2012 World Rally Championship calendar - going endurance?

[Plan9]

I only hope they will have this streamed on the internet. Also wondering why they haven't done more to get Monte Carlo back sooner. I also think North America should be considered as it seems that Mini and Ford could pick up some customers there, Citroen probably not as it found in Japan

[Hartusvuori]

There are a spread full of speculation on Middle East/Abu Dhabi 2012 event and "longer distance events" on the latest GPWeek.

[General Prim]

Why not Morocco? The pics from historic event are great!

[jonkka]

I dont want the safari rally back.

Me neither but for entirely different reasons.

[General Prim]

Why do you not want Safari back? What do you have against it? I need reasons to forget one classic event like it, not simply no. I attended Safari for the first time in 1986 and it always will be be in my mind
OK in those times you can only see the cars maximum two times each day after travelling hundred of kms, but that was ADVENTURE, not nowdays that rallies are only sprints...

[Sulland]

I undeestand the whish from FIA to spread the sport to more continents, but the manufacturers should have a say in where they would like to rally from a marketing point of view. Not all new venues makes sense, and lets face it, the sport is still mostly european - since there is where the money is.

Maybe they should look at places like India, China, Brazil and North America where markets are huge.

[General Prim]

I am posting the answer of a friend of mine to my question....:

"Dear XX: Unfortunately life has changed since the "Good Old Days" of Kenya.

There are of course many detailed reasons why the Safari cannot happen again. Rally car design must allow the same type of car to win rallies everywhere in the world, but that situation could change, although I do not think the manufacturers would want that.

The major reason is that there is nobody capable of organising the event, The Kenya people are HOPELESSLY disorganised, both in administration but even more important, in commercial matters. In your old days, there was a special spirit that all the commercial companies in Kenya wanted to help each other make the Safari a success, for their joint benefit and for their country. Now their country is no better than any other African country, Tribes still kill each other, the leaders steal all the money. You will be telling me next that it is a pity the WRC does not still go to Ivory Coast...

These days the sport has good quality standards which the Kenya people can never accept. There is endemic stealing, eternal communication trouble, physical danger in the streets - so why have a rally there? Just for the chance for Citroen to sell a few more cars????

And we have quality standards as well. Even 20 years ago, it did not matter if a rally car killed a black person, Now it could threaten the whole sport.

The best thing we have about Safari are the memories and our old images, You cannot take 20 years off your life and pretend.

So now we come to an important problem. What do we do about Abu Dhabi? Did you see GPW this week?

For me the best thing about the sport is the ever-changing opportunity. We were lucky we remember Safari in the days it was worth remembering".

[N.O.T]

[B]
Now their country is no better than any other African country, Tribes still kill each other, the leaders steal all the money. You will be telling me next that it is a pity the WRC does not still go to Ivory Coast...

we have the same problems over here but we still organise a WRC event.

[CABAIO E'LONA]

in 2012 there will be no rally in Uruguay, endurance, but only in Argentina....

[NaBUru38]

That's not what Uruguayan F1 / Olympics journalist Mario Uberti said today. Time will tell.