ORGANISERS of this year's 555 Hong Kong to Beijing Rally have confirmed dates for the event which will become the fifth round of the FIA Asia Pacific Rally Championship.
The dates for the rally have been amended from the original FIA dates of October 12-18 to October 14-20 to enable a repeat of last year's Hong Kong Super Special Stage at the military garrison on Stonecutters Island.
'The original start date fell on a weekday to fit in with the FIA World Rally Championship calendar but it created so many logistical problems in Hong Kong's busy working environment that, after much consideration, we decided to delay the start by two days,' Kendy Chan, chief executive officer of the HKAA, said.
The 555 Hong Kong to Beijing Rally falls between two highly regarded and well supported rounds of the World Rally Championship in Australia which is run from September 15-18 and in Catalunya, which runs from October 22-25.
The new dates will allow additional time for the reshipment of vehicles from Beijing to Hong Kong following the competitors' pace note reconnaissance, which will be held from September 21-28.
The organisers' preparatory route reconnaissance for the Hong Kong to Beijing Rally was carried out last month.
