Saturday is the Deadline

Applications for the 2008 World Rally Championship must be lodged at the FIA before Saturday, December 15th. Again the championship is divided into two categories, both competing for the same title but running under different rules.

Like last year the categories are called "Manufacturer" and "Manufacturer Team". The Manufacturer competitors again must run only the latest version cars, must contest all 15 rounds of the series, and must always run the same number one driver.

The Manufacturer Teams, however, must contest a minimum of ten of the fifteen events, cannot run cars with modifications that were homologated after the start of the season, have a greater freedom of choice of drivers and pay lower registration fees.

For the 2007 season a total of three registrations were made in each category, and all the Manufacturer entries finished ahead of the Manufacturer Team entries in the charts.

Next season a fourth Manufacturer entry is expected from Suzuki while the number of entries hoping to participate as Manufacturer Teams is still unknown.

Individual entries for the opening round of the 2008 season, Rallye Automobile Monte Carlo, close on Thursday, December 20th.