From the 2025 season, the World Rally Championship will start in Saudi Arabia: The organizers have agreed a long-term 10-year contract for the future
The World Rally Championship (WRC) is returning to the Middle East! After the WRC had been toying with a return for some time and last held a WRC round in the region in the 2011 season with the Jordan Rally, the organizers have now signed a 10-year contract
The Rally Saudi Arabia will be part of the WRC calendar for the first time next year and is expected to host the finale in November. The rally, which will take place around Jeddah and features a mixture of mountain and desert stages, is expected to take its place for at least the next five years.
A test run is expected to take place early next year as part of the Middle East Rally Championship. “We are delighted that we will be hosting the World Rally Championship for the first time in 2025,” said Prince Khalid bin Sultan Al Abdullah Al Faisal, Chairman of the Saudi Arabian Motorsport Association.
“Unique challenges for drivers and co-drivers “
“The arrival of another racing series of global stature in Saudi Arabia confirms the extent of our transformation into a major center of motorsport in the region.” In addition to the World Rally Championship, Formula 1, Formula E and the Dakar Rally are now also hosted in Saudi Arabia.
“By expanding our motorsport portfolio and strengthening our commitment to hosting major motorsport series such as the WRC in the Kingdom, we remain committed to the goals of Vision 2030, which aims to improve the lives of all Saudis,” says Prince Khalid.
“This is a great moment for motorsport in the Middle East,” added FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem. “It has been more than a decade since the FIA World Rally Championship was hosted in the region, and from my own experience I know the unique challenges that await the drivers and co-drivers at Rally Saudi Arabia 2025. “
Why the WRC is going to Saudi Arabia
The organisers of the World Rally Championship have given several reasons for their decision to stage a WRC round in Saudi Arabia. The move to the Middle East region is seen by the WRC as part of its plan to complete a series of events covering all regions and all terrains
It follows recent moves to reintroduce rallies such as the Safari Rally in Kenya, Japan and the Acropolis Rally, in addition to the USA project planned for 2026. Officials have also stated that the emerging Saudi Arabian car market is attractive to current manufacturers and players.
WRC Event Director Simon Larkin is convinced that the unique roads of Saudi Arabia will bring something new to the World Rally Championship when it comes to storytelling. “We haven’t been to the Middle East since 2011, so for us it completes the story of our calendar. I think the images and the story we can tell there are really exciting,” says Larkin.
“The roads we found there and the way we want to talk about it is a three-story rally. There will be a day in the mountains, a day in a volcanic region and a day in the desert. It won’t be the Dakar, but it will feel like a day in the desert on sculpted sand roads. Every day will be different. “
“Trying to show where we are taking the WRC “
The event also hopes to reconnect with a region that has a rich rallying history, while increasing the number of WRC participants from the Middle East.
“We believe it will be a great event and story in a motorsport culture that has largely grown up with rallying,” said Larkin. “It hasn’t grown up with Formula 1 or other sports. Rallying is much more ingrained in the hearts and souls of the average Saudi motorsport fan, and we think that’s where we’ll see it. “
“We used to have a lot of private drivers from the Middle East, but that has waned. We believe that the Saudi Arabia Rally can give a big boost to the rally championship in the Middle East and that it will boost participation there. We are trying to show where we want to take the World Rally Championship and improve rallying.”
Formula 1’s decision to hold a race in Saudi Arabia from 2021 has sparked discussions about the human rights situation in the country and led to accusations of “sportswashing”. In response to this question in connection with the WRC’s decision to go to Saudi Arabia, Larkin replies: “There is a women-only rally in Saudi Arabia. We believe that many of these barriers have been removed.”
“Things like women being able to drive are a thing of the past and we can’t keep blaming people forever. I think the way they [Saudi Arabia] are developing and using sport to develop is a message we are happy to pass on. “
