This summer, the WRC announced it had signed a massive ten-year agreement with Saudi Arabia to host a WRC event.
The Saudi Arabian WRC rally will take place next year as the season finale, but before that, a test event will also be held in the country.
“We had Timo Rautiainen (WRC Sporting Delegate) and Iain Campbell (ERC Manager) in Saudi Arabia for a week just last week. We, us and the FIA have been presented with a route for a test event,” said Simon Larkin, WRC Promoter’s event director, during Rally Greece.
“The date for it is not formalised yet, because our ambition is that we would love for that test event to be a round of the Middle East Rally Championship, so we have to work with, with, within that championship. If it’s not possible, then we’ll run it as an independent event and we’ll do it ourselves.”
“So the whole benefit of going to Saudi Arabia is that we also want to raise the level of the Middle East Championship,” Larkin stated.
According to Larkin, preparations for the Saudi Arabian WRC event and the test rally are already well underway.
“So there will be more details of that shortly. We have a route. Planning is well underway. More more will be known when we know the date. We’ll announce more,” Larkin confirmed.
The decision to bring the WRC to Saudi Arabia has sparked significant criticism. The country’s human rights situation is problematic, and for years it has engaged in what is known as sportswashing.
In recent years, Saudi Arabia has invested enormous sums in football, golf, and other sports in an attempt to polish its image on the global stage. Against this backdrop, Larkin’s claims about developing the local rally scene appear questionable.
