The future of the World Rally Championship is being discussed in pivotal talks between the teams and the WRC Promoter in Munich today.

The meeting was called following an unprecedented stand-off between the two parties at the Rally of Portugal earlier this month, when the WRC Promoter denied the teams film footage from the opening day’s action and the teams responded by denying the promoter access to their drivers.

Two days are reported to have been set aside for discussions which have been labeled as vital for future co-operation among the stakeholders.

A senior source told AUTOSPORT earlier this week: “If we don’t get a satisfactory outcome from the meeting, I don’t know where we go from here.

“It’s not overdoing this to say we’re at a pivotal moment in the relationship and, by extension, the future of the series.

“We need to know which direction the World Rally Championship is heading in.”

It is understood that the promoter’s plans for the remaining nine years of its 10-year global promotion agreement with the FIA will be at the heart of the discussions.

********************** UPDATE **********************
World Rally Championship stakeholders reported a positive outcome from a crunch meeting in Munich on Thursday.

The meeting was called at the last WRC round in Portugal earlier this month after the latest fall out between manufacturers and the WRC Promoter affected the coverage of the Faro-based event.

The lowpoint of the quarrel came when world champion Sebastien Ogier and his factory driving colleagues were instructed not to talk to the WRC Promoter’s television crews.

Opinion: WRC stand-off has to end

The two parties met in Munich, where the promoter presented its targets and plans for the short and medium term future of the WRC.

A source in the meeting told AUTOSPORT: “This was definitely a step forward and I think everybody feels quite positive about the way the meeting went.

“To be brutally honest, we couldn’t have got much further apart – the feeling and the situation in Portugal was not good.

“But now I think there is more understanding between the promoter and the manufacturers.

“We have much work to do, but this was a good first step.”

Further meetings are being timetabled for as early as next week.

Despite the positive outcome, AUTOSPORT is led to believe the manufacturers have still not signed WRC Promoter’s contract for 2014.