[Weasel 555]

The legendary Rallye Monte-Carlo, which ran for an 80th time earlier this year, will open the 2013 FIA World Rally Championship, a meeting of the FIA World Motor Sport Council confirmed in Paris earlier today.

In other changes to the 13-round schedule for next season, Rally Australia returns following a one-year absence while Italy’s round moves from October this year to a June slot next year. The other major change is Great Britain’s event returning to its traditional final-round slot in November having run earlier this month.

The dates shown below are the Sunday of each rally weekend. However, the exact itinerary of each round is subject to final confirmation by the individual event organisers.

Rallye Monte-Carlo: 20 January 2013

Rally Sweden: 10 February 2013

Rally Mexico: 10 March 2013

Rallye de Portugal: 14 April 2013

Rally Argentina: 5 May 2013

Acropolis Rally (Greece): 2 June 2013

Rally d’Italia: 23 June 2013

Rally Finland: 4 August 2013

Rallye Deutschland: Date TBC

Rally Australia: 15 September 2013

Rallye de France: 6 October 2013

Rally de Espana: 27 October 2013

Rally of Great Britain: 17 November 2013

click: wrc.com/news/2013

 

[Weasel 555]

Exciting changes for 2013 WRC

The FIA World Rally Championship will get a new global promoter from 2013 after the World Motor Sport Council gave the proposal the green light.

At a meeting in Paris earlier today, the WMSC approved for the FIA to proceed with an agreement with The Sportsman Media Group and Red Bull Media House to become the new global promoter of the FIA World Rally Championship from 2013.

In a statement, the governing body said: “The promoter will be responsible for investing and developing the WRC with a view to increasing its profile, reputation and commercial value. In particular, the promoter, working in close collaboration with the FIA, will be focused on introducing live television and an innovative digital media strategy in the next years.”

In other exciting developments, the support championship structure has been revamped, while a number of cost-cutting measures have been announced. A summary of other changes for 2013 appears below:

Assistance for WRC Teams

As part of a cost-reduction process and to attract greater entries, the WMSC confirmed WRC Teams competing in the 2013 FIA World Rally Championship will now only have to contest one round outside of Europe. WRC Teams must however still nominate and take part in a minimum of seven events. Current WRC Teams include the Adapta World Rally Team and the Qatar World Rally Team.

WRC-2 is go!

The structure of the support championships has been revised to reflect the interests and demands of the competitors. From 2013, the current Super 2000 World Rally Championship will be replaced by the FIA WRC-2 Championship including cars with four-wheel drive (R5, R4 and S2000). A specific cup for cars in the Group N category will also form part of the WRC-2 Championship, and titles for teams, drivers and co-drivers will be awarded to those who have scored the most points in six of the seven events in which they have taken part.

WRC-3 replaces PWRC

The current Production Car World Rally Championship will be replaced by the FIA WRC-3 Championship, including Group R cars with two-wheel drive (R3, R2 and R1). Titles for teams, drivers and co-drivers will be awarded to those who have scored the most points in five of the six events in which they have taken part.

Junior title returns

The current FIA WRC Academy will be re-named the FIA Junior WRC Championship. The Junior title was dropped when the all-new WRC Academy initiative was introduced for 2011.

Safety first

For safety reasons and therefore with immediate effect, each crew that is entered with a World Rally Car is permitted to use a route note car on asphalt events.

More cost-cutting moves

To limit costs and encourage participation, from 2013 the use of the latest evolution of parts homologated by manufacturers will not be mandatory for World Rally Cars entered by drivers not scoring points in the Manufacturers’ Championship. This also applies to all cars in the S2000 category with a 1.6-litre turbo engine.

click: wrc.com/news/changes-for-2013-wrc

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[Billyee]

huge news! Is a route note car the same as a gravel crew?