GB Rally faces one-year lay-off

[mgmti]

The Wales Rally GB will drop off the world championship calendar in 2010 after motorsport's governing body announced a rotation policy.
The FIA's World Motor Sport Council says events will move to give new venues a chance to stage a rally, and the schedule will be cut to 12 events.

Britain and Ireland will both miss out in 2010.

The Monte Carlo Rally, which has only been off the schedule twice since 1949, will be rested for one year in 2009.



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2009 World Rally calendar:
1 February Ireland
15 February Norway
15 March Cyprus
5 April Portugal
26 April Argentina
24 May Italy 14 June Greece
28 June Poland
2 August Finland
6 September Australia
4 October Spain
25 October GB


2010 World Rally calendar:
24 January Monte Carlo
14 February Sweden
7 March Mexico
11 April Jordan
25 April Turkey
16 May New Zealand
20 June Indonesia
18 July Russia
8 August Bulgaria
22 August Germany
12 September Japan
10 October France

[Byron]

Well that suck's :para:

[Rally Matt]

Not surprising, I think many of the teams have been expressing concern at the high level of events on the WRC of late. 16 rallies is just too many. Costs have rocketed, partly down to the teams themselves and meddling from the FIA with regulations but at least if it happens in rotation its a fair system.

I would say that dropping both Rally Ireland and Rally GB in the same year is a poor solution, one or the other and considering Ireland has only just come on stream a bit of slap in the face too!

From a drivers point of view though, I don't rate Rally GB. the stages are too overused. Unless you are right up at the front its so rough, getting through is the best you can hope for rather than being competitive. It poor value for money for privateers and anyone outside of the WRC. Mainland European events of the WRC are much better. The saving grace of Rally GB is the organisation at ground level, the marshals and clubs that actually run the rally are the best in the world.

Like most World Class motorsport, the people who make it happen do it not for free, but often spend their own money making it happen. Something the fat cats of motorsport forget when they are lounging on their yacht anchored in Monaco harbour.