Monza Rally will be the new season finale in the FIA World Rally Championship after being added to the calendar last weekend.
The Belgian Ypres Rally was set to play host to the final round of the season in November, but the decision has now to add an extra round to the end of the calendar.
The event, which will take place between 4-6 December, will include stages around Monza but on the Saturday, a loop of tests will be run on the outskirts of the circuit too.
Negotiations with ACI Rally Monza Italia have been going on for a long time throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and the organiser and the WRC Promoter have only now agreed on the final details, including the fees to the federation and the promoter.
“As the final round of the championship, there’s a strong chance both the drivers’ and manufacturers’ WRC titles could go right down to the wire on Monza’s roads.” Jona Siebel, WRC Promoter managing director, said.
“The WRC prides itself on rewarding rallying’s best all-round driver across multiple terrains and varied conditions. This type of rally is rare in our championship but will provide a thrilling finale to an unpredictable year,”
“In the current situation, we’re developing new approaches and ACI Rally Monza Italia is a great illustration of this. It’s the marriage of an iconic circuit event and more traditional rally stages in the nearby countryside. This new concept could eventually help bring the WRC to countries or regions where new formats are required.” Yves Matton, FIA Rally Director, said.
“It has required a great deal of flexibility from ACI and its President Angelo Sticchi Damiani to bring this new event to the calendar at such a late stage and I would like to thank them for their great commitment and professionalism,”
The season finale could also see several new names in the top class and has in the attracted exciting entry lists.
These include non other than Italian MotoGP rider Valentino Rossi, who could be one of the “new” WRC drivers for the final round of the season in a M-Sport Ford Fiesta WRC.
