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An expanded, 14-round calendar will ensure that next season’s World Rally Championship has truly ‘global reach’, according to Andrew Wheatley – the FIA’s current Road Sport Director.
The Championship last comprised 14 events in 2020 only for the schedule to be shortened and re-jigged because of the COVID-19 health pandemic.
It also opened the door for other countries to join that year, with Rally Estonia a newcomer alongside ACI Rally Monza in Italy.
The following year, 12 points scoring events appeared on the roster with this increasing by one to 13 for the current campaign.
WRC Event Director Simon Larkin has already pieced together over half the line-up for 2024 so far, with Chile, Monte Carlo, Sweden, Greece, Portugal, Kenya, and Sardinia all hosting a round, with Finland and Japan set to remain in the competition.
Also confirmed is the tri-nation Central European Rally and, for the first time, Latvia with its Tet Rally Liepaja event which has featured prominently in the FIA European Rally Championship, although its date has still to be set in stone.
Who the rest of the much sought after slots go to has yet to be decided, although the belief is that Argentina looks like becoming the second American round if the United States fails in its efforts, with the Middle East expected to make its return to the series.
With neither Australia or New Zealand expected to feature, and Rally Northern Ireland’s chances diminishing over on-going funding issues, the focus is on Rally Croatia and Rally Guanajuato Mexico.
“The WRC Promoter is working on finalising what is intended to be a 14-round calendar,” said Wheatley. “Once the World Rally Championship Commission gives this the green light, it will be to the WMSC [World Motorsport Council] for ratification as soon as is practically possible.
“While we cannot go into specifics, the expectation is for a calendar with a global reach as part of the FIA Presidential team’s ambition,” added Wheatley, whose involvement with the World Rally Championship initially started with M-Sport Ford after the start of the Millenium.
Meanwhile, it has been announced that during future rounds of the World Rally Championship fans should be able to enjoy ‘unrestricted views’ of teams working on their cars during service.
The World Rally Championship Commission proposal was passed by the FIA World Motor Sport Council during its Cordoba meeting and comes into effect at next week’s Rally Estonia.
Previously, screens had been put in place by teams – particularly on Tarmac events – to stop their rivals from seeing what tyre choice their crews had selected.
‘Applications for a waiver can be submitted to the FIA for consideration’, although the circumstances under which this would be warranted have yet to be communicated.
