FIA President buoyant about WRC future
author: Best-of-Rally-Live
A former successful co-driver himself (although he has never won the Rallye Monte-Carlo), he expressed his optimism that world rallying will bounce back after the surprise disappearance of its former promoter, North One Sport (NOS).
The Frenchman accepted that the recent, unexpected loss of NOS put the FIA and the World Rally Championship in an uncomfortable position, but underlined that he saw the ‘crisis’ as an opportunity for the series.
“We want to be ambitious to secure better futures for the world championship, the European championship and the sport in general,” he said. “Once we have chosen a new promoter for the WRC, we will work actively with them, the event organisers, competitors and manufacturers to bring the championship to where it was previously. I don’t want to rush, but I really feel that 2013 will see a step forward, followed by a further step in 2014, and I am optimistic that we will get to where we want to be.”
Jean Todt confirmed that he believes in each event having its individual ‘soul’ and that he wants the ‘dream’ factor to become a predominant characteristic of rallies once again. “Sometimes, today, I can only recognise the different cars because of their sponsors.”
The calendar also appears to be a priority for the Frenchman. “With 10 rounds in Europe, and three elsewhere, it is not a world series. We need a better balance, with events in Africa, Russia, Asia, etc. I would like to see a situation where it is half and half.” He also repeated his intention to build a strong European Rally Championship on several occasions.
He refused to reveal details about his search for a new promoter, although he did mention Eurosport Events and “other potential candidates”.
“For the Rallye Monte-Carlo, we had an emergency. We worked closely with the ACM and Eurosport to find a solution and I think the result is quite pleasing. Rally Sweden follows in a few weeks’ time and we are continuing to work to find a satisfactory agreement for the remainder of the year.”
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