The Rally1 manufacturers involved in the World Rally Championship have delivered unanimous approval for America’s return to the series.
Ford, Toyota and Hyundai have long held America high on their WRC wish list and this month’s Rally US candidate event has only served to heighten desire for a first Stateside outing since 1988.
The FIA and WRC Promoter inspected stages and ceremonial locations in Tennessee and Kentucky, with the manufacturers happy to hear the positivity coming out of the candidate event.
Reflecting on what she’d seen, FIA road sport director Emilia Abel said: “It has been truly positive. I don’t know if we all came with expectations, but what we have seen from the team, from the stages, from the preparation level, it has been really, really, really positive.”
Toyota team principal Jari-Matti Latvala spent time testing the GR Corolla Rally RC2 in Kentucky last year. He agrees with Abel.
Toyota team principal Jari-Matti-Latvala took in some Kentucky stages when testing GR Corolla Rally RC2
“I know there are some really nice roads,” he said. “They’re smooth, no [big] stones, fast and flowing stages – really great. And in Nashville for the ceremonial start, I know there is this street [Broadway] which is famous for all kinds of events. It’s really nice to bring the rally to the area where there’s a lot of people. There is, overall, I think a very good plan.”
Latvala added that it was important to keep year-one expectations in check ahead of a likely 2027 event.
The Finn told DirtFish: “We just need to remember that, in the first years, of course, the investments are quite high. And rally is new in many areas in America. I think [it’s best] not to expect too much in the first year. It’s important is to build the culture.
“What now I can see in Rally Japan, the culture has been built over the years and it’s been getting more and more popular every year. Patience is important, but we have to get started – and, hopefully, it will be happening next year.
“I think it will bring some new energy and great spirit to the championship.
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“And, North America, it’s more than 300 million people living and a big car culture, big passion for the motorsport, and we (the WRC) are missing that continent. Look how popular Formula 1 is in the US, and in the 1990s, there was rarely an [F1] race there. Once you can get people interested on it, they will be hooked on it. That’s the way the Americans are.”
Based out of Michigan, Ford Racing’s global director Mark Rusbrook knows the American motorsport audience better than most.
“We have been encouraging the Promoter and FIA for the addition of a WRC round in the USA for some time now,” Rushbrook told DirtFish. “We know there is a passion for rallying in the US and to have a round of the WRC in the US would be a great addition to the calendar.
“Based on our conversations, we believe there is a passionate and engaged audience for WRC in the USA, but they have not had the opportunity to really show that passion. Having a dedicated race here would be a great way to see how passionate US fans are for WRC.
Nashville's Broadway could be iconic location for ceremonial start
“As America’s Race Team, we race on the global stage and we are proud to represent America on circuits and dirt roads around the world. Having a WRC event in the US would be a great addition and certainly be exciting for the fans.”
Looking at the specifics of a Tennessee-Kentucky event, Rushbrook said he was confident in the FIA and WRC Promoter to make the right call.
He added: “We have seen various options for a possible venue. For us, the key factor is being able to stage a great event where fans can get close to the action and soak up the atmosphere that WRC brings. We trust the FIA and the Promoter to make the right decision in this respect.
“Ford has been building cars and trucks in Kentucky for over 100 years. We are proud of our long-standing association with Kentucky. From Model T all the way to the new Super Duty, Kentucky is so important to all of us at Ford.”
Hyundai’s sporting director Andrew Wheatley said America would help put the world into the World Rally Championship as well as offering benefits to the sport domestically.
Proposed forest stages offer Rally US its own identity
“Everybody,” he told DirtFish, “wants to try and make sure WRC is as represented globally as possible.
“For everybody, a good event in the US would be a positive. I think we’re not going to the US just for the sake of ticking a box. We want to make sure it’s a rally that really excites and builds the American championship – I think that’s something we’ve seen this year that has been quite positive: the ARA National Championship is moving in the right direction.”
Wheatley added that a sense of national identity was a key factor for him.
“For me,” he said, “a rally in Finland has to look like Finland; a rally in Kenya has to look like Kenya, and I think there’s every opportunity that a rally in Tennessee and Kentucky can look like the US.
“It’s very important to be able to identify what an event looks like, and America has such a sports-orientated platform and the sport [in America] has characters, like Travis Pastrana, that we would be we would be very jealous of in the WRC.”
Rally US promoter Matt Crews hosted candidate event in Knoxville
The FIA and WRC Promoter are relaying details of the Rally US candidate event to the sport’s stakeholders, with a decision on calendar inclusion thought likely before the end of August.
Rally US promoter Matt Crews was pleased with the response from the WRC’s frontline manufacturers, adding: “The manufacturer desire [for an American WRC round] has been a constant in recent years. The response we got from both the FIA and WRC Promoter was outstanding – and a reflection on the hard work the Rally US team put into the candidate process.
“That the FIA and promoter positivity is being shared with the WRC stakeholders, and the manufacturers in particular, is great news. The WRC has been missing from the US for almost 40 years; that’s far too long. We’re ready to come back and we’re ready to come back with an all-American round of the world championship.”
