RALLY FINLAND’S FATE HANGS IN THE BALANCE
Cancellation could lead to damage to long-term future
By Graham Lister
The fate of the world’s fastest rally won’t be known until June when Finland’s government next meets to discuss the measures it is taking to control the Covid19 pandemic.
Last week, it was announced that events in the country attended by 500 people or more would be outlawed until the end of July.
Although Rally Finland, which is scheduled for
August 6-9, falls outside that window, Kai Tarkiainen, the event clerk of the course, has told Motorsport News that seeking an alternative date isn’t in the planning should the government ban be extended further.
“There is a chance that [Rally Finland] might not run at all in 2020,” Tarkiainen said. “We will wait for our government’s follow-up at the beginning of June and take a final decision then.
“Obviously, we need to act responsibly and keep a keen eye on the European and global situation. If the borders are closed there is not much we can do about it as a lot of people need to come from all over the place.”
Tarkiainen has detailed seven points that are counting against a revised date from being sought which include road-closing orders taking five months to secure, an increased risk of inclement weather post-summer and term-time resuming for schools and colleges which is a problem as Jyvaskyla’s student accommodation is used by privateer teams and rally staff.
Counting the cost
Rally Finland organiser AKK Sports is braced for a six-figure loss if the 70th anniversary event doesn’t go ahead in 2020. And Tarkiainen concedes it will take time for the rally – everpresent on the WRC roster since the championship began in 1973 – to recover.
“It is not only the cost of it all and the investment, it is also the huge loss of income restricting our possibilities to invest in the future, and the frustration of all the work going down the drain,” Tarkiainen said. “Naturally some of it can be transferred to 2021, if need be, but much will have to be done all over again. I just hope we can keep all our professional rally makers onboard.”
No fans, no rally
Earlier this month Tarkiainen rebuked suggestions on social media that the rally should run behind closed doors to keep it on the WRC calendar, explaining that ticket sales account for 60 per cent of the event’s income. “No spectators, no rally,” he tweeted. “We would have the same costs, but no income.”
He also questioned how fans could be prevented from accessing the forestbased stages.
What now for WRC?
Rally Finland had been expected to mark the resumption of the WRC season post-rally Mexico in light of the rallies in Argentina, Portugal and Sardinia being postponed and Kenya set to follow suit.
With Rally New Zealand also unlikely to take place, according to sources close to MN, unless the calendar undergoes significant restructuring there could be no WRC action until the autumn, and the possibility of a nine-round schedule.
This figure is based on logistical and Covid-19related quarantine issues preventing Argentina, Kenya and New Zealand from happening and no Finland, but assuming Portugal and Sardinia can be saved and Turkey, Germany, GB and Japan can run as planned.