WRC finale in Saudi Arabia on the verge of cancellation

There has not yet been an official cancellation of the Saudi Arabian Rally – but it is likely only a matter of time. The ever-changing security situation is not the only decisive factor here. Toyota and Hyundai informed the FIA and the WRC promoter at the end of last week that they are unable to travel to Saudi Arabia due to internal corporate security and travel restrictions. A World Championship finale without the two leading manufacturers would be hardly justifiable from a sporting perspective.

A decision by the FIA and the World Motor Sport Council, which had been expected this week, has been postponed at short notice. Intensive discussions are continuing behind the scenes. However, time is of the essence, as the teams need certainty for their planning – particularly in WRC2, where the number of rounds in which competitors can score points is limited and some had included an early start in Saudi Arabia in their season plans.

Weltmeister Ogier im staubigen Sandkasten von Saudi-Arabien

Foto: Red Bull

The situation is further complicated by the contractual agreements with the local organiser. The FIA and the World Championship promoter cannot simply remove the Saudi round from the calendar without breaching the contract. Rather, the local organiser must first cancel the event. Everyone is currently awaiting this decision. Only then can a formal cancellation, or a possible alternative to the season finale, be set in motion.

The uncertainty is already having an impact on the penultimate World Championship round in Sardinia (1–4 October). The entry deadline has been extended until Thursday evening. The WRC2 teams, in particular, need to know whether championship points will still be awarded in Saudi Arabia before they finalise their programmes for the remaining rounds.

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Behind the scenes, work has long been underway on an alternative to Saudi Arabia. Ahead of Portugal, Cyprus or a purely tarmac rally in Europe, Spain is the favourite, with a round on the former gravel stages of the Rally Catalunya. This is partly because the former World Championship round south of Barcelona was held for many years on both tarmac and gravel stages, including the iconic ‘Terra Alta’ gravel stage – which covered up to 40 kilometres of special stages – and two major rallies in the national championship are already scheduled to take place in the region this autumn.

Auch Dakar-Charakter: Der Rallye-WM-Lauf in Saudi-Arabien

Foto: Red Bull

Catalonia has hosted the World Rally Championship 30 times and, with a few exceptions, was part of the calendar from 1991 to 2022. Sébastien Ogier (Toyota) won the event’s most recent World Rally Championship round in 2022.

The uncertain security situation and the associated insurance issues for teams and their staff in the Middle East are now also affecting the Rally Raid World Championship. Promoter ASO is apparently currently unable to find an insurer either for the season finale in the United Arab Emirates or for the Dakar Rally planned for January in Saudi Arabia.

This raises the same fundamental question in the rally-raid scene as in the World Rally Championship: without adequate insurance cover, it is not possible to hold the events. The security situation in the Middle East is thus becoming a problem that extends far beyond the World Rally Championship.