Stormont will not now launch the 2009 World Rally Championship

Stormont will not be the venue for the launch of the 2009 WRC according to the Belfast Telegraph.

The gala event which was scheduled for 24th January at Belfast's Parliament Buildings, the Saturday before Rally Ireland, will not now take place. A 'Race of Champions' style event had been planned with all the works teams due to take part and celebrity co-drivers being lined up to sit with the likes of Loeb et al.

However, it seems the ongoing dispute between the teams and the FIA concerning the appointment of a global promoter has caused the cancellation. Rally Ireland officials required the teams to give assurances that they would be attending, but this didn't happen. The teams site that the event wasn't part of their budgets for the 2009 season, and with no global promoter appointed they would have to foot the bill.

Plans to re-route the rally, which will start from Enniskillen on Thursday, January 29, to Stormont for a super-special stage on Friday or Saturday night have also been dropped.

Source: Belfast Telegraph

So the question is, will there be no WRC launch at all for 2009, or will something be arranged for Enniskillen or Sligo during the week of Rally Ireland (probably just the traditional photo of the MT competitors and cars).

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

• Stormont launch 2009 placed into uncertainty due to the controversy surrounding the date of appointment for the WRC global promoter
• Stormont will launch the 2009 WRC the weekend before Rally Ireland
• Rally Ireland 2009 will not start with a Super Special Stage at Stormont but at another location somewhere in Northern Ireland