The FIA World Rally Championship is set for another unforgettable season in 2026, as a second successive 14-round calendar has been approved by evote of the World Motor Sport Council. In addition, the FIA confirms the continuation of the 2025 Technical Regulations into 2026 – the final year of the planned homologations cycle – with the addition of two available homologation jokers for chassis development that have been approved by the WRC Commission and WMSC. This decision ensures cost-efficiency for the competitors as well as encouraging close competition throughout the last year of Rally1.
Spanning Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Americas, the calendar features legendary WRC events alongside returning rounds in regions where rallying continues to grow, ensuring another year of spectacular competition on some of the most challenging stages on Earth.
As tradition dictates, the season kicks off in January with the legendary Rallye Monte-Carlo, which will also see the WRC return to Monaco’s iconic Formula 1 circuit for the event’s superspecial stage, its first appearance there since 2008.
From the glamour of Monte-Carlo, the championship transitions to the icy forests of Umeå for Rally Sweden in February, before heading south to the savannahs of Africa for Safari Rally Kenya in March, where deep ruts and fine dust roads offer one of the sport’s most iconic challenges.
April marks a return to all-asphalt action with back-to-back Tarmac tests. Fan-favourite Rally Croatia rejoins the calendar following a one-year break, bringing the WRC back to its picturesque Adriatic coastlines and technical inland stages. Just weeks later, Rally Islas Canarias returns for a second season after a successful WRC debut in 2025. With its smooth, twisting Tarmac and high-speed mountain passes, the event made a strong impression in 2025, and looks set to become a calendar highlight into the future.
May delivers a staple of European rallying with Rally de Portugal, where thousands of passionate fans will line the stages to witness the spectacle of one of the WRC’s most historic events.
The series then makes an early-season trip to Asia for Rally Japan, featuring, narrow roads, passionate local fans and demanding technical sections. This move should help shift the balance of the championship onto a fairer footing, with the asphalt stages reducing the effect of road sweeping in the early part of the 2026 campaign.
June and July mark the heart of the European gravel season, with the rock lined stages of Acropolis Rally Greece kicking off the action. From there, the WRC shifts to the lightning-fast forest tracks of Estonia and Finland, where jumps, blind crests and blistering speeds define these fan-favourite events.
South America takes centre stage in August, with the championship first heading to Paraguay, with its distinctive red gravel and stages skirting the dramatic Paraná River. Two weeks later, Rally Chile Bio Bío offers flowing gravel routes and breathtaking Andean vistas.
A reshuffled autumn sees the championship’s Italian round move to October, trading dust and heat for cooler conditions and the potential for late-season drama in the championship battle.
The season draws to a close in spectacular fashion in November, as Rally Saudi Arabia hosts the finale. Offering an ever-changing mix of gravel and desert terrain, the event ensures the WRC finishes its year in a setting as demanding as it is dramatic.
FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem said: “The 2026 WRC calendar is a powerful reflection of the championship’s global strength and appeal. It combines the heritage of iconic rallies with the return of newer events in regions where participation and interest in rallying continues to grow.”
WRC Promoter Managing Director Jona Siebel said: “This is a calendar built with purpose. It’s diverse, it flows well, and it reflects the feedback we’ve had from teams, drivers and stakeholders. We’ve put real thought into how the sequence of events can impact the sporting fight.”
