World Rally Championship teams to hold crisis talks with promoter

The two parties sorted what was described as a side issue on the Rally of Portugal, when the teams were denied video footage and the promoter was, in turn, denied interviews with the drivers.

The forthcoming meeting is now seen as the crunch point in the argument.

Prior to last week's Faro-based event, the teams had been close to signing a contract for this season, but as one senior source put it: "Last week smashed that and [agreement] is now further away than ever."

The date and location for the meeting has yet to be decided on, but both parties are determined not to leave the table until a deal is done and the contract signed.

Central to the debate will be the promoter's general plans for the series, the media offering and the financing of the championship's development.

Shunts on the stages and behind the scenes

Citroen team boss Yves Matton told AUTOSPORT: "We found a short-term compromise in Portugal, we solved some of the problems and now we look forward to the meeting before Argentina.

"For the manufacturer to be involved in the long-term we need to see some plans on what is the future from the promoter.

"We don't just want the plan, we want the timetable and financial case of the promotion of the championship."

Volkswagen's Jost Capito added: "We will have a big meeting and we believe everything will be sorted. We will have agreement before Argentina.

"In Portugal we agreed we could forget what has happened in the past and start with a clean sheet of paper - that's very positive."

Promoter company chief Oliver Ciesla remained upbeat about the series' future.

"Relations are intact between the promoter and the teams," he said.

"We quickly found consensus and we all returned to focusing on the rally.

"Fans can find the most recent WRC clips on the teams' websites and can enjoy driver interviews within the WRC programmes.

"Overall, the spirit is to jointly move forward. The teams and the promoter will meet regularly and also between the rallies.

"We expect constructive and positive talks."