The World Rally Championship will race twice in South America next year as Paraguay joins Chile on the WRC calendar
The World Rally Championship (WRC) calendar for the 2025 season is taking shape and will include a second round in South America alongside Chile: Paraguay. President Santiago Pena announced the signing of a multi-year agreement with the WRC at the start of the Transchaco Rally in the capital Asuncion on Saturday.
“Paraguay is big and the world is about to discover us. Hosting world-class events like the WRC is another opportunity to show the world our greatness,” said Pena. The 2025 WRC calendar has yet to be officially approved by the FIA World Motor Sport Council.
However, WRC Event Director Simon Larkin also confirmed on Saturday in Paraguay that the South American country will become the 38th nation to host a round of the World Rally Championship: “We have been in talks with Paraguay for several years and I am delighted that this agreement has now been finalized.”
“The enthusiasm for rallying in Paraguay is unquestionable and we look forward to taking this passion and the spectacular landscapes of Paraguay to the whole world,” said Larkin.
Alongside Argentina, Paraguay was a candidate for a second South American round on the 2025 WRC calendar, which is set to include 14 rounds and be more global than in previous years following the COVID-19 pandemic. The WRC had previously announced that it would also be held in Saudi Arabia from next year. In addition, the Spanish WRC round will be held on Gran Canaria for the first time in 2025, adding three new rallies to the calendar.
The Paraguay Rally will be held on gravel and will start in the city of Encarnacion. The stages will be held throughout the Itapua region, where a round of the South American Rally Championship is held every year.
Paraguay is expected to be one of the final building blocks of the 2025 WRC calendar, which will be finalized in July. In addition to the new events, it has been confirmed that Poland will disappear from the calendar after its appearance this year and Estonia will return to take the place of Latvia, which makes its WRC debut this year.
The WRC confirmed in April that it is working on a contract extension with Croatia, which is in the final year of its contract. Monte Carlo is expected to open the season and rounds in Sweden, Kenya, Portugal, Italy (Sardinia), Finland, Greece, Chile and Japan are also set to take place.
