	M
8	Ott Tänak	Martin Järveoja	Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT	Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC	M
11	Thierry Neuville	Nicolas Gilsoul	Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT	Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC	M
17	Sébastien Ogier	Julien Ingrassia	Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT	Toyota Yaris WRC	M
18	Takamoto Katsuta	Daniel Barritt	Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT	Toyota Yaris WRC	M
33	Elfyn Evans	Scott Martin	Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT	Toyota Yaris WRC	M
44	Gus Greensmith	Elliott Edmondson	M-Sport Ford WRT	Ford Fiesta WRC	M
69	Kalle Rovanperä	Jonne Halttunen	Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT	Toyota Yaris WRC	M
96	Ole Christian Veiby	Jonas Andersson	Hyundai 2C Competition	Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC	M
World Rally Championship-2 entries
20	Pontus Tidemand	Patrik Barth	Toksport WRT	Škoda Fabia R5 Evo	P
21	Mads Østberg	Torstein Eriksen	PH-Sport	Citroën C3 R5	M
22	Adrien Fourmaux	Renaud Jamoul	M-Sport Ford WRT	Ford Fiesta R5 Mk. II	M
23	Jan Kopecký	Jan Hloušek	Toksport WRT	Škoda Fabia R5 Evo	P
World Rally Championship-3 entries
24	Marco Bulacia Wilkinson	Marcelo Der Ohannesian	Marco Bulacia Wilkinson	Citroën C3 R5	P
25	Jari Huttunen	Mikko Lukka	Jari Huttunen	Hyundai NG i20 R5	M
26	Kajetan Kajetanowicz	Maciej Szczepaniak	Kajetan Kajetanowicz	Škoda Fabia R5 Evo	P
27	Oliver Solberg	Aaron Johnston	Oliver Solberg	Škoda Fabia R5 Evo	P
28	Emil Lindholm	Mikael Korhonen	Emil Lindholm	Škoda Fabia R5 Evo	M
29	Umberto Scandola	Guido D'Amore	Umberto Scandola	Hyundai NG i20 R5	M
30	Yohan Rossel	Benoît Fulcrand	PH-Sport	Citroën C3 R5	M
31	Grégoire Munster	Louis Louka	Grégoire Munster	Hyundai NG i20 R5	P
32	Enrico Brazzoli	Maurizio Barone	Enrico Brazzoli	Škoda Fabia R5 Evo	P
34	Andreas Mikkelsen	Anders Jæger-Amland	Andreas Mikkelsen	Škoda Fabia R5 Evo	P
35	Cédric De Cecco	Jérôme Humblet	Cédric De Cecco	Škoda Fabia R5	P
36	Josh McErlean	Keaton Williams	Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy	Hyundai i20 R5	P
37	Giacomo Ogliari	Giacomo Ciucci	Giacomo Ogliari	Citroën C3 R5	P
Junior World Rally Championship entries
38	Mārtiņš Sesks	Renars Francis	LMT Autosporta Akadēmija	Ford Fiesta R2	P
39	Tom Kristensson	Joakim Sjöberg	Tom Kristensson Motorsport	Ford Fiesta R2	P
40	Sami Pajari	Marko Salminen	Team Flying Finn	Ford Fiesta R2	P
41	Fabrizio Zaldívar	Rogelio Peñate	Fabrizio Zaldívar	Ford Fiesta R2	P
42	Ruairi Bell	Darren Garrod	Ruairi Bell	Ford Fiesta R2	P
43	Fabio Andolfi	Stefano Savoia	Fabio Andolfi	Ford Fiesta R2	P
Other Major Entries
54	Matteo Gamba	Nicola Arena	Matteo Gamba	Škoda Fabia R5 Evo	P
55	Kevin Abbring	Pieter Tsjoen	Kevin Abbring	Volkswagen Polo GTI R5	P
56	Stéphane Lefebvre	Thomas Dubois	D-Max Suisse	Citroën C3 R5	P
57	Stéphane Richelmi	Romain Haut-Labourdette	Stéphane Richelmi	Volkswagen Polo GTI R5	P
58	Niclas Grönholm	Antti Linnaketo	Niclas Grönholm	Škoda Fabia R5 Evo	P
59	Giacomo Scattolon	Giovanni Bernacchini	Giacomo Scattolon	Škoda Fabia R5 Evo	P
66	Franco Morbidelli	Simone Scattolin	Franco Morbidelli	Hyundai NG i20 R5	M
72	Nikos Pavlidis	Allan Harryman	Step Racing	Škoda Fabia R5 Evo	P
77	Tom Williams	Giorgia Ascalone	Tom Williams	Ford Fiesta R5	P
78	Maro Engel	Ilka Minor	Toksport WRT	Škoda Fabia R5 Evo	P
79	Maxime Potty	Loïc Dumont	Maxime Potty	Škoda Fabia R5	M
91	Pierre Ragues	Julien Pesenti	Pierre Ragues	Alpine A110 Rally	M
105	Carlo Covi	Michela Lorigiola	Carlo Covi	Peugeot 208 R2	M
Source:[9]

The first and last day of action, including the Power Stage, followed Monza Rally Show to take place in stages inside the Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, while the second leg was focused on public stages north of Bergamo in the foothills of the Alps.^[2]

All dates and times were CEST (UTC+2).

