Update: The next step in the quest for a WRC event in the U.S.

For the first time in decades, there’s a real chance that the WRC could return to American soil. After a trial run in April, the next proof-of-concept event takes place on November 11 with the Copperhill Veteran’s Day Rally in Tennessee.

[Is there a real chance that WRC returns to the U.S.?]

To recap, April’s Rally USA Tennessee event consisted of a parc expose in downtown Chattanooga followed by a single-day rally through the Cherokee National Forest.

“There were three components,” says Rally USA Tennessee Rally Manager Stuart Wood. “The public-facing component was a really successful–there was a huge turnout despite horrible weather. The road degradation–conditions were really sloppy–it was a success in that it told us it is going to take some work to prepare the roads. The third piece of it was can we close the roads and do it safely? [That] was a high success.”

Since then, Rally USA Tennessee organizers have trained volunteers to assist in its events. Also, they moved the rally venue from public roads to private land, on the site of an old copper mine in Polk County, Tennessee.

“It has a huge network of roads,” Stuart says of the property. “It has about 20 miles of gravel road on it. The property owners mine gravel on the property, and that’s one of their businesses. So, they build and maintain roads on the property. They can build more of them.”

WRC wants all of its rallies to be unique. The backdrop of an old copper mine certainly would stand out among its events.

“We’re going to be able to race around these industrial buildings and piles of different gravels,” says Stuart. “They’ll be this kind of moonscape background and some pretty wooded sections along with some ponds.”

Some of the scenery at the new site.

The land also offers advantages for hosting spectators.

“The math for putting spectators up in the Cherokee National Forest was not favorable for us,” Stuart says. “When this [property] came up, it can accommodate tens of thousands of spectators. It’s sandwiched in between two major highways–[U.S. highways] 68 and 64. It has a quaint, small town next to it. We can put spectators on this property without worry of hurting the Cherokee National Forest.”

Some of the scenery at the new site.

How will Stuart define success for this next step for Rally USA Tennessee securing a WRC event?

“We want to showcase the quality of the property, as far as the stages, and how much repair they need,” says Stuart. “We want to see if it presents itself as an interesting place, from the spectator point of view. It also gives us a chance to get some training done, because we’re still on the arc of building 50 to 100 new trained people each race, at least the initial ones, and then as we get closer to the bigger event, we will be building 100 to 250 per race.”

The process in obtaining a WRC event is a long and tedious one. It involves many parties, such as FIA, ACCUS, WRC and local municipalities. Each one has its particular needs and wants, which Rally USA must address. Rally USA Tennessee continues to be working toward meeting those demands, and has help from those who put on the WRC event in Mexico.

Next year, Stuart says Rally USA Tennessee organizers will put on three one-day rallies and one three-day rally in June. In 2025, they plan to host a big three-day rally event in the spring.

Love rally racing? Want to see more of it, including a WRC event in the U.S.? The time to act is now, advises Stuart.

“We in the U.S. need everybody who has ever wanted to be involved in a rally–whether spectating, volunteering or competing–to show your enthusiasm,” Stuart says. “If you like watching it on TV, the ability to nurture that is going out to a race.”

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