The proposed calendar back in 2019 for 2020 was much better than this; okay swap out Turkey for Greece but still.
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The proposed calendar back in 2019 for 2020 was much better than this; okay swap out Turkey for Greece but still.
That site usually isn’t that reliable and I hope they aren’t also this time
FIA president is from Middle East
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Has there been a candidate/test event there? If its a typical desert rally perhaps hoping Nasser or another Middle East driver will win...
Also not very sustainable expecting the circus/media etc to fly back from Mexico then back to Sth America in a matter of weeks.
Would it be more sustainable to do it with two months in between? It's not possible to do the events so quickly back to back that everyone could go directly from event to another. The service gear moves slowly from Mexico to South America in several weeks. This has been the same in the past as well, Corsica was driven between Mexico and Argentina from 2017 to 2019.
2019 Argentina and Chile were an exception, they were driven with a two week gap and linked cars. Some drivers even stayed the time in South America, some chose to fly home in between.
As for the whole calendar, I don't know if they can just pick and choose events like "we choose to have X tarmac rallies". They have to take what is available or with best contracts. I don't think Ypres ever was planning to be a permanent round, it has been just a substitute event now for two years in a row. As for Catalunya, I have no idea what's going on, they already had one year off and came back as full tarmac.
Not personally happy about a rally in the Saudis, but competionally it could be interesting.
Appreciate that logistics arent always straightforward factoring in Customs clearance etc its more about perception in the outside world going forwards I guess. The hacks will be ok clocking up the airmiles however thought the FIA and the promoters might have been a bit more interested in showing a more joined up approach than just random events going to the highest bidders.
Shame about Cataluyna if true as IMO we need a proper race track tarmac event as the cars look that much better in full tarmac spec than with those gaping wheel arches.
Other than Estonia ( and not wishing to upset anyone there despite the amount of Ott fans and their passion, its just too similar in "look" to Finland) it appears to be a good calendar with a nice mix of "classics" and newer entries. Not crying about our lack of a UK event, its clear we neither want or deserve a round even with a home grown ex WRC Champion as the head of the sport here or an ex WRC Champion in a senior FIA position. If they can't help grease the wheels the drought will continue.
I'd still argue, again, no offense to Estonian fans, it would be better to have another Tarmac event, whether it's Spain or Germany but since both apparently don't seem important enough for the FIA & Promoter it's hard to see them back on the calendar or for any tarmac event to replace them for next year. My only hope is they (the ASNs) won't quit and will try to come back to the WRC calendar for 2024.