WRC promoter urged to raise game for the championship
Rally Mexico director Patrick Suberville has admitted the World Rally Championship has to go backwards before it can go forwards under the new promoter
Suberville said the series needs to return to the standards and levels of publicity achieved under former promoter North One Sports in 2010 to use as a base for the future development of the championship.
Red Bull Media House and Sportsman Media representatives met with the event organisers in Paris last week and while Suberville was impressed with the firm's plans, he added there was plenty of work to do.
"The television production for us this year was awful," said Suberville. "I'm not talking about the images, they are good, I'm talking about things like the bannering for our sponsors and the general production.
"We have to go back to the level we were at two years ago before we seriously start to move forward."
Suberville rejected concerns of a lack of immediate WRC growth due to the inbound promoter's inexperience of the sport.
"This [Red Bull] is a company which has done many great things," said Suberville. "They haven't gone into this thing just to dip their big toe. I could feel the confidence coming from them in the meeting.
"They will do this efficiently, there's a feeling they know what they are doing - if the investment is needed then they can do it."
Suberville was also quick to praise the FIA's new rally director Jarmo Mahonen, saying: "I am extremely confident that Jarmo is the right man to do this job. We had doubts at the start of the season, when everything was difficult, but Jarmo understands the needs of the events. We're on the same page with him."
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