What the drivers think of Monza Rally’s WRC prospects

The potential for running a round of the World Rally Championship at Monza has sparked debate among the drivers, with Toyota men Elfyn Evans and Sébastien Ogier keen to make sure the Italian circuit can provide a challenge worthy of the WRC moniker.

The Monza Rally Show has previously run within the confines of the circuit boundaries, but with talk of stages on roads outside, there’s increasing interest in concluding the WRC season close to Milan on the first weekend in December.

Evans told DirtFish he wants to drive his Yaris WRC as often as possible this season, but only on the right level of event.

“We want the most rallies we can, of course we do, but you know it’s still world championship rallying, not single-venue airfield rallying,” said Evans.

“It has to be a proper event in my view and obviously, I don’t really know what’s going on behind the scenes, but for sure it has to be a proper rally that’s held not as a spectator show, let’s say, if we’re going to award points.

“If it is a proper Tarmac rally then of course we would welcome more events, but what I’ve seen in the past with something like Monza is all these cars following each other and getting stuck behind each other doing laps of the same circuit.

“That’s not true rallying, let’s say, in my view, so I guess we have to avoid that situation.”

Like Evans, Ogier hasn’t competed at Monza, but his view was along the same lines as the Welshman.

“When you say it like that [Monza Rally Show], it seems a bit tame for a WRC event to be completely honest,” he said. “But I’ve never been so I can’t particularly judge what kind of rally it will be, but it seems a bit tame to be a world championship event.”

M-Sport Ford World Rally Team driver Teemu Suninen has competed in Monza and the Finn loved it.

“It’s like a rally of the city stages,” he told DirtFish.

“Mostly, of course, big long straights, but it would be quite different from the normal rallies.

“As an event it’s been nice, [but] is it good to follow as a rally? I don’t know, but as an event [to compete on] it’s been nice and one of the best events I’ve been to.

“It was great for the spectators and a really nice big show, but I don’t know if we can have spectators this time?”