The Vila Real event at the town of Montalegre was due to take place on October 10-11 in the revised 2020 schedule.
With the Belgian round at Spa getting moved to the end of November last month, Portugal would have been the next calling point following the Latvian double-header this weekend.
The Municipality of Montalegre, organiser of the Portuguese event, had announced last month that its World RX round would run behind closed doors, but due to an increasing number or coronavirus cases in Portugal, it has now been cancelled.
“In light of continued global health concerns regarding COVID-19, the current evolution of the pandemic in Portugal, the new State of Contingency enforced by the Portuguese authorities starting September 15, which brings new freedom of travel limitations and stricter public gathering rules, the World Rallycross of Portugal 2020 will unfortunately not take place this year,” said an event statement.
“The health and safety of everyone involved remains the priority as we navigate these unprecedented circumstances.”
While the event was announced last October as returning to World RX on a one-year deal, following a year’s hiatus from the series, the statement concluded by saying: “We very much look forward to welcoming the drivers, teams and fans to the Montalegre International Circuit for this world-class event in 2021.”
The Spanish round of the series at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya a week later (October 17-18) will now become a double-header weekend for rounds seven and eight, much like the opening three weekends of World RX in Sweden, Finland and Latvia.
Following the Latvian and Spanish rounds, the World RX season is currently set to conclude with Belgian round at Spa in late November (21-22), the same weekend as the World Rally Championship’s Ypres round, which will also visit the Formula 1 venue, with the final World RX event set to take place at the Nurburgring in mid-December, the first time the series will have visited the German circuit.
Ahead of the fifth and sixth rounds of the series this weekend, former double-champion Johan Kristoffersson leads the standings.
