Reflecting the greater internationalisation of motorsport to have more countries involved, Saudi Arabia will be added to the list of countries having a round of the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) from 2025.
4 major motorsports events
The WRC round will be the fourth major motorsport event to be held in the kingdom, the others being the Dakar Rally, Formula 1 and Formula E. It is also a venue for the Extreme E off-road series for fully electric SUVs.
WRC rounds in the Middle East
While this is the first time that Saudi Arabia will be a host country for the WRC, the championship series has been run in the Middle East before. Three rounds have been held in Jordan in 2008, 2010 and 2011.
“By growing our motorsport portfolio and further increasing our commitment to hosting major motorsport series such as the WRC in the Kingdom, we remain true to the goals of Vision 2030 which aims to improve the lives of all Saudis. We will use the experience we have gained from delivering so many world-class motorsport events to ensure that the Saudi edition on the WRC calendar is one of the stand-out events of the 2025 season and beyond,” promised Prince Khalid Bin Sultan Al Abdullah Al-Faisal, Chairman of the Saudi Automobile and Motorcycle Federation and the Saudi Motorsport Company.
Tough new conditions for teams
Just as with the Dakar Rally, a round of the WRC in Saudi Arabia will showcase the country’s diverse and challenging landscapes. The largely desert terrain with volcanic rocks will provide conditions for the rally teams that never previously encountered in WRC history.
“From my own experience, I know very well the unique challenges that the drivers and codrivers will face when Rally Saudi Arabia gets underway in 2025,” said FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem, who won many rally championships in the Middle East in the 1980s and 1990s with 14 titles and 61 wins to his name.