[WRC] News & Rumours (part V) 2017

[AnttiL]

They don't need to visit service park, it can be tire fitting zone also.
And who says that there can be only two loops and not three loops of 80km?

Like I said above, you can have more, but usually the liaisons to the service are so long that there's no time to do a third leg. Of course you could do three legs with just refuel and tyre refitting but a rally like that would probably be disliked by the drivers and be dropped from the series.

Stages can only normally be used twice.

To find a third loop would be expensive and difficult for organisers (equipment, markshalls etc)

True. Only Super Specials can be run more than twice. And it's also sadly true that the decreased popularity of rally makes it harder for organizers to find people to run stages. Also longer rallies would be more expensive for the teams which could result in teams dropping out. Also especially more expensive for privateers.

Also adding that rallies have been for a couple of years now 300-370 kms long, usually closer to 300 than 370, it's not like this is a new thing for 2018.

The 80 km per leg rule came into effect in 2010. Before that the maximum length was 400 kms, and even 360 km for some years.

EDIT: I also forgot the limited tyre rule. If you made a really long route with three legs per day, would the cars run out of fresh tyres?
EDIT2: Found another rule concerning tyres: A maximum of 7 tyre changes is permitted on any one rally