WRC announces expanded 14-round 2025 calendar

The World Rally Championship is gearing up for its biggest season since 2008 with the announcement of an expanded calendar for 2025 that includes 14 events.

As previously indicated, the WRC schedule is set to broaden next year with the addition of three new rallies: the Canary Islands, Paraguay, and Saudi Arabia.

This lineup includes five flyaway events, four asphalt rallies, nine gravel stages, and one snow event.

Monte Carlo will continue as the season opener in January, returning to Gap for its longest itinerary since 2018, beginning with three night stages on Thursday.

The championship will transition to the snowy terrains of Sweden in February, followed by the customary visit to Kenya in March. The first of the new rallies will take place in April with Spain returning to the calendar via the Rally Islas Canarias, which graduates from the European Rally Championship.

This asphalt rally replaces Croatia, which has exited the calendar due to a failure to secure a new agreement.

Portugal will initiate a sequence of seven consecutive gravel rallies, which will also include Sardinia and the Acropolis Rally, which will revert to its traditional June slot after being held in September in recent years.

Grégoire Munster, Louis Louka, M-Sport Ford World Rally Team Ford Puma Rally1

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

Estonia returns to the calendar in July, replacing Latvia, before heading to Finland, while the WRC visits Paraguay for the first time in August.

This South American country has secured a multi-year agreement to host the rallying elite, with its gravel round taking place two weeks prior to the second South American event in Chile.

Following its inaugural event last year, the Central European Rally, featuring stages in Germany, Austria, and the Czech Republic, is slated to return in October, ahead of the fourth asphalt rally in Japan.

The newly introduced Rally Saudi Arabia, which has inked a 10-year agreement with WRC, will conclude the season in November, marking the first appearance of a Middle Eastern rally in the WRC calendar since 2011’s Rally Jordan.

“This is an incredibly thrilling calendar that seamlessly merges our classic events with three new and engaging challenges, two of which are located outside of Europe, showcasing the global appeal of our championship,” said WRC Promoter Managing Director Jona Siebel.

“From the icy peaks in the French Alps, deep snow in Sweden, blinding dust clouds in Kenya and Sardinia, exhilarating gravel tracks in Finland and Estonia, to the deserts of Saudi Arabia – the variety we’re offering in 2025 is unparalleled.”

FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem remarked: “It’s wonderful to see such a comprehensive calendar of events for the 2025 WRC season. In addition to beloved classic locations, the introduction of new rallies in Spain, Paraguay, and Saudi Arabia brings even more excitement and reflects the worldwide diversity of competitors and rally fans.”

World Rally Championship 2025 Calendar