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