The World Rally Championship Encyclopedia
Welcome to the World Rally Championship encyclopedia: all the rallies, all the drivers, all the seasons, the teams, the cars... all the historic calendar...
The season 2026 of WRC
The 2026 WRC season features a 14-round calendar starting in Monte Carlo (Jan 22–25) and ending in Saudi Arabia (Nov 11–14), featuring a notable absence of a US event.
WRC 2026 calendar changes
Key changes include the return of the Croatia Rally, the inclusion of Rally Islas Canarias and Paraguay, and a significant shift of Rally Japan to May.
- No USA Round: The planned USA event has been omitted from the final 2026 schedule.
- New/Returning Rallies: Rally Islas Canarias and Rally Paraguay are included following their 2025 introductions.
- Calendar Flow: The season features a mix of surfaces, with Croatia Rally replacing the Central European Rally.
- Major Date Shift: Rally Japan moves to a May 28-31 slot to help manage surface diversity, specifically reducing the impact of road sweeping.
- Season Finale: The season concludes in Saudi Arabia, which is held two weeks earlier than the 2025 finale.
- European Leg: The first half of the year features a mix of asphalt in Croatia and the Canary Islands, and gravel in Kenya and Portugal.
Enjoy all information about the 2026 World Rally Championship season: new cars, new pilots, new calendar...
Season 2026 WRC calendar
The 2026 WRC season events list:
| 1 |
![[MC]](/flags/mc.png "Monaco") Rallye de Monte-Carlo22 - 25 Jan |
Oliver
Solberg
|
| 2 |
![[SE]](/flags/se.png "Sweden") Rally Sweden12 - 15 Feb |
Elfyn
Evans
|
| 3 |
![[KE]](/flags/ke.png "Kenya") Safari Rally12 - 15 Mar |
|
| 4 |
![[HR]](/flags/hr.png "Croatia") Croatia Rally09 - 12 Apr |
|
| 5 |
![[ES]](/flags/es.png "Spain") Rally Islas Canarias23 - 26 Apr |
|
| 6 |
![[PT]](/flags/pt.png "Portugal") Rallye de Portugal07 - 10 May |
|
| 7 |
![[JP]](/flags/jp.png "Japan") Rally Japan28 - 31 May |
|
| 8 |
![[GR]](/flags/gr.png "Greece") Acropolis Rally of Greece25 - 28 Jun |
|
| 9 |
![[EE]](/flags/ee.png "Estonia") Rally Estonia16 - 19 Jul |
|
| 10 |
![[FI]](/flags/fi.png "Finland") Rally Finland30 Jul - 02 Aug |
|
| 11 |
![[PY]](/flags/py.png "Paraguay") Rally Trans Itapúa27 - 30 Aug |
|
| 12 |
![[CL]](/flags/cl.png "Chile") Rally Chile10 - 13 Sep |
|
| 13 |
![[IT]](/flags/it.png "Italy") Rally Sardinia01 - 04 Oct |
|
| 14 |
![[SA]](/flags/sa.png "Saudi Arabia") Rally Saudi Arabia12 - 15 Nov |
Download 2026 WRC calendar
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Next World Rally Championship race
The next rally in the WRC is Safari Rally, 12 - 15 Mar.
WRC 2026 teams and pilots
Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT
![[BE]](/flags/be.png "BE")
![[FR]](/flags/fr.png "FR")
![[NZ]](/flags/nz.png "NZ")
M-Sport Ford WRT
![[IE]](/flags/ie.png "IE")
Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT
![[NO]](/flags/no.png "NO")
History of the World Rally Championship
The first edition of the World Rally Championship was held in 1973, organized by the International Automobile Federation (FIA) from various championships that
were disputed internationally.
Mainly from the European Rally Championship, the oldest supranational rally championship that was organized in the world, a test that the FIA has been organizing since 1953.
And the International Championship of Brands, which was held from 1970 to 1972.
Starting in 1973, the FIA established a worldwide competition, increasing the calendar to thirteen tests, ten of them in Europe, two in Africa and one in America.
That included the historic Monte Carlo Rally, RAC Rally, Acropolis Rally, Safari Rally or the Thousand Lakes Rally.
From 1973 to 1976 only the constructors' championship was disputed, but between 1977 and 1978, the FIA Cup for rally drivers was held, which was the predecessor of the
World Championship for Drivers
which included the world championship events (in Monte Carlo, Sweden, Portugal, Safari, Acropolis, Poland, Finland, Canada, San Remo, Corsica, Great Britain...)
and several that were only scoring for the FIA Cup (such as the Rally of Scotland, San Martino di Castrozza...).
The first official world rally champion was Björn Waldegård in 1979.
The championships
There are two championships in the World Rally Championship: the FIA World Rally Championship for Drivers and the FIA World Rally Championship for Manufacturers, which are different but based on the same points system, and in which all events count towards both championships.
Birthdays
Statistics of the World Rally Championship
Rallypedia collects all the data of the World Rally Championship (WRC) offering it in a structured and navigable way: winners of the drivers' and manufacturers' championship, all rallies, the manufacturers, the cars, the drivers...
And historical rankings of the competition or statistics of fatal accidents.
Enjoy the World Rally Championship history
Here you will find all the current and historical information of the highest category of the World Rally Championship.
