By alley - Jan 21, 2015, 6:31 AM ET

French WRC round needs new location

The organisers of France's round of the World Rally Championship have confirmed the event will move from Strasbourg for 2015, but have yet to find a new home.

There was speculation surrounding the rally's future during its 2014 edition last October and the governing body of French motorsport conceded on Wednesday that a loss of crucial funding means there is no future for a WRC round in Alsace.

The FFSA was informed there would be no further investment from several local authorities at a meeting in Paris on Tuesday.

"The FFSA executive committee would like to point out that the organization of a world championship rally demands three prerequisites: the financial participation of the territorial authorities, the support of private partners and the right sporting, promotional and popular dimensions linked to hosting such an event on French territory," the federation noted in a statement. "The executive committee acknowledges that the first condition is no longer met by the Alsatian territorial authorities."

The French WRC round switched from Corsica to Alsace for 2010. Running in Sebastien Loeb's home region, the event was an immediate hit, with spectator figures measured in hundreds of thousands over subsequent years. Loeb's departure from the sport hit the rally hard last season, resulting in fan numbers dropping.

"The FFSA would like to thank all those who helped it including the public and private partners, the volunteers and the rally personnel who, thanks to their involvement over five years made Rally France one of the best events in the World Rally Championship," the statement added.

"As a result, the executive committee has decided to carry out an investigation to propose an alternative solution to enable the 2015 Rally France to take place."

Sources close to the governing body have confirmed there are alternatives, although time is limited. The Tour of Corsica is currently a round of the European Rally Championship, but the island event is working flat-out to meet the financial requirements to run even at that level.

The 2015 Rally of France is scheduled to run from Oct. 1-4.

Originally on Autosport.com