Talent finding initiatives such as FIA Rally Star could be set for a revival as part of the FIA’s plan to inject funding back into the World Rally Championship and grassroots rallying.
Last year, FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem promised that funds generated by the sale of the WRC’s commercial rights will be directly invested back into rallying.
That plan is set to come into force now French automotive company Cosmobilis and private credit investor Park Square Capital have acquired WRC Promoter GmbH, and with it, secured a new commercial rights contract with the FIA. The arrival of a new promoter has been labelled by the FIA as the “deal of the century” for the WRC.
“There is no other deal with the FIA which is as good as this. The rest of the deals that [came] before me were raw deals. I would say it very frankly, what did we get from Formula 1? Do you know how much [for] the FIA? Zero and no power,’ said Ben Sulayem earlier this month.
“This doesn’t work anymore. So we improved it. We improved the Formula E [agreement]. But rallying is so important. It’s not about the money. It’s about working together with the promoter as one body, injecting [funding] back into the sport, making it much better with all of the challenges, listening to the teams, listening to the driver, listening to the fans, and listening to the media.”
FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem outlined the support coming to the WRC
Photo by: Toyota Racing
As well as directly funding areas of the WRC, the FIA has now established the new FIA Growth Fund that will support projects aimed to encourage young drivers to embark on careers in rallying.
Speaking to Autosport, Ben Sulayem expanded on how the FIA Growth Fund can benefit rallying.
“FIA has always been injecting grants, and grants before were limited because we didn’t have enough funds to put back,” he said. “When we say what the fund would look, it won’t be just going and giving people the money. It’s about encouraging young drivers to enter rallying and encouraging them.
“But the fund, rest assured, will be injected. There are two sides to it also, there is [funding] into the championship itself. The championship needs an injection.
“Is it about the money? No. It’s about having the right promoter. The promoter that will understand us. The promoter will go hand in hand with us. And this is what I think, you already notice the harmony with them. It’s obvious with the body language.
“So, going back to the fund, it is there. The fund will be described, and you will get notified of it because we are in the process now of where the fund would go.”
One initiative that could be set for a return is the FIA Rally Star Programme. The world motorsport governing body put aside significant funding for a four-year programme that began in 2021, which was designed to find a future WRC champion.
The programme was open to drivers aged 17-26 with more than 7,000 applicants applying for six spots on the programme. The initiative ultimately offered prized drives in Junior WRC and WRC2.
Two of the FIA Rally Star drivers have made rapid progress within the WRC, with Romet Jurgenson winning the 2024 Junior WRC title before going on to compete in WRC2 with M-Sport-Ford. Another graduate, Taylor Gill, finished runner-up in the Junior WRC last year and has since enjoyed success in WRC2 this season.
When asked if FIA Rally Star could return in the future, Ben Sulayem added: “Oh yes [it can return], but in a new version because we need new stars. It was good, but it needs a bit of tweaking. It needs a bit of a different version, an improved version of it.”
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– The Autosport.com Team
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