Cyprus returns to FIA World Rally Championship in 2009

The FIA World Motorsport Council confirmed in Paris on Wednesday morning that the Cyprus Rally will return to the World Rally Championship (WRC) circuit next year.
The 2009 FIA Cyprus Rally will be Round 3 of the WRC calendar and will take place on March 13-15.
Antonis Michaelides, former Trade Minister and Chairman of the Cyprus Automobile Association (CAA), organisers of the event, said, “this is great news. Our rally is again part of the WRC. We’re already working towards next year’s event and fans can rest assured that the 2009 Cyprus Rally will be an event to remember. We’re back!”
An FIA observer was on the island for this year’s Cyprus Rally to assess the event’s readiness for inclusion in the 2009 WRC calendar. In the subsequent report, the 2008 Cyprus Rally scored highly for its overall organisation, which led directly to the inclusion of the event in the next year’s championship.
The Cyprus Rally will also be one of four events rewarding points for the Junior and Production WRC championships for 2009. So, spectators in Cyprus will get the chance to see the top WRC, J-WRC and P-WRC drivers in action.
The FIA World Motorsport Council also voted to approve a major change regarding the future shape of the WRC. This is the adoption of a new ‘rotation’ system, where each event will take place every two years, thus increasing the total number of WRC rallies to 24. With this new system, 12 rallies will take place in a year, rather than the current 15, which will reduce costs and attract new manufacturers’ teams.