Rally France seeks new home after funding dries up

PARIS (Reuters) - The French round of the world rally championship, previously based in Sebastien Loeb's home Alsace region, is seeking a new location in order to stay on the 2015 calendar after local funding dried up.





The French motorsport federation (FFSA) said on Wednesday that the Oct 1-4 event could not go ahead in the northeastern region without local authorities helping to fund it.

"The (FFSA) Executive Committee regrets the fact that the world championship can no longer take place in Alsace," it said in a statement.

It said the body had now "decided to carry out an investigation to propose an alternative solution to enable the 2015 Rally France to take place."

French drivers have won the world rally championship for the past 11 years, with Loeb taking a record nine titles in a row and Sebastien Ogier the last two.

The Rally of France has been part of the championship since 1973, and was held in Corsica before switching to Alsace in 2010.

Loeb retired from the world championship at the end of the 2012 season but continues to compete in selected events such as this weekend's Monte Carlo Rally.





(Reporting by Alan Baldwin in London, editing by Patrick Johnston)


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