The rally was postponed from its original date on 21-24 May and a statement from organiser Automóvel Club de Portugal on Thursday 30 April confirmed that attempts to hold the event later in the year have now been abandoned:

“The Automóvel Club de Portugal made significant efforts to run the event this year at the end of October.

“After a joint assessment together with our partners, the various municipalities, national authorities and sponsors, all health and safety conditions needed to run the WRC Vodafone Rally de Portugal in a safe way are not achievable given the unpredictable situation that we live in these days, and also the uncertainty of opening the national borders or airspace.

“Due to this critical situation the Automóvel Club de Portugal is forced to cancel the Portuguese round of the 2020 FIA World Rally Championship.

“The Automóvel Club de Portugal deeply regrets this decision. But it is the responsible decision bearing in mind the thousands of supporters, teams, municipalities, sponsors and all the people involved in the event, that was responsible in 2019 for an economic impact in the national economy of more than 142 million euros.

“ACP has already applied for WRC Rally de Portugal to return to the 2021 FIA World Rally Championship in a May date.”