“The United States is ready to return to the WRC calendar and host an event that doesn’t just meet expectations—it redefines them.”
Matt Crews is not a man to mince his words. He doesn’t have the time. Nor does he have the inclination. He’s got an event to prepare and a world to take on.
Talk of the World Rally Championship’s return to the United States has been around for a while. Nobody knows that better than us. There’s been news, no news, some news, no news. So, what do we take from Tuesday’s news?
Plenty. Much as you might have your – understandable – doubts, you need to understand that we’ve turned a page here. Matt Crews is a force to be reckoned with. Does he know rallying inside-out? No. Does he know promotion and how to put on a party? Hell, yes.
He was the man behind IndyCar’s Music City Grand Prix (the inaugural race was the most watched IndyCar event ever on Cable TV), has a long history in NASCAR and, just when you thought he couldn’t be more all-American, you learn of his record-breaking, field goal-kicking football feats.
June is a major stepping stone towards landing the first stateside WRC round in 39 years. Having a delegation of rallying’s highest-ranking officials in Tennessee and Kentucky demonstrates the progress Crews has made in the short time he’s been in charge.
His enthusiasm is ruthlessly infectious while his time at Rally Finland last year inspired the sort of promotion and sporting spectacle not seen, heard or felt around the service park for a long time. Crews comes at things differently, unbound by convention and unwilling to settle for anything but the best of the best.
That energy combined with such strong words from FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem and deputy president Malcolm Wilson should allay any lingering fears about America’s future in the WRC.
That news, along with Toyota Gazoo Racing and Seth Quintero landing into this year’s ARA National Championship to race alongside Travis Pastrana’s Subaru, demonstrates real positivity for the US. And that’s just the start.
There's renewed interest in American rallying right now, with Toyota building a brand-new car
American rallying is well and truly on the up and up and the prospect of seeing Oliver Solberg and Adrien Fourmaux sending it between the Stateside trees is a mouthwatering one.
Solberg, of course, has already enjoyed time with Uncle Sam. He ‘broke’ America six years ago when he drove a Subaru Motorsports USA WRX STI on selected ARA rounds – winning his second event the Olympus Rally right here in Washington.
“It was fantastic,” last week’s Monte Carlo Rally winner told DirtFish. “I loved competing out there. The people, the fans, the roads, everything was so, so cool. I can’t wait to go back in America – it’s a proper adventure.”
And that adventure starts right here.
