by Rob Wilkins


Ex-Top Gear presenter, Tony Mason has criticised plans to start 'rotating' FIA World Rally Championship events from 2009.

Mason, who in addition to winning the RAC Rally with Roger Clark in 1972, also finished second in 1974 and 1975, told Crash.net Radio at the recent Castle Combe Rallyday that he fears proposals for alternating events every year won't work as it will just 'confuse' the public.

He also added that he is not in favour of the calendar being slashed from 16 events per year to twelve.

"I think it is nice to have a proper championship with 16 events but I suppose they are trying to reduce the actual expenses for manufacturers in flying cars around the world. I don't think it should be watered down though or made any easier. It should stay at 16 events," he stated.

"I am not into the politics of it however, but I do know they make lots of mistakes in these kinds of things and regret it.

"This business of taking events out and putting them in a year later and swapping them and dropping them and all that, it just makes it confusing. It should be nice and simple. The general public should know there are 12 rallies and they are in every continent in the world and that is the world championship."

Petter Solberg's co-driver, Phil Mills meanwhile also said that he has concerns about rotating events. In contrast to Mason though, he reckons the decision to go back to twelve events per season is a good one.

"It is a very big positive move. All of a sudden teams are talking about running three cars with junior drivers' in the third car. Other manufacturers' are now sniffing around the championship because they are not daunted by this huge logistical problem of 16 rallies and obviously the cost of 16 rallies too," he added in a separate interview.

"So, yes, it is a massive step forward and it should have been done a long time ago. When it went from 12 to 14 everybody said it was a mistake. Then when they were talking about going back to 12 it actually went the other way and up to 16. That was the biggest mistake the championship made. It has only gone backwards since that move. So let's get back to 12 again and let's get common-sense back into the championship and get more manufacturers' and cars out there."

Pressed on if rotating events will work though, Phil was less convinced. He did note however that it is worth trying: "That is a good question. Traditionally if you rest an event for 12 months then the event tends to get, not sloppy, but they are not match fit for the following year. I think the standard of events is in danger of slipping back ever so slightly just because of that. It is a difficult one to do," he continued.

"It all started because all these candidate events came in and paid these huge sums of money to the FIA to be considered as a candidate event. They all put on these fantastic rallies – and they have been fantastic – and the FIA found themselves in a position where they had to run them. They got themselves in a bit of corner.