S1T joins the World Rally Championship for 2012

21 February 2012 | Posted in Sponsorship, Motorsport, Global | By Tom Love

The FIA has signed its first major deal for the World Rally Championship (WRC) since the severing of ties with series promoter North One Sport in January.

The new agreement, financial details of which were not released, sees Stage 1 Technology (S1T) confirmed as the WRC's official timing and tracking system provider.

Having initially signed a one-race deal covering the Uddeholm Swedish Rally, which took place between 9th and 12th February, the British firm has now been signed as partner of the WRC for the remainder of the 2012 season.

"This is great news," said S1T managing director Simon de Banke. "Everybody's had quite a stressful start to the season, so to get this deal across the line in what is an exceptionally short space of time is a fair reflection on how much everybody wants it to work. I would like to pay tribute to the speed and ability with which everybody in the FIA has worked to expedite this. And for their foresight and support of the championship in taking the leadership to get our systems back online."

The next event on the 2012 WRC calendar will be Rally Mexico on 8th March.