APRC: Two rounds per country could be reality

APRC President Vicky Chandhok told Motorsport.com that it could work if countries can afford it and if their organising capabilities are good.

"I am of the firm opinion that we can have two rounds per country," said the former rally driver.

"This is because once you get the cars there, why not have two rounds? But let's see what the APRC executive board thinks of that. One round per country is the FIA norm, but we will discuss it."

Despite being the premier rally championship for the Asia-Pacific region, it has generally had single digit grids. But with Australia and New Zealand launching new cars, things could be looking up, or at least that is being attempted.

"Australia and NZ have launched the new AP4 class cars.," he said.

"NZ is in the process of putting out 16-18 cars and Australia is putting out 14 cars. So, they are getting very strong for the Pacific Cup.

"We need to get those cars to the rest of the region. But the challenge is getting these cars across the borders because freight is very expensive.

"For that, I am pushing to get freight subsidy for two years. This is because we want to try and increase the grid to two digits.

"The way we were looking at it is that there would be a competitive car everywhere," he added.

Moreover, Chandhok revealed that the International Automobile Federation (FIA) is looking at a grand finale round in the APRC.

"It will attract the big names from outside and will progress to the JWRC. But I don't buy that because that will kill the region completely," he opined.

"Today, we are looking at the arrive and drive concept. We had an informal meeting in Canberra and teams from Europe were there. Some new two-wheel and four-wheel driven cars are being offered."

However, things could become clearer after a meeting after the Malaysian Rally next month.

"We will outlay a plan. We may not be in total agreement with FIA Rally Commission head Jarmo Mahonen because people in Europe may not have a sense of reality about Asia," he stated.

"But we are going to discuss this threadbare in our three-hour debate."