The twists and turns of a turbulent 2020 WRC season

The 2020 World Rally Championship bestrode all 12 months of the Gregorian calendar, and in terms of the competition it was a cracker. Moreover, it was an inspiration in dark days for the world and our industry.

Britain dared to dream of seeing its first world champion crowned for 19 years but, such was the intensity to the competition, almost everyone had their moment in the sun.

It all began back in January, with six-time champion Sebastien Ogier claiming the first stage win in Monte Carlo on his first event for Toyota. Many harboured fears of witnessing another demonstration run for the Frenchman when armed with such a potent weapon as the Yaris, which Ott Tanak had used to finally end Ogier's sequence of titles in 2019.

But on the very next stage, Hyundai's Thierry Neuville decided to go all Walter Rohrl on us and beat everyone by more than 25 seconds. Then Elfyn Evans, the perennial understudy at M-Sport, powered his new Toyota to the lead of the rally. And then reigning champion Tanak flew off a mountain in his Hyundai.

The magnitude of the Estonian's accident, from being launched into the treetops and then plunging 100 feet to the road below, should never be underestimated, and both he and co-driver Martin Jarveoja needed serious physio to get through Rally Sweden the following month.

"It was a quite a high-speed accident," said Tanak. "Obviously the safety equipment did its job so I believe we are happy to be here and no injuries so it's nice!"

Nine-time champion Sebastien Loeb was also in a Hyundai on the Monte, an event he had made his own for a decade. Loeb's guest appearances with Citroen and latterly Hyundai have only occasionally brought back the old magic, though, and his Monte was downbeat.

"It has been a difficult one all weekend and it seems the planets were not aligned for us," he said, somewhat more forlornly than anyone in the WRC is used to. "We just had to complete the rally, conserving our tyres to make it to the end. It's not nice to tackle stages in that way but it was all we could do."

In the end, victory fell to Neuville. It was a moment that he had been longing for and which had been denied in 2019 by a sticky throttle on the final morning. His battle with Evans and Ogier in 2020 provided the most entertaining Monte in years.

By the time the circus set off for round three in Mexico in March, the whispers had become a clamour and nobody felt more alarmed than the WRC's leading light, Ogier

"It was like in a fight: you give some punches and then 'bam', you get a big one back and you say, 'OK, how am I going to manage this one now?'" the Belgian said.

Sadly for Neuville's championship hopes, similar celebrations were not forthcoming in 2020. Like many, he was ill-prepared for the absence of snow in Sweden. Only Evans and co-driver Scott Martin had completely rethought their approach to the rally and it paid dividends.

"I think the first thing is the mindset because there's so much chatter going on about the event still being cancelled, whether they can't run or stages being shortened, and I think the first thing was just to block all that out," said Evans, who took his second WRC career victory. "We decided to write all-new pacenotes, not to reuse those from previous years."

These notes will become highly valued as Sweden's temperature aligns with that of northern France over the next decade. Evans, meanwhile, rose to the championship lead, delighting his team boss, four-time champion Tommi Makinen.

Sharing in the celebrations was Toyota's new star, Kalle Rovanpera, who won the powerstage and took his first WRC podium.

"In 2016 we arranged a drive day for Esapekka Lappi, Teemu Suninen and Kalle as well," said Makinen of his rising star. "Three drivers with our Yaris test car... and the first time Kalle jumped into the car and he was fastest. I could see immediately, 'OK now we are talking about driving flat-out!'"

With so much hope for the future, the increasing whispers of a curious and deadly virus from China were incongruous. By the time the circus set off for round three in Mexico in March, the whispers had become a clamour and nobody felt more alarmed than the WRC's leading light, Ogier.

"It was difficult for me to be in the race to be honest this morning - I almost didn't sleep last night," he said before the start in Guanajuato. "I was just, I don't know, concerned with this whole world situation at the moment and I really hope that what we do this weekend is right. I really hope that we don't bring any more danger here in a place where the cases are supposed to be lower."

Ogier was able to compartmentalise these concerns and delivered his most dominant performance of the year, one that moved him back ahead of Evans.

We can now look back on the naivety of that last pre-COVID weekend; at the Mexican fans who were disappointed that Ogier, wearing a mask at all times, refused to shake proffered hands or sign their goodies. Hopefully they will all still be there when the WRC returns after its one-year hiatus in 2021.

Initially there was wry disbelief among the travellers about what 'Chinese bat-flu' might have in store, but the sober reality was brought home by team members who had come from parts of the world where the pandemic was already starting to kill. As things turned bleaker by the hour, the support on offer to every member of the WRC community from the local event team and the FIA in particular was exemplary. We all got home safely - and then began the long months of silence.

The Toyota and Hyundai teams have enjoyed some insulation from COVID because their budgets are signed off years in advance. For M-Sport and the privateers who populate the rest of the entry at every WRC event, however, no such arrangement exists.

