FIA President Jean Todt has declared his support for the addition of the BarcelonaRX round in next year’s FIA World Rallycross Championship and the rapid progression and interest that WorldRX itself has gained in its inaugural season.
Todt was joined in the press conference, held on Friday at the Barcelona Circuit, by Sebastià Salvadó (President of the RACC), Carlos Gracia (President of the Real Federación Española de Automovilismo), Salvador Servià (Director General of Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya), Maite Fandós (Deputy Mayor of Quality of Life, Equality and Sports) and Martin Anayi (World RX Managing Director for IMG Motorsport). Newly crowned 2014 FIA World Rallycross Champion Petter Solberg was also in attendence to promote the spanish round of the 2015 season.
FIA President Todt explained his enthusiasm for BarcelonaRX next year and WorldRX in its first season, “I am very happy to see Barcelona, which is a city that is very passionate about motorsport, host a round of the FIA World Rallycross Championship,” explained Jean Todt. “I have not had a chance to visit World RX this season but I have been watching a lot of the races on TV – it is thrilling to watch and there is a lot of action which makes it exciting for spectators. There is a high level of interest from drivers, countries and manufacturers for World RX right now so it is excellent to welcome this sport to Barcelona in 2015.”
This event will be added to the Spanish curcuits impressive lists of motorsport events which includes the Spanish Formula One Grand Prix, the Barcelona MotoGP and the Barcelona 24 hours to name a few.
World RX Managing Director Martin Anayi concluded: “It is an honour to bring World RX to Barcelona in 2015 for what I expect will become one of our most popular events. With Barcelona recently listed as one of the top five most visited cities in Europe, it seemed a natural choice to expose our burgeoning Championship to a city which is not only growing economically but also deeply embedded in motorsport having hosted both the Spanish F1 and MotoGP races for several years. The team on the ground are very experienced having previously brought X Games to the city, and will bring a high level of professionalism to the event. It is encouraging to see purpose-built rallycross circuits being constructed at some of the world’s most well-known motorsport venues, such as the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.”
The calendar for next year’s FIA World Rallycross Championship has not been confirmed yet, but a decision is expected before the end of the year.
