AFOR already looking towards 2021

« We are disappointed. We would have liked the championship to take place over four races, but we had to face the facts. We couldn't do otherwise. » Last August, Jean-Jacques Bénézet regretted in our columns the cancellation of his championship.

Three months later, the situation has changed. If the health situation could not be more worrying, the president of AFOR (French Association of Organizers of Rallycross) is optimistic for the future. “ A championship was proposed by the latest rallycross commission, he told us. These ideas will be proposed to the steering committee at the end of the month. It is then that we will proceed to the officialization of the championship »

Far from being confirmed, the silhouette of the 2021 season is taking shape little by little. While the composition of the new campaign still remains unknown, national rallycross is heading towards a resumption in the first half of next year.

« The championship would normally start at the beginning of April, continues Jean-Jacques Bénézet. We left ourselves a little margin between the first two events, around five to six weeks apart to be flexible depending on the situation at that time. If the health crisis persists, the 2021 season would be delayed by one month and would then begin in May »

Very good news for the discipline, whose last race dates back to October 2019 on the Dreux circuit. But under what conditions can the recovery take place? Will the rounds take place behind closed doors? Impossible! AFOR, through the voice of its president, has absolutely no plans to resume competition without spectators after having experienced a blank year.

« Personally, I do not want to do tests behind closed doors, assured our interlocutor. I spoke with drivers registered in the World or European Championship and they told me that a meeting without spectators was a meeting without soul. Doing it behind closed doors is not a solution for me »

However, it seems impossible that the French championship will resume with the stands full as it ended in 2019. Jean-Jacques Bénézet knows this. It is for this reason that the organizers are preparing for a limited and controlled return of the public.

« It will be necessary to restrict, if the rules are still in force, access to the public, he concedes. If a limit of spectators is authorized for us, we will do everything possible to accommodate them. » AFOR will still have to wait before knowing if French rallycross will be able to resume its course. Currently, many automobile competitions are at a standstill due to the pandemic raging in France, which could seriously compromise the future of the discipline.

The season of survival

Optimistic while the situation hardly seems to be improving, Jean-Jacques Bénézet does not want national rallycross to experience a second consecutive setback. This would definitively confirm his fate according to the boss of AFOR.

«I don't know what's going to happen, he admits. Will some events be able to be organized, others not? Very frankly, we must not go towards a cancellation for a second year otherwise it is the death of rallycross »

Determined that the discipline regains its rights, AFOR intends to find solutions so that the 2021 season does not suffer the same fate as the 2020 opus, even if it means making concessions to help all those involved.

« Even though no races took place this year, AFOR had to come up with money, because we continue to workHe says. Obviously, we receive help from the Federation. Organizing a rallycross event has a certain cost today. I'm not sure that a round can be organized for less than 100 euros.

The situation is difficult. Solutions will have to be found. We are considering making fairly significant cuts in costs so that the organizers can set up their events without problem. Everyone is optimistic. We must say to ourselves that we will organize the championship in good conditions. » Slowly but surely, AFOR is preparing to make its comeback, more than a year after the last meeting.

For the moment, the 2021 season is at the project stage, but its contours are emerging little by little.