The launching of the 2019 World Rally Championship 2019 will take place on the 12th of January. This will be a key event of the Autosport International Fair at the Birmingham National Exhibition Centre (NEC), which will run from Thursday the 10th until Sunday the13th of January. 

The event will gather drivers, co-pilots and team principals for a roundtable to review the 2018 season and discuss the details of the upcoming 2019 championship which once again will start in Montecarlo. 

One of the most awaited moments of the 2019 World Rally Championship launch will take place at some point along Saturday morning when the teams (M-Sport, Hyundai Shell Mobis, Toyota Gazoo Racing and Citroën Abu Dhabi) unveil their WRC 2019 cars in front of their fans. 

The Welsh Rally will also have a prominent place with both vehicles and drivers from the WRC and the British Rally taking part in the event. Also present will be representatives from the WRC2 as well as from the Junior Championship. It seems that there will be celebrities aplenty at the launching of the 2019 World Rally Championship. 

What the organisers had to say

“I am delighted to see the FIA World Rally Championship coming back to Autosport International in January.  The response we got from this year’s launch was exceptional – both from the fans and the stakeholders in the series. Next year we’re going to make it bigger and better. Moving the launch to Saturday is fantastic news for the thousands of fans out there who want the chance to come and meet their heroes – and to see the cars in their 2019 liveries for the first time.” – said Autosport editor, Kevin Turner.

“This has been a fascinating season, not just in terms of the competition on the stages but in the recent driver market movement (…) Want to see Sebastien Ogier wearing a Citroen shirt for the first time since 2011? Or Kris Meeke’s new Toyota colours? Then you need to be in Birmingham in January!” – Continued Turner. 

WRC Promoter managing director Oliver Ciesla said: “We are delighted to launch the 2019 WRC at Autosport International on Saturday in front of the thousands of public visitors. Ahead of what is lining up to be another exceptionally competitive year, there is no better way to launch next year’s FIA World Rally Championship than at the show, which kicks off the start of the new motorsport season. With all the 2019 cars, drivers and team principals at the show, fans will get their WRC fix ahead of the season-opening Rally Monte-Carlo.” 

The organiser of the 2019 World Rally Championship 2019 launch is Autosport International. Autosport International is part of the Motorsport Network and Autosport is one of the most important publications in the world of motor-sports. Motorsport Network is also the biggest independent digital platform offering automotive and competition-related content. Besides their journalistic activity, the company also promotes some of the most relevant events in the industry such as the Motorsport Business Leaders’ Forum and the annual Autosport Awards.

But before the official launching of the 2019 World Rally Championship in January, the last race of the 2018 season is still to be disputed in less than a week’s time.  The Austrian Rally will take place form the 15th to the 18th of November and, with the title still up for grabs, this will be the most exciting race of the season. Leading the standings is Sebastien Ogier (Ford Fiesta WRC) with 203 points, three points above his Belgian rival Thierry Neuville (Hyundai l20 WRC). 

Main image: Jari Matti WRC Twitter