WRC releases calendar for 2025, with inaugural race
in Saudi Arabia scheduled for November 27th – 30th, 2025.
Saudi Arabia was today confirmed as the host of the final round of the 2025 FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) season, set to take place on November 27th – 30th, 2025.
The historic dates were announced as part of the WRC’s official release of its 2025 calendar yesterday evening. The ground-breaking agreement for WRC to race in the Kingdom was signed earlier this summer and will see the world’s greatest rally series compete in Saudi Arabia for the next 10 years.
After the traditional start amongst the glitz and glamour of Monte-Carlo in late January, the WRC will take in Africa, Asia, Europe, and South America before arriving in Saudi Arabia in late November to complete the largest calendar in the championship since 2007.
The Rally Saudi Arabia – organized by the Saudi Motorsport Company (SMC) and the Saudi Automobile and Motorcycle Federation (SAMF), under the supervision of the Ministry of Sports and in collaboration with the World Rally Championship – will be the inaugural WRC race to be staged in Saudi Arabia and the first time since the 2011 Jordan Rally that the globally renowned rally series returns to the Middle East. WRC’s Saudi debut will see competitors race across three different terrains across each day of the rally, further marking this event out as one of the most highly-anticipated events of the 2025 season.
Moreover, Saudi Arabia will also host WRC for its crucial pre-season testing sessions on February 21st -22nd, 2025.
On this occasion, His Royal Highness Prince Khalid bin Sultan Al-Abdullah Al-Faisal, Chairman of the Chairman of the Saudi Motorsport Company and the Saudi Automobile and Motorcycle Federation, said: “These achievements would not have been possible without the generous support of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, Prime Minister Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz – may Allah protect them – and the continuous follow-up by my brother His Royal Highness Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Faisal, Minister of Sport and President of the Saudi Olympic and Paralympic Committee, which has had a profound impact on hosting major sporting events in the world of motorsports.”
His Royal Highness added: “We are pleased to host the final race of the 2025 World Rally Championship in Saudi Arabia. It is a historic occasion for the Kingdom and a positive indicator that confirms our development as a major hub for motorsports on the global stage. It demonstrates that our country has become an ideal new home for it. We seek to showcase the suitability of our beautiful country’s magnificent landscapes, just as we have successfully organized the Dakar Rally before. We always welcome the world to Saudi Arabia in general, the WRC family, and its wonderful fans next year, and we promise an exceptional and outstanding experience.”)
As a current promoter of Formula 1, Formula E, Dakar Rally and Extreme E/H and the Fanatec GT World Challenge, WRC’s arrival in Saudi Arabia continues to showcase the Kingdom as the new host for globally prestigious motorsport events in the Middle East. In doing so, it furthers SMC and SAMF’s long-term goal of leveraging the power of motorsports to deliver directly against the Kingdom’s transformative Vision 2030.
The full WRC 2025 calendar and dates are:
- 23 – 26 January – Rallye Monte-Carlo
- 13 – 16 February – Rally Sweden
- 20 – 23 March – Safari Rally Kenya
- 24 – 27 April – Rally Islas Canarias
- 15 – 18 May – Vodafone Rally de Portugal
- 05 – 08 June – Rally Italia Sardegna
- 26 – 29 June – EKO Acropolis Rally Greece
- 17 – 20 July – Delfi Rally Estonia
- 31 July – 03 August – Secto Rally Finland
- 28 – 31 August – Rally del Paraguay
- 11 – 14 September – Rally Chile Bio Bío
- 16 – 19 October – Central European Rally
- 06 – 09 November – FORUM8 Rally Japan
- 27 – 30 November – Rally Saudi Arabia