Earlier this week, we reported that South America’s Paraguay is certain about its WRC event. According to local media, Paraguay is finalizing a contract with the WRC Promoter.
In addition to Paraguay, the WRC project in Ireland is also well underway. Now, it also appears highly likely that Saudi Arabia is passing the promoter’s scrutiny.
The Middle Eastern country already hosts the Dakar Rally and the Formula 1 series, so the WRC would be a natural continuation for the oil-rich nation.
“We remain absolutely confident that in 2025 there will be a Middle East round of the WRC. We’re also very confident because we will be ambitious that when we have a WRC event in the region, we think it can also revitalise the Middle East Rally Championship, and we will work very tirelessly to make that happen,” said Simon Larkin, WRC event manager, according to Motorsport.com.
“We think it’s a really critical market for competitors. We all remember quite a few years ago we had so many Middle Eastern competitors competing here at every level, and we want to bring that back and having a foundation event there we know is a critical thing there.”
Although Larkin speaks of a broader region, Saudi Arabia is the most likely host for the WRC. According to the promoter, the Middle East is the missing piece in the WRC calendar.
The last time the Middle East hosted a round of the WRC was in the 2011 when Jordan hosted the WRC caravan. Sebastien Ogier, driving for Citroen, took the victory then.
