WRC confident of Middle East round in 2025
The World Rally Championship is confident the Middle East will host a round of the championship next season
WRC is confident of hosting a Middle East round in 2025. It has been a goal of the championship to return to the Middle East for the first time since Rally Jordan in 2011, with Saudi Arabia being the target to host a round in 2025. According to the WRC, a desert rally in this region is a crucial addition to its current calendar. In the last two years, plans to add a Middle East round to the WRC schedule have come close to being realized and it now seems likely that it will happen in 2025, as stated by WRC event director Simon Larkin.
“We remain absolutely confident that in 2025 there will be a Middle East round of the WRC,” Larkin told media including Autosport. “We’re also very confident because we will be ambitious that when we have a WRC event in the region, we think it can also revitalize the Middle East Rally Championship, and we will work very tirelessly to make that happen. We think it’s a really critical market for competitors. We all remember quite a few years ago we had so many Middle Eastern competitors competing here at every level, and we want to bring that back and having a foundation event there we know is a critical thing there.”
The possible inclusion of a Middle East round to the championship next year arrives at a time when several countries are bidding to join the WRC in 2025.
Ireland is among those aiming to secure a three-year deal to join the WRC beginning next year, after revealing its plans to the media last month.
Round 04 Rally Jordan. 14th-16th April 2011.Petter Solberg, Citroen WRC, Action.Worldwide Copyright: McKlein/LAT
Photographer:McKlein / Motorsport Images
Date taken:Apr 15, 2011
Series:WRC
Event:Rally Jordan
Sub-event:Leg two
Drivers: Petter Solberg
Teams: Jordan
Ireland
The WRC has also said that adding Ireland to its calendar is a “priority” and a “key event to cover the whole British Isles.”
Autosport understands the WRC Promoter will participate in a meeting to discuss Ireland’s plans next week.
The championship that last visited the nation in 2009, was when Sebastien Loeb won the event.
Motorsport Ireland wishes to rotate the rally across three venues: Limerick, Kerry, and Waterford.
While venues have now been selected, the rally will still require funding for its bid to be successful. An application to the Irish government is underway to secure 15 million euro spread across three years, which Motorsport Ireland hopes will return 300 million euro to the economy.
In addition to Ireland, reports from South America last week have indicated that Paraguay is also planning a bid to join the WRC next year, although a deal is yet to be reached.