M-Sport had already suffered a grievous loss in Mexico when Lappi's Fiesta burned to the ground, taking hundreds of thousands of pounds with it, and then its world froze on the spot. We can but hope that the team will be able to bring back the talent that it has been forced to shed from its workforce during 2020.

Team principal Richard Millener has redefined the word 'stoicism' time and again, but his rewards were scant from a squad numbering Lappi and Suninen together with young Brit Gus Greensmith. Only the Finns threatened the podium and, while Lappi's star often burned brightest, it seldom lasted for the duration of an event.

In contrast, Suninen showed admirable tenacity and reached the podium in Mexico after a brilliant tussle with Tanak. But there was also frequent Finnish gloom. The low points came when any advantage that was won by inspired tyre choice or balls-out brilliance was wiped away by the big boys after a stage or two. This would admittedly sap anyone's spirit, but when his head dropped you could hear Millener's stress levels go up.

Mathematically, Ogier, Neuville and Tanak were all a threat to points leader Evans, but in the end only Ogier was in a position to strike when his team-mate skittered off on the final full day at Monza

During lockdown, the world made sourdough and watched apocalyptic box sets on Netflix, but WRC Promoter was working furiously to find a means with which to restart the 2020 season. Even before COVID, Chile had been abandoned because of political unrest. The pandemic then put paid to the return of the Safari, to Japan, to Argentina, Portugal, Finland, New Zealand and Germany.

In Britain, Formula 1 racing was allowed to happen but rallying was not. Thus when the WRC resumed it broke new and unexpected ground in Estonia in September. This was a highlight for all but while Tanak celebrated an emotional home win, his first for Hyundai, and Craig Breen saw the first green shoots of a career revival by equalling his best-ever WRC result, the rest of the field was plagued with broken wheels and delaminated tyres on rough and unfamiliar stages.

It was a similar story in Turkey, where at least the majority of runners had some experience, and Loeb returned to crown what may well be his last works WRC outing with his 119th podium in 180 career rallies.

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Victory fell to the ever-cautious Evans, who described his performance as "pretty average, really". His second win of the year, however, moved him 18 points clear of Ogier, who picked up his first (and only) non-score. It was another curiosity of a rally, but was followed almost immediately by a classic encounter in Sanremo.

Ogier brilliantly took the fight to the Hyundais of Dani Sordo, Neuville and Tanak as all three sought to outdo each other and carried their team to the cusp of the manufacturers' trophy. Sordo won, and the WRC's huge Spanish fanbase roared, while Evans's fourth place - one spot behind Ogier - meant he had a 14-point advantage. With the rest of the calendar still uncertain - the Ypres Rally appeared on it, then was cancelled - that was a handy gap to have going into what was the final of the seven-round season, Rally Monza.

Mathematically, Ogier, Neuville and Tanak were all a threat to points leader Evans, but in the end only Ogier was in a position to strike when his team-mate skittered off on the final full day as the changing conditions caught out many. Thus the crown was Ogier's once again - a seventh crown with a third team - while Hyundai retained its cherished manufacturers' title.

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"Obviously my mistake put a spanner in that job as well," said Evans after retiring. "So I'm really sorry for the team. We've had a fantastic car, a fantastic crew all year. I'm obviously disappointed for myself but also very sorry and disappointed for them as well."

Evans's heartbreak was felt keenly by team-mate Ogier. Between this and the ongoing pandemic, he was reserved in his celebrations.

"Right now we are living in a time that a lot of people are suffering all over the world and you have to be decent," he said, summing up the curious atmosphere at Monza perfectly. It's understandable that Ogier has now delayed his retirement to the end of 2021, after what everyone hopes will be a more normal season.

If 2020 has had any theme at all, it is that you simply never know how life is going to turn out. Also, for regular readers of Autosport's WRC coverage, you never know which analogy might be coming next.

So let's put it this way: in 1968, John Lennon shut himself in the kitchen after a furious argument and scribbled down a poem about words pouring like rain into a paper cup, creating the beatific masterpiece that is Across the Universe.

The motorsport industry has weathered a terrible time in 2020: one from which we will only be able to assess the damage in a year or two at the earliest. But, after shutting itself away, the WRC was also able to create something meaningful from this chaos. Thanks to the tireless industry of those who manage it, and the dedication of those who deliver it, our heroes in the cars were able to create an inspiring, competitive and often brilliant 2020 season that will be talked about for years to come.

Unlike any other sport except cycling and marathon running, rallying is out there in the raw, on real roads with real fans and exposed to the elements. To have conjured any kind of a season was a mindblowing achievement by the FIA, WRC Promoter, the event organisers and the teams.

It was imperfect but then so is life. Hopefully it will help to guide the sport's way out of the physical and financial impact of this disease. Or, to paraphrase Lennon, Jai guru deva, nothing's gonna change my world...