FIA World Rallycross

No British or Canadian rounds on 2020 World RX Calendar

1 Mins read
Credit: Red Bull Content Pool

The British round of the FIA World Rallycross Championship has been dropped as organisers say it is not economically viable.

Since 2018, the World RX has visited Silverstone after it moved away from the classic Lydden Hill circuit two years ago.

IMG promoted the Speedmachine Festival and the World RX of Great Britain this year but will not run the event again.

World RX boss, Paul Bellamy told Autosport: “One of the reasons we went to Silverstone was to utilise the whole facility, not just the rallycross track.

“What we found is, as the whole car industry moves to electrification, there was less budget for car manufacturers to put people in their ICE (internal combustion engine) cars to test them.

“Subsequently it meant that the likes of Peugeot and Volkswagen didn’t require the (F1) track that we used to do passenger rides and things like that.

“Unless you’re actually utilising the whole circuit, it’s economically not viable.”

Many will argue that moving to Silverstone from Lydden Hill was World RX’s first mistake and Silverstone was never going to be part of the series’ long-term plans.

To have no British round at all is disappointing but don’t be surprised to see the championship return to the UK sooner rather than later.

Bellamy also confirmed that the Canadian round in Trois-Rivieres has been dropped from the calendar for the first time in World RX history.

One reason for this is to remove the two-month travel time to and from North America by sea.

None of this news comes to a surprise and was expected after the provisional calendar was released a fortnight ago.

There is no news yet as to where the two TBC events in July and September will be held.

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Love sport, especially motorsport. Fan of F1, Formula E, IndyCar, BTCC, Rallycross and V8 Supercars. So not too much then. Covering World RX for The Checkered Flag.
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