The World Rally Championship schedule could switch to running over two calendar years from 2010 - as was proposed way back in 2005.
According to reports by
rallye-magazin.de, the changes could come into effect in two years time, with eight events making up the '2010 WRC championship', which will run from January 2010 to July 2010. The 2010-2011 WRC championship would then start in August 2010 and finish in April 2011 – essentially what is done with the A1 GP World Cup of Motorsport.
The plan is not a new one, although why it is being resurrected, after seemingly being shelved back in the summer of 2006 - the 'switch' was originally due to happen in 2007 - is unclear.
"We should perhaps run the championship from August to May, like football, rather than from January to December," Ford of Europe's motorsport director Mark Deans told the website.
Speaking to
Crash.net Radio back in
December 2005, Ford team director Malcolm Wilson, was at that point keen on the idea, adding that it would help to 'raise the profile' of the sport.
"Certainly, from a Ford point of view, we are definitely in favour of that," confirmed Wilson. "There are a lot of plus points from our side. It means in one sense you are not competing as much with
Formula One and
MotoGP.
"Ford views the television coverage as a vital part for the business case for the WRC. So the more opportunities we have in that direction then the better it is for everyone and I think it will help raise the profile of the WRC even further."
In a separate development meanwhile attempts to tweak the rotation plan, under which events will take place once every two years, have apparently been rejected by the
FIA.
It had been thought that certain events might be given 'special' status from 2010 - due to their importance, with the organisers of events such as the Rallye Monte Carlo, the Wales Rally GB and the Rally Finland all arguing that they should get a regular slot.
However, disappointingly for them,
rallye-magazin.de, adds that the FIA would not permit discussions on the topic.
Wales Rally GB boss Andrew Coe told
Crash.net Radio back in June that he was hopeful the rotation system would be altered. It now appears though that the event could be dropped in 2010, like Finland and others.
