In an ideal world, World Rally Championship teams will start arriving in Jyväskylä at the end of July in order to prepare the service park for the recce, which begins on Tuesday August 4.
On Wednesday, the Finnish government confirmed a ban on mass gatherings of more than 500 people until the end of July in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
Technically, Rally Finland is in the clear and a statement from the Finnish organizer has made it clear they will continue to work towards the scheduled August 6-9 date.
The statement said: “The measures set by the Finnish Government do not currently preclude arranging of Neste Rally Finland on 6 – 9 August 2020.
“Therefore, AKK Sports Ltd [the organizing body] will continue its preparations by adapting to the situation and constantly monitoring latest updates.
“The organization of the Finnish round of World Rally Championship is also affected by the COVID-19 situations in other countries, due to which the organization will actively follow the development of the pandemic also globally.”
AKK pointed out that there could be a change in the government direction in just over a month.
The statement added: “The Finnish Government will review the national situation and update its measures on the events of August next time at the beginning of June.
“AKK Sports Ltd as an event organizer wants to act as responsibly as possible taking into account spectators, competitors, partners, employees as well as other stakeholders – without endangering anyone’s health and safety.”
