The 2020 FIA World Rallycross Championship will include new events at Kouvola in Finland at the end of August.
Finland has been added to the calendar as the championship prepares to return to racing in a season disrupted by the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The first three weekends of racing in Sweden, Finland, and Latvia, will each consist of two rounds.
The newly added CapitalBox World Rallycross of Finland will form rounds three and four of the championship that is now projected to take place over eight weekends from August to December.
The remaining events in the 2020 World RX season are expected to run with the usual event format of one event over two days.
All events in 2020 will run within the prevailing national health and safety requirements for mass gatherings and individual event organisers will provide information on spectator attendance closer to their race date. The Finnish event will be run behind closed doors and without spectators.
Finland last featured in World RX in 2014 when the fourth round of that year’s FIA World Rallycross Championship was run on the undulating track at Kouvola. The event was won by Tanner Foust, the first American to win a round of the FIA World Rallycross Championship.
Paul Bellamy, Senior Vice President of motorsports events at IMG, said: “I’m delighted that we can add events in Finland. Everything from the initial idea, to getting a contract, has taken just a few weeks and illustrates the best kind of lateral thinking and cooperation from the event organiser, our World RX competitors, the IMG World RX team and the FIA to recognise an opportunity and make the most of it.”
The Finnish rounds of the FIA World Rallycross Championship will be organised by SET Promotion.
“We were excited when the opportunity arose to organise a FIA World Rallycross Championship event in Finland and thanks to some exceptional partners we have been able to make it a reality. Our main focus will remain on the safety of everyone involved and we are looking forward to producing an amazing event with the necessary restrictions in place.”
“It’s fantastic to see World RX back in Finland after six years. We know that many of the teams and drivers have good memories of the track and we will do the best we can to make this a great race,” said SET Promotion’s Event Manager, Sami Puumalainen.
FIA World Rallycross Championship 2020*
World RX of Sweden, Holjes, 22-23 August
World RX of Finland, Kouvola, 29-30 August
World RX of Riga-Latvia, Riga, 19-20 September
World RX of Benelux, Spa-Francorchamps, 03-04 October
World RX of Portugal, Montalagre, 10-11 October
World RX of Barcelona-Catalunya, Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, 17-18 October
World RX of Abu Dhabi, Yas Marina Circuit, 30-31 October
World RX of Germany, Nurburgring, 12-13 December
*Subject to FIA approval