Hyundai Motor Company

The Hyundai Motor Company appeared before the meeting to explain their absence from four events in the 2003 World Rally Championship and their failure to pay the required financial penalty per event missed.

Further to the presentation, the World Council unanimously confirmed the imposition of a $1 million (US) penalty on the Hyundai Motor Company with a deadline for payment of December 1, 2004.   

FORMULA ONE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

FIA Formula One World Championship

Australia	06 March
Malaysia	20 March
Bahrain	03 April
France*	17 April (* contract under discussion)
San Marino*	24 April (* subject to compliance with contract)
Spain	08 May
Monaco	22 May
Europe	Date to be confirmed
Canada	12 June
United States	Date to be confirmed
Great Britain*	3 July (* contract under discussion)
Germany	17 July
Hungary	31 July
Turkey	21 August
Italy	04 September
Belgium	11 September
Brazil	25 September
Japan	09 October
China	Date to be confirmed

The dates for the Grands Prix of Europe, USA and China will be confirmed no later than the meeting of the World Motor Sport Council on December 10, 2004. 

WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP

Cost Reduction

The Council will seek a special waiver from the FIA General Assembly to extend the normal October regulatory deadline until December in order to complete the development of detailed Technical Regulations to reduce very substantially the costs of a World Rally Car.

If approved, the new Technical Regulations will be announced after the December meeting of the Council for application from January 1st, 2006.

Re-start of a leg

Any crew which has retired from either Leg 1 or Leg 2 may re-start the Rally from the start of the next leg.  However, the crew will be penalised with a 5-minute penalty added to the fastest time of the drivers’ priority group for each missed stage.

Special stages

The total length of the special stages will be a minimum of 340 km and a maximum of 360 km.

Junior World Rally Championship

The number of Championship events is 8 and the drivers must nominate 7 rallies in the Championship in which they will participate, no later than 30 November 2004.

Production Car World Rally Championship

The number of Championship events is 8 and the drivers must nominate 6 rallies in the Championship in which they will participate, no later than November 30, 2004.

GT

Following the analysis of Maserati’s performance in the last three races of the Championship, the homologation of the Maserati MC 12 has been approved.

As from 1st January 2005, GT will be replaced by GT1 and N-GT by GT2.

The maximum number of events in the Championship is set at 12.

The Championship will be made up of races with a distance of 500 km or a maximum duration of three hours and with a duration of a maximum of 24 hours.

As from 1st January 2005, new GT1 Technical Regulations will come into force in order to facilitate joint FIA/ACO regulations.

TOURING CARS

A Permanent Bureau of the Touring Car Commission has been established. The Bureau will help to prevent cost escalations in the Championship. Decisions of the Bureau must be made on a unanimous basis. The membership of the Bureau will be the President of the Touring Car Commission, the President of the Manufacturers’ Commission and the President of the FIA Technical Commission.

The maximum number of events in the FIA World Touring Car Championship is set at 10.

The Championship will be made up of two races per meeting with a distance of 50 km.

As from 1st January 2005 drivers taking part in practice and the race will be required to wear the FIA approved HANS head restraint.

INTERNATIONAL KARTING COMMISSION (FIA-CIK)

The Council was informed that Mr Yvon Leon had resigned as President of the FIA-CIK. Mr Vincent Caro (FIA-CIK Executive Secretary) was appointed as acting President.

Approved the principle of introducing a long-life 125 cc, two-stroke engine, as well as a series of other technical and sporting measures to reduce dramatically the costs of karting at International championship level.

Revised sporting and technical regulations would be prepared in time for the December meeting.

CALENDARS

FIA World Rally Championship
21-23 January	MC	Rallye Automobile Monte-Carlo
11-13 February	S	Uddeholm Swedish Rally
11-13 March	MEX	Corona Rally Mexico
8-10 April	NZ	Propecia Rally New Zealand
29 April-1 May	I	Supermag Rally Italia-Sardinia
13-15 May	CY	Cyprus Rally
27-29 May	TR	Rally of Turkey
17-19 June	GR	Acropolis Rally of