Energy drink manufacturer Red Bull "is set to be announced as the new promoter of the World Rally Championship," according to Evans & Elizalde of AUTOSPORT. Motorsport governing body FIA opened a tender "to find a new promoter for the WRC" in February after the previous promoter, North One Sport, "had its contract terminated" when its parent company CSI went into administration. Red Bull Media House was one of three candidates that had been shortlisted by FIA for the role. The two others were a South African partnership and Eurosport. The WRC manufacturers, teams and stakeholders "were told about the deal during Rally Finland earlier this month." Citroen team principal Yves Matton said, "I think [Red Bull] Media House promoting the championship would be a good thing, but it would be different from Red Bull, which is the [Citroen] team sponsor. When they do something, they do it properly and they don't just want to make a good name with the promotion. If they choose to invest in the World Rally Championship then it's because they want to make a proper job, otherwise they would not even attempt to do it" (AUTOSPORT, 8/8). MOTORSPORT-TOTAL.com's Markus Lüttgens reported that the new deal between the WRC and Red Bull "could be announced as early as late August during Rally Germany" (MOTORSPORT-TOTAL.com, 8/8).
