The Portugal leg of the World Rally Championship (WRC) has been cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic after already having been postponed once, the race's organisers said on Thursday.

The Automovel Club de Portugal said in a statement that "significant efforts" had been made to stage the event at the end of October after it was initially pushed back from its original dates of May 21-24 last month.

'Unpredictable situation'

"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," read the statement.

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

The COVID-19 virus has shredded the global sporting calendar and the WRC season has been hit hard. The Mexico rally was cut short by a day due to the virus while the Argentine (April 23-26) and Italian (June 4-7) races are yet to be rescheduled after being postponed.

The following leg in Kenya is still scheduled for its original date of July 16-19. Three rounds, in Monte-Carlo, Sweden and Mexico, have been raced, although Sweden was curtailed by a lack of snow.