The FIA’s rally department is working on comprehensive advice for how event organizers should adapt to the challenge of running events to a backdrop of the continued coronavirus pandemic.
The governing body earlier this week issued a document entitled ‘FIA return to motorsport guidelines’, but the information in this was primarily applicable to circuit racing and rallying faces a number of very different challenges in its efforts to get back in action worldwide.
An FIA spokesperson confirmed to DirtFish that work was ongoing to adapt that advice document for specific rallying use.
The ultimate decision on whether rallying can return in regions and countries will be taken at a national government level, but FIA rally director Yves Matton wants to make sure there’s a framework for the sport to return under.
Matton told DirtFish: “The FIA is working quite hard on the guidance to restart competition. Concerning rallying, we will be able to publish a guidance for our new approach concerning competition and the restart of competition in rallying.
“The FIA has done huge work for racing, which is the fact that Formula 1 will restart beginning of July and now they are working with the different experts in-house to publish this guidance [on rallying].”
Last week’s single-stage Rally Sweden Lockdown event, won by Oliver Solberg and based out of Torsby, was the first high-profile rallying event since the coronavirus pandemic began.
Further testing and sprint-style events are being put together around the world, but the first major FIA-sanctioned rally is set to be next month’s Rally di Roma Capitale, with Rally DirtFish following a fortnight later in south Estonia.