Dani Sordo and Carlos del Barrio held a narrow lead going onto Saturday, despite a ten-second time penalty for cutting a chicane.^[10] Teammate Thierry Neuville and Nicolas Gilsoul's title hope was washed away as their i20 was drawn out when the engine expired in heavy standing water after damaging their right-front suspension.^[11] Teemu Suninen and Jarmo Lehtinen retired from the rally because of an unfixable misfiring engine.^[12] Championship situation was shifted on Saturday as Elfyn Evans and Scott Martin went off-road in the afternoon loop.^[13] Other major retirements of the day included Gus Greensmith and Elliott Edmondson, and Ole Christian Veiby and Jonas Andersson.^[14] Eventually, Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia won the event, which was enough to overhaul their teammate Evans and Martin to snatch their seventh world titles.^[4]

• Bold text indicates 2020 World Champions.

Pos.		Drivers' championships				Co-drivers' championships				Manufacturers' championships
		Move	Driver	Points		Move	Co-driver	Points		Move	Manufacturer	Points
1		1	Sébastien Ogier	122		1	Julien Ingrassia	122			Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT	241
2		1	Elfyn Evans	114		1	Scott Martin	114			Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT	236
3		1	Ott Tänak	105		1	Martin Järveoja	105			M-Sport Ford WRT	129
4		1	Thierry Neuville	87		1	Nicolas Gilsoul	87			Hyundai 2C Competition	8
5			Kalle Rovanperä	80			Jonne Halttunen	80

Adrien Fourmaux and Renaud Jamoul led the category, but a right-rear puncture lost their lead to Pontus Tidemand and Patrik Barth.^[15] Mads Østberg and Torstein Eriksen turned the tables to their favour on Saturday.^[16] The Norwegian crew eventually won the class to seal the WRC-2 titles.^[5]

• Bold text indicates 2020 World Champions.

Pos.		Drivers' championships				Co-drivers' championships				Manufacturers' championships
		Move	Driver	Points		Move	Co-driver	Points		Move	Manufacturer	Points
1		1	Mads Østberg	112		1	Torstein Eriksen	112			Toksport WRT	147
2		1	Pontus Tidemand	108		1	Patrick Barth	108		2	PH-Sport	112
3			Adrien Fourmaux	78			Renaud Jamoul	78		1	Hyundai Motorsport N	102
4			Ole Christian Veiby	51			Jonas Andersson	51		1	M-Sport Ford WRT	88
5			Nikolay Gryazin	51			Yaroslav Fedorov	41

Andreas Mikkelsen and Anders Jæger-Amland avoided any drama to lead the class. The Norwegian crew ran as high as third in the overall standings.^[17] However, their lead was narrowed by Oliver Solberg and Aaron Johnston by the end of the second leg.^[18] Mikkelsen and Jæger-Amland refused to give their lead away and eventually won the category. Jari Huttunen and Mikko Lukka became WRC-3 crowned champions.^[6]

• Bold text indicates 2020 World Champions.

Pos.		Drivers' championships				Co-drivers' championships
		Move	Driver	Points		Move	Co-driver	Points
1			Jari Huttunen	83			Mikko Lukka	83
2			Marco Bulacia Wilkinson	78			Maciek Szczepaniak	65
3			Kajetan Kajetanowicz	65		1	Aaron Johnston	61
4			Oliver Solberg	61		1	Marcelo Der Ohannesian	53
5			Nicolas Ciamin	28			Marc Martí	37

Tom Kristensson and Joakim Sjöberg comfortably led the class, while their title rivals Mārtiņš Sesks and Renars Francis, and Sami Pajari and Marko Salminen both in trouble.^[19] Championship leader Sesks and Francis' rally went even worse when they crashed out on Saturday.^[20] Kristensson and Sjöberg comfortably brought the car home to put the victory in their pockets, and with that, junior world titles in hands.^[7]

• Bold text indicates 2020 World Champions.

Pos.		Drivers' championships				Co-drivers' championships				Nations' championships
		Move	Driver	Points		Move	Co-driver	Points		Move	Country	Points
1		1	Tom Kristensson	100.5		1	Joakim Sjöberg	100.5		1	Sweden	75
2		1	Sami Pajari	76		1	Marko Salminen	76		1	Latvia	58
3		2	Mārtiņš Sesks	69		2	Renars Francis	69		1	Paraguay	52
4			Fabrizio Zaldívar	61			Fernando Mussano	34		1	Finland	52
5		2	Marco Pollara	42.5		6	Maurizio Messina	30.5		2	United Kingdom	33

• Official website (in Italian and English)
• 2020 Rally Monza at ewrc-results.com
• The official website of the World Rally Championship