The automotive world gets creative and makes a big deal of April Fool’s Day media stunts, although COVID-19 restrictions put a dampener on the fun this year.
Among the best of yesterday’s crop was the FIA World Rally Championship "announcement" introducing the Swap Seat Special Stage on future WRC events.
The idea was for the co-driver to take over the driving for one special stage of each WRC event.
The seat swap raised the prospect of world champion Ott Tanak having to read his own pace notes to guide co-driver Martin Jarveoja at speed through a special stage in their Hyundai i20.
A WRC Promoter spokesperson said of the change: ``We are working in the entertainment industry and as such, we must show innovation and continue to find new ways to excite our fans and attract new viewers. This exciting new idea will really test the level of teamwork between driver and co-driver.’’
The crew would be free to choose on which stage the swap was made and there would be an added twist if the swap is made on the final Power Stage, where any bonus points earned will be doubled.
The WRC Live TV crews set up the April Fool's joke during the most recent round in Mexico. Here’s how some of the crews reacted.