Northern Ireland could become regular WRC round in future

The World Rally Championship Promoter says it is open to the idea of a multi-year commitment that would pass the mantle of hosting the British round of the competition to Northern Ireland.

Jason Craig_1

18 Jan 2022

Efforts to bring the WRC to the province this summer under the auspices of Rally Northern Ireland promoter Bobby Willis were dashed yesterday when it emerged Motorsport UK had pulled its support.

The governing body for motorsport in Great Britain and Northern Ireland attributed the decision to the fact “no definitive offer of the requisite funding” had been made by the Stormont Executive.

For his part, Willis has already started working on 2023 and is staying positive. “My position hasn’t changed. I am happy to keep trying to get it here,” he said.

“We were really close to seeing it materialise and while it won’t happen in 2022, I continue to believe in it and the many benefits that it will bring.”

For some time now it has been accepted that hosting a round of the WRC here would be a one-year affair for the province but WRC Promoter Event Director Simon Larkin has said that is not necessarily the case.

“I believe there is the potential for that,” said Larkin when asked if Northern Ireland could become a regular fixture on the World Rally Championship itinerary.

“We are not pursuing this necessarily as a guaranteed one-off. If there is going to be good government support that allows the event to grow, to develop – an event that is going to be run at a WRC level which we know Bobby could do if he had the right resources – then it [a multi-year commitment] is a possibility. ”

Larkin said the patience shown by the WRC Promoter was a clear indication that it wanted Willis’s plans to come off.

“Firstly, the UK’s a very important market for us. We want to be there,” he added.

“I have never given Bobby any kind of guarantee but I absolutely want to do everything, as we have done up until this point, to see that it happens. We, as a Championship, want this to happen.

“The opportunity to do a WRC Tarmac rally in Northern Ireland or Ireland should never be given up on – ever. It [the bid] deserves to be given the attention and the effort that it has been given.”