WRC 2027 Calendar Revealed: US Return and New Format

The WRC 2027 calendar has been approved with 15 rounds, making it the widest season since 2008, and the USA is returning after 39 years.
The WRC 2027 calendar has been approved with 15 rounds, making it the widest season since 2008, and the USA is returning after 39 years.

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The FIA has approved the 2027 World Rally Championship calendar, with the schedule expanding to 15 rounds for the first time since 2008. The USA returns to the calendar after 39 years with a rally based in Knoxville, Tennessee; the United Kingdom is back on the map through Scotland with a three-year agreement; and the Italian round moves from Sardinia to Rome. The season also marks the start of a new era as the WRC27 technical regulations take the stage.

Highlights

  • 15 rounds: The widest WRC calendar since 2008, run across five continents.
  • Rally US: 26-29 August 2027, Knoxville, Tennessee; the first US round since 1988.
  • Rally Scotland: 30 September-3 October 2027, Aberdeen; a return under a three-year agreement.
  • Rally Italy: In Rome, 8-11 July 2027; a five-year agreement, on asphalt.
  • Estonia and Finland run on back-to-back weekends, just three days apart.

2027 WRC calendar: the full list of 15 rounds

The calendar, approved by the World Motor Sport Council on 8 October 2026, begins in January with Monte Carlo and closes at the end of November in Saudi Arabia. Here is the schedule:

  1. Rallye Monte-Carlo - 21-24 January
  2. Rally Sweden - 18-21 February
  3. Safari Rally Kenya - 18-21 March
  4. Croatia Rally - 8-11 April
  5. Rally Islas Canarias - 6-9 May
  6. Rally Japan - 3-6 June
  7. Acropolis Rally Greece - 24-27 June
  8. Rally Italy (Rome) - 8-11 July, asphalt
  9. Rally Estonia - 22-25 July
  10. Rally Finland - 29 July-1 August
  11. Rally US - 26-29 August
  12. Rally Scotland - 30 September-3 October
  13. Rally del Paraguay - 21-24 October
  14. Rally Chile Biobío - 4-7 November
  15. Rally Saudi Arabia - 25-28 November, season finale

With the calendar announcement, the WRC27 technical regulations also come into focus. The new rules aim to cut costs, broaden participation, and open new doors for both manufacturers and independent constructors. The fact that the calendar expansion was timed precisely to this era is no coincidence: a cost structure capable of supporting 15 rounds only became possible with these regulations.

Return to the USA: why is Knoxville so important?

WRC 2027 takviminde 39 yıl sonra ABD'ye dönen Knoxville rallisi, şampiyonanın en kritik duraklarından biri olarak öne çıkıyor.

Rally US will be run as a gravel rally based in the city of Knoxville, Tennessee on 26-29 August, with stages spread across the states of Tennessee and Kentucky. It is a historic step as the World Rally Championship's first stop in the United States: a gap of 39 years has passed. Following a successful candidate event held in July 2026, the FIA evaluated the infrastructure, stages, and locations in the region against world championship standards and granted its approval.

This return has long been on the agenda. Manufacturers had been pushing for years to enter one of the world's largest automotive markets, and FIA deputy president Malcolm Wilson said the US event could be one of the factors influencing Ford's return to the championship.

This region is a major market both in terms of motorsport and the automotive industry. We had to come here.
Julien Vial, WRC Promoter Operations Director

The USA's position on the calendar is also striking: Rally US sits exactly in the middle of two major gravel-speed events, between Finland and Scotland. This turns the second half of the season into a demanding test schedule spread across three continents.

Rally Scotland: The United Kingdom Returns After Eight Years

The United Kingdom had been unable to host a championship round since 2019. Rally Scotland fills that gap on 30 September - 3 October 2027, based in Aberdeen; the classic forest stages of Aberdeenshire are returning to the world calendar. The event rests on a three-year agreement developed with Motorsport UK and backed by the Scottish Government and local authorities - so this is not a one-off invitation, but the first step of a long-term project.

