Quote Originally Posted by N.O.T View Post
yes i am sad as well... but i have an idea.

Bring the financial situation of the world back in 2008 and i will give you back your 15 rounds... deal ?
Yes you are right, using your logic it really does makes sense to now have almost all of the rallies in one of the most sluggish economic regions of the world - Europe. If global economic stability and growth were a factor then most rallies of recent years should have been based in Asia/Pacific - including the US.

Last I read there were still more countries wanting to host an event than available slots - which again doesn't make sense, whose budget is it that dictates there are only 13 rounds?

The 2009 season included twelve rallies, which was three fewer than the 2008 season, because the FIA imposed a "Round Rotation" System in order to attract candidate rallies to have a chance to be a WRC event. Monte Carlo, Sweden, Mexico, Jordan, Turkey, Germany, New Zealand, France and Japan were dropped from the calendar for 2009, but returned at the 2010 WRC Season. Ireland, Norway, Cyprus, Portugal, Poland and Australia returned to the 2009 season.

But then that didn't work as Rallies couldn't build infrastructure and a business model around a one off event with no guarantee of returning, so they then introduced in some cases a longer term rotation - NZ and Australia being examples where they would host it in turn 3 years repeating. But now that seems to have gone out of the door.

And all the while Rally GB has been there - stuck in the mud.

No rally should be safe from a review and if it doesn't deliver any value to the sport it should be evaluated.

Don't forget, Australia have also been lobbying hard to be the end rally for the season positioning it as a summer event rather than the slush-fest of rally GB. Don't underestimate the lobbying powers of the Australians...