Yeh, we already heard about the changes in the rules, but finally FIA has spoken and sure there will be some team not very happy with the final decisions...
(Here is a copy and past from wrc.com)
The World Rally Championship is set for radical changes next season after the FIA's World Motor Sport Council passed all the proposals put to the council last week.
The championship will increase from 14 to 16 rounds, with Mexico and Japan joining all the events in this year's calendar.
Factory teams will only be allowed to enter two cars into the championship, with both cars' results counting towards the manufacturers' championship.
The FIA says this will lower the barrier to new manufacturers, reduce the differential between the well and not so well financed teams and create a more level playing field.
And the 'Mille Piste' concept of recceing will be adopted. On the Wednesday before the event, crews would be allowed a single pass over all the stages.
On the Thursday, any remaining stages would be recced and scrutineering and shakedown would take place.
On the mornings of the event, crews would have a second pass over the day's stages, before tackling the stages at competitive speed. The recce would have to be completed in a standard road car or the actual rally car, and gravel crews would be banned.
Rally Monte Carlo and Rally Sweden will be exempted from the Mille Piste system in 2004 because their planning is already too far advanced.
Detailed proposals on testing, 'flexi-service' and telemetry will be put forward to the World Motor Sport Council next month
16 races instead of 16 is obviously nice, as long as Eurosport will keep doing some coverage
and I'm curious about Japan and Mexico
The two cars rule is the most important one IMO, as some teams like especially Peugeot already based their future on the idea a third car would have been allowed.. so now the have booked Loix for nothing basically...
But sure, this will help levelling the field with minor teams like Hyundai and Skoda or potential new manufacturers.
The Mille Piste concept is good to improve security IMO.
The calendar will be:
Monte Carlo January 23-25
Sweden February 6-8
Mexico March 12-14
Argentina April 30, May 1 & 2
Cyprus May 14-16
Greece May 28-30
Turkey June 25-27
New Zealand July 16-18
Finland August 6-8
Germany August 20-22
Japan September 3-5
Great Britain September 17-19
Italy October 1-3
France October 15-17
Spain October 29-31
Australia November 12-14
I wonder what the teams will do between Mexico and Argentina.. will they stay in America?
And well.. so strange to see Great Britain moved ahead, and the season ending in Australia...
As for the third driver debate, here is a good link:
http://www.wrc.com/en-GB/Features/Fe...irdDrivers.htm