Catalonia has always boasted of being the land of the motor par excellence. Loyal fans, a long tradition and a powerful automotive and components industrial fabric were united in a unique milestone in the world of sports: three of the main championships in the motoring world met periodically in this place, in less than 100 km around: Formula 1, MotoGP and the World Rally Championship.

Ara ha no.

This year, the Catalunya-Costa Daurada RallyRACC, which in its 58th edition takes place on Friday and Saturday on dirt roads in the regions of Tarragona, has fallen from the world championship trio, now as a scoring event of the S-CER, the Spanish Superchampionship . From the WRC World Cup to the state competition. A sensitive, painful discount for a prestigious rally, a World Cup winner since 1991, which was well received by Spanish and international fans, as evidenced by the fact that it drew 190,000 spectators (15% foreign) , 7,200 guests and more than 600 journalists…

For this 2023 edition of the World WRC, the championship manager decided not to include Catalonia among the 14 rallies on the calendar. “For a strategic reason for the promoter” – they explained from the RACC -, the German company WRC Promoter, based in Munich, preferred to accommodate the Central European Rally, between Austria, the Czech Republic and Germany. RallyRACC Catalunya accepted the non-renewal of the contract and focused on negotiating and preparing the return to the World Cup for 2024.

But neither.

The filtered calendar for next year does not include the Catalan test; so that if he is not in the 2024 World Cup, he will have missed three editions in the last five years (the one in 2020, due to rotation imposed by the FIA). A prolonged discontinuity that compromises the future of the Catalan rally organized by the RACC.

Has the Catalunya rally left the World Cup for good? “What will happen in the future is not on the table now, we are focused on this edition. It is the promoter who has the power to include us in the World Cup, not the FIA, this is how it works, we are in the hands of the promoter”, comments Jordi Barrabés, sporting director of the RACC, to this newspaper, hinting at the new reality : the World Cup places are for the more-dient. So, the new competitions (Poland, Latvia, Chile, Mexico or Estonia), with fresh money for the WRC Promoter, have displaced in the order of priorities Catalonia, which paid one of the cheapest fees (2.2 million the RACC).

From the Spanish Federation, they do not want to resign that Spain be excluded from the World Cup. “We are insistent, we are working so that the test returns to the world championship, which is where it should be”, comments Manuel Aviño, president of the RFEDA. “Unfortunately, the best bidder prevails and quality takes a back seat”, admits Aviño, also a member of the FIA.

The improvements and innovations that the RACC has been introducing have recently helped to offer an attractive and cutting-edge test, such as the mixed sections of dirt and asphalt, the urban prologue for Barcelona or having the best logistics for the teams with the assistance in Port adventure