RallyRACC 2011, from 21 to 23 October with S-WRC and P-WRC

(04/11/2010)

The members of the FIA World Motor Sport Council met yesterday at the FIA’s headquarters in Paris to take several decisions which will have to be approved by the FIA General Assembly, which is due to be held this Friday. Among the topics concerning the World Rally Championship, the decisions taken dealt with the calendars of the WRC support championship, namely S-WRC (Super 2000) and P-WRC (Production), which will both be included in the coming 47th RallyRACC, to be held from 21 to 23 October 2011.

Two of the most interesting support championships and with the largest number of entrants in the FIA WRC, i.e. the Production World Rally Championship (P-WRC) and the Super 2000 World Rally Championship (S-WRC) will thus be part of next year’s 47th RallyRACC. Now that the Junior World Rally Championship, the series that usually staged its last round at the Spanish event, has come to an end, the RallyRACC will be receiving these two series. The fact that the contestants of the two most prestigious titles after the WRC will be racing at the Spanish Rally is an endorsement for a race which is highly valuated by the drivers and gathers the ingredients needed to host the largest possible number of participants.

The 47th RallyRACC will be staged from 21 to 23 October 2011, as the last of six scoring rounds of the S-WRC and the penultimate of seven scoring rounds of the P-WRC. The RACC and the FIA are considering the possibility of including the Spanish race as a scoring round of the new WRC Academy, becoming part of the six-round calendar of this new series which is going to run in parallel to the WRC, with drivers under 24 years of age at the wheel of Ford Fiesta R2 vehicles on Pirelli tyres.

GT may also be eligible
From January 2011 a new Group R4 category will be created. A kit, homologated by the manufacturers of current Group N cars, will be made available for these 2-litre turbo Group N cars to ensure they can remain competitive with the Super 2000 cars.

To increase competition and the spectacle in all FIA Rally Championship events, the WMSC agreed to the principle of studying technical regulations which potentially permit GT cars to compete in these events.

Spain and Finland, the only events with S-WRC and P-WRC
Spain, together with Finland, will be the only rallies to host both P-WRC and S-WRC rounds, which with no doubt will boost the entry figures. Below are the calendars of the WRC support championships for 2011:

2011 FIA Super 2000 World Rally Championship
4 to 6 March - Mexico
14 to 16 April - Jordan
6 to 8 May – Italy-Sardinia
17 to 19 June - Greece
29 to 31 July - Finland
19 to 21 August - Germany
30 September to 2 October – France-Alsace
21 to 23 October - RallyRACC-Spain
Note: Seven out of eight events to count
 
2011 FIA Production Car World Rally Championship
11 to 13 February - Sweden
25 to 27 March - Portugal
27 to 29 May – Argentina
29 to 31 July - Finland
9 to 11 September - Australia
21 to 23 October - RallyRACC-Spain
11 to 13 November – Great Britain-Wales
Note: Six out of seven events to count