Rallye de France refuses FIA’s new WRC contract

Much to nobody’s surprise, rally organizers started coming out of annonimity and are expressing their protests against FIA’s new WRC contract more openly.

As the article on iRally reveals, Rallye de France is leading the protests and with some pretty solid arguments if I may say so. With much details of the whole deal still unavailable to general public it remains to be seen what FIA will present on World Motor Sports Council meeting on June 15, but regardless there are points in new contract that are not making organizers happy.

“We remind you that WRC Commission’s internal regulations state that its mission is to set out the WRC calendar and to propose it to the Woirld Council. There is no stipulation that the Commission must validate a condition attached to the signature of a contract with the FIA.”, says the official response by French FFSA to FIA WRC Commision President Jarmo Mahonen, and quoted by Motorsport News.

French federation claims Mr Mahonen has no “legal basis” to make “establishment of the calendar subject to a rule determined” by Mr Mahonen’s own initiative. Finally, FFSA says it will call on the World Motor Sports Council to arbitrate if FIA insists in pursuing the initiative already named the 100k euro calendar.

Is it possible that this whole initiative of reshaping how the WRC calendars are built and maintained is the work and sole responsibility of Jarmo Mahonen?

Full article on iRally.