The World Motorsport Council has announced the FIA World Rallycross Championship schedule for 2019, and there is a significant change compared to what was posted by the series, just over a month ago.
WMSC has chosen to remove the COTA round at the end of September. It still means that the teams will have to leave Europe three times during the season.
The World RX sport is in a deep crisis after Peugeot, Audi and Ford all have left the series during the last 12 months, and the privateers have spoken very critical of the proposed 2019 calender. GRX Taneco team owner Marcus Grönholm has used very strong words, and see absolutely no reason for the season to go to places like Abu Dhabi and South Africa.
The schedule leaves a 2-month hole between the penultimate and final rounds, which could have been solved if the series skipped the South Africa round, and kept the race in Germany with its traditional October date.
But there are probably some contracts in place preventing that.
To be able to do an official World Championship, you have to race on three different continent, which would have been obliged with Asia (Abu Dhabi), Canada (North America) and all the European rounds.
05-06 April | Yas Marina | Abu Dhabi |
27-28 April | Catalunya Barcelona | Spain |
11-12 May | Spa-Francorchamps | Belgium |
25-26 May | Silverstone | Great Britain |
15-16 June | Hell | Norway |
06-07 July | Höljes | Sweden |
03-04 August | Trois-Rivières | Canada |
31 August – 01 September | Lohéac | France |
14-15 September | Riga | Latvia |
09-10 November | Cape Town | South Africa |