Kankkunen calls for smaller calendar

The series has suffered a spate of manufacturer withdrawals in recent months, with only Ford and Subaru competing with latest specification works cars this season.

The Finnish star believes that by limiting the number of events, more drivers and manufacturers would be able to afford to compete in the entire championship.

"I'm worried," Kankkunen told Spanish daily Marca. "There is a problem, but there is a solution. The manufacturers are finding it very hard to compete in the championship without losing money and that has been clear in the past few years. They are not interested anymore.

"My philosophy is simple: less rallies and more drivers. That's the way to balance it and the manufacturers would get involved again. It's very expensive to run a team now. There should only be nine events."

However, from next season Citroen will rejoin and Suzuki will enter the main class for the first time, and there will be a shorter stand-alone season of eight rallies, before the WRC becomes a 16-round winter championship.

"From 2007 we will see good changes and the championship will be what it used to," Kankkunen added.