Tag: World Motor Sport Council

  • FIA World Rally Championship: 14 rounds in 2019, season to begin in January; WRC 3 dropped

    FIA World Rally Championship: 14 rounds in 2019, season to begin in January; WRC 3 dropped

    Paris, 13 October 2018: The FIA’s World Motor Sport Council which met here on Friday, approved a 14-round calendar for the World Rally Championship while dropping the WRC 3 category from the programme, while the total distance of Special Stages has been reduced from a maximum of 500 to a maximum of 350 Kms.

    The 2019 FIA World Rally Championship calendar is confirmed as follows:

    27 January: Rally Monte Carlo

    17 February: Rally Sweden

    10 March: Rally Mexico

    31 March: Rally France

    28 April: Rally Argentina

    12 May: Rally Chile

    2 June: Rally Portugal

    16 June: Rally Italy

    4 August: Rally Finland

    25 August *: Rally Germany

    15 September: Rally Turkey

    6 October *: Rally Great Britain

    27 October *: Rally Spain

    17 November *: Rally Australia

    * Date subject to confirmation

    DECISIONS IN A NUTSHELL

    In order to give consistent identity to drivers and assist with promotion, Priority 1 drivers will be free to choose their permanent car number from 2019, except number 1, which will always be reserved for the reigning World Rally Champion.

    As part of an overall cost reduction plan aimed at removing or reducing the cost of elements that do not add to the spectacle of the Championship, the number of test days will be reduced from 55 to 42 for WRC Manufacturer teams. The total distance of special stages has been reduced from a maximum of 500 to a maximum of 350 kilometres.

    From 2019, the support championships will be restructured to help increase the number of entrants in Manufacturer Championships, to boost the number of factory supported drivers and cars, and further encourage private competitors to the WRC 2 and Junior WRC Championships. Building on the success of the R5 car, a new WRC 2 Pro Championship for Drivers, Co-Drivers and Manufacturers will be created as a platform for registered R5 manufacturers.

    The same specification R5 car will continue to be used in the FIA WRC 2 Championship. This championship will be solely for private entrants, with the intention being to attract more drivers from national and regional championships.

    In order to continue supporting the progression of young talent in the sport, the format of the Junior WRC Championship will remain unchanged. The WRC 3 Championship will cease from 2019 although competitors in two-wheel drive cars are still eligible to enter events.

    The Championships will therefore be as follows:

    FIA World Rally Championship for Drivers, Co-drivers and Manufacturers
    FIA WRC 2 Pro Championship for Drivers, Co-drivers and Manufacturers
    FIA WRC 2 Championship for Drivers and Co-drivers
    FIA Junior WRC Championship for Drivers, Co-drivers and Nations.

    – Source: fia.com

  • FIA World Motor Sport Council meeting: 2019 Formula 1 season to commence on March 17

    FIA World Motor Sport Council meeting: 2019 Formula 1 season to commence on March 17

    Paris, 13 October 2018: With no new additions, the 2018 Formula One season will again comprise 21 races, beginning with the Australian GP in Melbourne on the weekend of March 17 as per the calendar announced by the sport’s World governing body FIA following the meeting of the World Motor Sport Council here on Friday, hosted by FIA President Jean Todt and Deputy President for Sport Graham Stoker.

    Besides approving the calendar for Formula 1 and the World Rally Championship, the Council also approved MRF Challenge as one of the four international series, the others being Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Middle East, Asian Le Mans Series and the W Series.

    The 2019 season calendar was approved as follows:

    17 March: Australia, Melbourne

    31 March: Bahrain, Sakhir

    14 April: China, Shanghai

    28 April: Azerbaijan, Baku

    12 May: Spain, Barcelona

    26 May: Monaco, Monaco

    9 June: Canada, Montreal

    23 June: France, Le Castellet

    30 June: Austria, Spielberg

    14 July: Great Britain, Silverstone

    28 July: Germany, Hockenheim

    4 August: Hungary, Budapest

    1 September: Belgium, Spa

    8 September: Italy, Monza

    22 September: Singapore, Singapore

    29 September: Russia, Sochi

    13 October: Japan, Suzuka

    27 October: Mexico, Mexico City

    3 November: USA, Austin*

    17 November: Brazil, São Paulo

    1 December: Abu Dhabi, Yas Marina

    * Subject to ASN approval

    THE DECISIONS IN BRIEF

    The Council approved changes to the 2019 Sporting Regulations including:

    –  Changes to the Safety Car regulations to ensure there is a consistent point at which drivers may overtake when the Safety Car returns to the pits. This will now be the same in all three types of restart

    – The teams will now be responsible for initial scrutineering of their cars. Before the cars go on track for the first time, teams must declare conformity with all safety related matters

    – The official end-of-race signal will now be a chequered light panel, although the chequered flag will still be shown

    RELIEF FOR TEAM PERSONNEL

    For 2020, the team personnel curfew – the amount of time for which all team personnel must be away from the track – will increase from eight to nine hours.

    Formula 1 Strategy Group and Commission proposals concerning the 2019 Technical Regulations were agreed, including:

    – Changes to the mirror regulations and also associated rear wing changes (height) for rear view visibility and safety (Articles 3.6 and 14.3)

    – The on-board camera regulations will be modified to improve the TV spectacle (Article 21)

    – Rear end-plate lights are to be added for safety (Article 14.5)

    – Minor modifications to the halo fairing (Article 15.2.6) are to be made for safety reasons during a potential driver extraction.

    – Source: fia.com