RI to host 11th stage of '97 race

RI to host 11th stage of '97 race

JAKARTA (Agencies): Indonesia made the list of world rally championship hosts for the second time when the International Automobile Federation announced the 1997 itinerary on Tuesday.

The federation said that the Rally of Indonesia would be the 11th stage of the revamped 14-leg championship series and will be held from Sept. 19 to Sept. 22.

Indonesia will play host to the third leg of the series this season in Medan, North Sumatra, from May 10 to May 12. It will be the first world championship to be held here, since the inception of the Rally of Indonesia in 1989.

The federation's president, Max Mosley, last month promised to add races to the calendar after widespread criticism of the international body's policy, introduced in 1994, of rotating events and leaving three off the calendar each season.

This year, the Monte Carlo rally, Tour of Corsica and San Remo rallies were not included in the world championship.

The federation said the 14 events next year, each lasting four days apart from the Monte Carlo rally which will be a five-day event, will all be included in the world championship for at least three years.

1997 calendar: Jan. 19-23 Monte Carlo rally Feb. 8-11 Swedish rally March 2-5 Safari rally March 23-26 Portuguese rally April 14-17 Catalunya rally May 4-7 Tour of Corsica May 24-27 Argentina rally June 7-10 Acropolis rally Aug. 4-7 New Zealand rally Aug. 22-25 1,000 Lakes rally Sept. 19-22 Rally of Indonesia Oct. 11-14 San Remo rally Oct. 31-Nov 3 Australian rally Nov. 23-26 RAC rally