“Beyond Rally” program: in search of the new Michèle Mouton

They showed up, one by one, at the reception of the hotel that had been reserved for them in Krakow, Poland. At first glance, they looked like the other guests at the hotel, but upon closer inspection, it was possible to see that many of them were carrying a very specific bag, the one that could carry a helmet. These fifteen young women were all there for a good reason in Poland: to participate in the 2nd stage of the program to detect a female driver organized by the promoter of the WRC, Beyond Rally.

Often criticized for its work in favor of the WRC and its lack of involvement, the promoter of the WRC has changed its approach and its way of proceeding. For a few months, this can be seen in the way the World Cup events are covered. This has also resulted in the setting up of one-off operations around the two hopefuls, Martins Sesks and Sami Pajari. Added to this is a new aspect that is certainly very trendy, but essential: the presence of women in rally. " We are short of participants, explains Peter Thul, the promoter's senior sports director. There is a long history of female participation in the WRC and Michèle Mouton is a great legend of our sport. We have recently had female world champions in WRC3 and WRC2 (like Enni Mälkönen, the co-pilot of Sami Pajari or Reeta Hämäläinen, co-pilot of Emil Lindholm. Editor's note), But we have to admit that it has been a while since we had any female drivers in the WRC. We wanted to try to change that situation. »