Belgian rally cancelled because of coronavirus

The next round of the World Rally Championship (WRC), the Ypres Rally in Belgium in November, was cancelled on Friday due to the resurgence of the coronavirus pandemic, the organisers announced.

"It is with a heavy heart that the Superstage Club is forced to cancel Renties Ypres Rally Belgium, the penultimate round of the 2020 FIA World Rally Championship," read a statement.

Emmily Talpe, the mayor of Ypres, said Belgian authorities had little choice.

"We have always fully supported Renties Ypres Rally Belgium, but this time we can't let the rally go on," Talpe said, adding that the city took the decision in consultation with the Belgian health authorities, the governor of West Flanders and the mayors of other towns involved.

West Flanders governor Jean Decaulwe said "it was irresponsible to authorise the World Championship round in Ypres under the current circumstances."

The rally, arranged after the pandemic had forced the cancellation of scheduled races, would have been the first WRC visit to Belgium and was due to run November 20-22.

The cancellation leaves only the Monza Rally in Italy on December 4-6 on a WRC schedule reduced to seven races by the pandemic.

"At the moment, the health of the population, of the staff in the care sector, of our employees and volunteers, of the participants and of all rally fans comes first," said Jan Huyghe from Club Superstage.

British driver Elfyn Evans of Toyota leads the drivers' classification by 14 points from his French team-mate Sebastien Ogier. Belgian Thierry Neuville is 24 points back in third and reigning champion Ott Tanak from Estonia is 28 points adrift. Both drive for Hyundai.