Ireland in frame for 2022 WRC

An event in the United Kingdom is among six proposals fighting for four vacant spots on the 2022 World Rally Championship calendar, with a decision expected by September.

The WRC has been absent from the UK since 2019, after COVID-19 forced the cancellation of last year’s Rally GB amid a decrease in funding from the Welsh government. It lost its place on last year’s schedule to Belgium’s Ypres Rally, which was delayed to 2021 due to the pandemic.

A bid fronted by promoter Bobby Willis attempted to take the WRC to Northern Ireland for this year, but the project failed to secure the £2million funding to run the event. Even so, the plan is still alive and is in the mix for a slot on a 13-round 2022 WRC calendar. It is understood that talks are ongoing with Tourism Northern Ireland to take the WRC to the province for the first time since 2009 (pictured).

“Yes they [the Northern Ireland promoter] are working hard to try to be part of the calendar,” FIA rally director Yves Matton told Autosport. “I will not anticipate the result. I know that it is an ongoing process with the promoter. We all for sure want to have a rally in the UK and Great Britain. Where it is, is not the main issue; we would be happy to go back to Ireland. I would like in the future if we are able to, to have one event each year in Great Britain and go maybe to different regions. This would be in the trend of what we want to do.

“I’m really happy that at least these events [the nine confirmed] are now able to work and anticipate 2022, and I’m very confident that in September we will be able to finalise the full calendar.”

Croatia, Finland, Arctic Rally Finland and Ypres are all events featured on this year’s calendar that are at this stage absent from the 2022 schedule. New Zealand is also in the mix, pending travel restrictions, after missing out on its 2020 slot due to COVID-19.