World Council approves WRC changes

In an effort to drive down costs, the Mille Pistes concept of recceing will be used from next season. Also, crews must use either their own rally car or a standard car during the recce.

Testing has also been restricted, with testing outside of Europe banned. The traditional pre-event test has also been canned, with testing prohibited in the country of a rally from the Saturday before the event until the end of the rally. A testing ban throughout the months of August and November has also been introduced.

The Council has also passed a move to limit the number of tyres a competitor can use. From next year a maximum of tyres equal to 10 times the number of tyre change zones will be allocated per driver.

From 2004 manufacturer points will be scored by two-car teams with both results counting. This should allow Peugeot to swap between its two number two drivers, Harri Rovanpera and Freddy Loix.

The Council also looked at flexi-servicing, where two-car teams are serviced one after the other rather than at the same time. This would require fewer personnel therefore also reducing costs. A regulation regarding flexi-servicing will be submitted to the December meeting of the Council.

The council also approved the final calendar for the 2004 Championship. The only change from the previous draft is a switch in dates of the New Zealand and Argentina events. Rally New Zealand will now take place on April 16-18, with Rally Argentina held on June 11-13.

January 23-25
February 6-8
March 12-14
April 16-18
May 14-16
May 28-30
June 11-13
June 25-27
August 6-8
August 20-22
September 3-5
September 17-19
October 1-3
October 15-17
October 29-31
November 12-14

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World Council approves WRC changes

The radical shake-up of the World Rally Championship has been rubberstamped following a meeting of the World Motor Sport Council yesterday (Wednesday)