The FIA World Rally Championship is about for an additional unforgettable season in 2026, as a second successive 14-round calendar has been accepted by evote of the World Motor Sport Council. As well as, the FIA confirms the continuation of the 2025 Technical Rules into 2026 – the ultimate 12 months of the deliberate homologations cycle – with the addition of two obtainable homologation jokers for chassis improvement which have been accepted by the WRC Fee and WMSC. This determination ensures cost-efficiency for the rivals in addition to encouraging shut competitors all through the final 12 months of Rally1.
Spanning Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Americas, the calendar options legendary WRC occasions alongside returning rounds in areas the place rallying continues to develop, guaranteeing one other 12 months of spectacular competitors on among the most difficult phases on Earth.
As custom dictates, the season kicks off in January with the legendary Rallye Monte-Carlo, which may even see the WRC return to Monaco’s iconic Method 1 circuit for the occasion’s superspecial stage, its first look there since 2008.
From the glamour of Monte-Carlo, the championship transitions to the icy forests of Umeå for Rally Sweden in February, earlier than heading south to the savannahs of Africa for Safari Rally Kenya in March, the place deep ruts and high-quality mud roads supply one of many sport’s most iconic challenges.
April marks a return to all-asphalt motion with back-to-back Tarmac checks. Fan-favourite Rally Croatia rejoins the calendar following a one-year break, bringing the WRC again to its picturesque Adriatic coastlines and technical inland phases. Simply weeks later, Rally Islas Canarias returns for a second season after a profitable WRC debut in 2025. With its clean, twisting Tarmac and high-speed mountain passes, the occasion made a powerful impression in 2025, and appears set to turn out to be a calendar spotlight into the longer term.
Might delivers a staple of European rallying with Rally de Portugal, the place hundreds of passionate followers will line the phases to witness the spectacle of one of many WRC’s most historic occasions.
The collection then makes an early-season journey to Asia for Rally Japan, that includes, slender roads, passionate native followers and demanding technical sections. This transfer ought to assist shift the stability of the championship onto a fairer footing, with the asphalt phases decreasing the impact of highway sweeping within the early a part of the 2026 marketing campaign.
June and July mark the center of the European gravel season, with the rock lined phases of Acropolis Rally Greece kicking off the motion. From there, the WRC shifts to the lightning-fast forest tracks of Estonia and Finland, the place jumps, blind crests and blistering speeds outline these fan-favourite occasions.
South America takes centre stage in August, with the championship first heading to Paraguay, with its distinctive crimson gravel and phases skirting the dramatic Paraná River. Two weeks later, Rally Chile Bio Bío provides flowing gravel routes and breathtaking Andean vistas.
A reshuffled autumn sees the championship’s Italian spherical transfer to October, buying and selling mud and warmth for cooler circumstances and the potential for late-season drama within the championship battle.
The season attracts to an in depth in spectacular trend in November, as Rally Saudi Arabia hosts the finale. Providing an ever-changing mixture of gravel and desert terrain, the occasion ensures the WRC finishes its 12 months in a setting as demanding as it’s dramatic.
FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem stated: “The 2026 WRC calendar is a robust reflection of the championship’s world energy and enchantment. It combines the heritage of iconic rallies with the return of newer occasions in areas the place participation and curiosity in rallying continues to develop.”
WRC Promoter Managing Director Jona Siebel stated: “It is a calendar constructed with objective. It’s various, it flows nicely, and it displays the suggestions we’ve had from groups, drivers and stakeholders. We’ve put actual thought into how the sequence of occasions can impression the sporting struggle.”