The organization is planned as an event week covering 28 September - 3 October 2027, with the official program centering on the race days of 30 September - 3 October. When the toughness of the forest stages combines with Scotland's rallying tradition, the late-September addition to the calendar seriously changes the championship's autumn profile.

Why did Italy move from Sardinia to Rome?

Rally d'Italia will be run in Rome for the first time on 8-11 July 2027. The stages of the Lazio region combine with the historic backdrop of the capital, and the event races on asphalt. The Rome agreement is five years; Sardinia, for its part, moves to the European Rally Championship (ERC) from 2027. This means the WRC is returning to the Italian mainland for the first time since 2021.

The swap is meaningful for both championships: the WRC gains a bigger stage, while the ERC takes over Sardinia's long-established gravel event. On the same weekend, two of Europe's major rally series running in Italy on different surfaces offers Italian rally fans an option like no other.

Safari Rally Kenya: Surviving in the Shadow of Financial Risk

Kenya's legendary event kept its place on the calendar as the third round in Naivasha on 18-21 March - a place that had been guaranteed to no one. President William Ruto had announced that, from 2027, the Safari Rally would no longer be supported by its previous public funding model; it was decided that the event would be funded, managed, and promoted entirely by the private sector. With public funding cut off, the event's WRC slot was under serious threat for a while.

In the end, success in staying on the calendar was achieved. FIA road sport director Emilia Abel said that Kenya keeping its place was made possible by the joint efforts of the FIA, the promoter, and the local authorities, and noted that interpreting the details of the new financial model was not within their remit. For the calendar entry to become reality, Nairobi must put the new model into practice.

Why is Portugal absent, and how will the cost of 15 stages be met?

Portugal's removal

Rally Portugal is not on the 2027 calendar. It is understood that Portugal gave up this slot with Scotland and the USA entering, and that this is being regarded as a one-season absence. As a reflection of this change, Rally Japan has been moved forward to the sixth round. For Portuguese fans, this should be read as a pause with the possibility of the event returning in the future being kept open.

The Estonia-Finland model

The most interesting engineering move of the calendar is that Estonia and Finland have been placed on consecutive weekends for the first time since 2008: there are only three days between the two events. The aim is clear - to limit costs and simplify logistics. Teams were complaining about the cost of returning to their base and flying out again between two-week gaps. If this model works, it could be repeated for another country pairing in 2028.

The balance of expansion

Julien Vial says that the increase to 15 rounds was timed precisely for a period when costs are being reduced and accessibility increased with the new technical regulations; the "now is a good time" assessment stems from this. Emilia Abel, meanwhile, states that the expansion was not done "just for the sake of expanding," and that the aim is to establish the best balance in the championship. On the other hand, shortcomings are also on the agenda: there is a request to add a tarmac rally in the second half of the season - with the demand that the championship leader not be punished on consecutive gravel rounds - and the promoter is investigating this request, but it was not possible for the 2027 calendar; it could be considered for 2028.

What does the new setup mean for the WRC?

FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem said that the new rounds in the United Kingdom and Italy strengthen the championship, and that it offers a growth opportunity in the USA, where interest in rallying is rising; he also emphasized the new contract signed with the promoter, which he described as "the deal of the century." WRC Promoter CEO Éric Boullier describes 2027 as the start of "an exciting new chapter"; the goal is a stronger, more accessible and more global championship. Julien Vial's summary: diverse events, surfaces and destinations across five continents.

Malcolm Wilson's assessment completes the picture: "We have never experienced such an exciting finish all the way to the end of the championship; I don't think there is anything very wrong with the calendar." Of course, 15 rounds is a serious burden for teams and drivers - but its simultaneous arrival with the WRC27 regulations that reduce costs, along with logistical innovations, is part of a plan aimed at making this expansion sustainable. This program, stretching from Monte Carlo to Riyadh, emerges as the most ambitious test in the championship's modern history.

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