Éric Bouiller, Mohammed Ben Sulayem, and Jean-Louis Mosca at the press conference in Paraguay. Photo: AUTOhebdoÉric Bouiller, Managing Director of WRC Promoter, Mohammed Ben Sulayem, President of the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA), and Jean-Louis Mosca, CEO of the French mobility group Cosmobilis, held a press conference during the Rally Paraguay, which AUTOhebdo attended. Here’s an overview of the main topics discussed at this official launch of the new partnership between the FIA and the championship’s new promoter.
Preserve the DNA of the WRC
Eric Bouiller: “ First of all, Julien (Vial, Chief of Operations at WRC Promoter) and I attended many rallies this year. Thanks to the FIA for allowing us to attend, as well as to Red Bull and other long-standing partners. This allowed us to gain a better understanding, especially for me, as I’m new to this world. But there’s one thing I want to emphasize first: we will never change the DNA of rallying . To reassure everyone, all stakeholders in the sport and the fans: we will never change its DNA.”
The goal is to bring the WRC and ERC back to where they belong. So we’re going to work on the format of the events. We’re not going to change it drastically, but for example, in Finland or Estonia, we’re working on a single special stage on Sunday. This is the type of format we’re going to focus on, which will allow us, thanks to the FIA, to work on a better product, more accessible to the public, but also easier to broadcast and show to people who can’t attend, to explain to them what the WRC is all about.
The second point is obviously the media platform. We’re going to completely revamp it because we want to enter the new century—that was the purpose of the agreement—and bring in more digital content. We need to have a stronger presence on social media and be able to reach a new audience in the future, not just the existing fan base. By doing this, we’ll create a desire in them to come and attend the rallies in the future.
The final point is to make our sport an economically viable and sustainable platform for teams, manufacturers, and everyone who wants to compete, with a venue that also offers accessibility and hospitality. We want to reshape everything to ensure we welcome fans, businesses, and executives.
The innovations being considered to make the WRC experience more user-friendly
Eric Bouiller: “ We’re going to be completely customer-focused. We’re going to aim to welcome more fans and new audiences. Thursday, Friday, Sunday—we might keep the format as is. The core fans, in any case, there are millions of them worldwide, they want to be there, they want to experience it. What we want to change is from Saturday evening onwards: we want to turn it into an entertainment platform, a festival. This way, we can welcome everyone to the service park—and perhaps, I’m going out on a limb here, rename it the “WRC Arena,” because we want to make it a place where people want to be, a place where perhaps influencers or others want to be seen. We want people to be there, enjoy the venue, and enjoy the rally. And having only one stage on Sunday also makes it easier to access: with just one stage, we can organize carpooling , showcase the spectacle, if I can put it that way, and bring people closer to the cars in action. ”
Regarding a possible return of the Rally Argentina to the calendar
Mohammed Ben Sulayem: “ It’s under discussion. It’s not just Argentina; there are so many other countries interested. It all depends on the logistics. Argentina has a great history with rallying—I myself have competed there twice, at Carlos Paz. The stages are good, the fans are there, there’s no reason not to go. But now we’re looking at the entire calendar from the outside: there are new people coming, who want to come, and with the promoter, there will certainly be an evolution of the calendar—someone has to leave for someone else to arrive. We’re also limited by logistics, by the number of events. But we are open to examining every event that wants to be included in the calendar. ”
Jean-Louis Mosca: ” We discussed the various possibilities with the president, and Argentina, of course, is one of them, as it is a great nation for automobiles and motorsport, but it must indeed be integrated into a global calendar. “
Mohammed Ben Sulayem: “ I also have to think about the teams whose lists are growing. And obviously, there are logistical and financial considerations for the teams, as well as a sustainability consideration, which is very important for us, and which we will discuss again in the coming weeks: how to integrate something sustainable into the calendar, to avoid going back and forth — not just financially, but to have good integration for the future. ”
This article might interest you
The editorial team offers you
