The World Rally Championship is looking to improve its global reach and expand across the world.
Since its inception in 1973, the WRC has held rallies in over 30 countries and on all continents of the globe.
The hope to expand the championship into other countries comes after the rumour that WRC Promoter GmbH’s owner are looking at a potential sale of the business as they look to emulate Liberty Media’s success with Formula 1.
And as the 2025 season approaches, the WRC is set to travel to a few new corners of the globe as they confirm next season’s calendar.
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Simon Larkin hopes to create a ‘really special’ event in Saudi Arabia
As part of the 2025 campaign, the WRC will be heading back to the Middle East with a rally in Saudi Arabia.
Marking the first time the championship has gone to the region since 2011 in Jordan, the groundbreaking deal will see Saudi Arabia on the WRC calendar from next season on a 10-year deal.
The country has a proven track record of hosting motorsport events, including the Dakar rally and a race on the F1 calendar in Jeddah, and WRC event director Simon Larkin spoke with BlackBook Motorsport to express his excitement for the ‘special’ event and the challenges it will bring for the drivers.
“Yes…I think we’re going to create something really special there,” he said.
“Inevitably, people will say we’re just going there for the money. The fact is I’ve spent a lot of time out there on the roads and looking at the environment that we’re going to be able to compete in.
“If we talk about our calendar as 14 very distinct chapters in the book of our season, I know we’re going to create three very different rallies in one in Saudi [Arabia]. We’re going to have a day of some of the most amazing mountain roads I’ve ever seen – whoever made the roads to service the high tension power lines is an unrecognised rally driver.
“Then we’ll do a day just outside Jeddah, there’s an area [of] thousands of square kilometres of black volcanic rock. And then we’ll do a day of pretend dune racing – we’ll be on formed roads but, to the untrained eye, it will look like we’re doing desert racing.
“Also what we’d love to do is do a night stage, the sun sets almost uniquely at eight o’clock all the time [in Saudi Arabia]. Just like we do in Sweden…it’s the cars with their additional lights on and we’ll be able to do that with a desert landscape. I think we’ll be able to show off the different characters of Saudi [Arabia].”
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Rally Saudi Arabia is one of three new events for the 2025 season
Saudi Arabia is not the only newcomer to the WRC calendar, as the championship is set for a second rally in South America in 2025.
Paraguay will become the 36th host nation in WRC history and will be based in Encarnacion and host the event at the end of August.
Furthermore, the championship will return to Las Palmas for the Rally Islas Canarias as Spain returns to the calendar for the first time since 2022 in Catalunya.
The event will be held in April, while Saudi Arabia is set to host the season finale in November as the calendar expands to 14 rallies.