The Canary Islands have confirmed their participation in the WRC calendar next year, alongside speculation about Ireland’s return and new rallies in Paraguay and Saudi Arabia.
Negotiations have already taken place between the WRC Promoter and the president of Paraguay, with the promoter expressing a desire to add another event in South America.
“It’s work in progress. But one thing I can tell you, our idea is to have two rallies in South America. Which one it will be (Chile is already included), time will tell,” said Peter Thul, WRC Promoter’s Sports Director, to RallyJournal.com.
“Saudi Arabia is a long term project. We’re also quite optimistic that will come soon. We are also thinking about the new tarmac possibilities. At the moment it’s all a work in progress, but I hope in some weeks time we know more.”
The Promoter aims to expand the calendar to 14 events.
“This is the target. If it would be more, we have to talk to the manufacturers, because this is what we have said,” Thul confirmed.
In addition to the aforementioned countries, the WRC Promoter is eager to enter the U.S. market and is also interested in China’s vast potential.
“We haven’t visited China yet, but we are in contact with the Chinese Automotive Federation. It’s a mid- to long-term project, especially since the country was fully reopened just last year,” Thul noted, referring to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“But we have to plan our steps carefully. We are already in contact with them. We are collecting some ideas and as soon there’s something getting more concrete, we will definitely go there.”
While China might not join the calendar immediately, the U.S. has already hosted a candidate event.
“I think China is the single biggest car market at the moment, close to the U.S. And therefore it’s important to go there where manufacturers sell the cars, for sure.”
