The FIA is evaluating two states to bring the WRC back to the United States.

The FIA has scheduled a candidate event from June 11th to 17th in Kentucky and Tennessee to evaluate whether the United States can return to the World Rally Championship in 2027. The country has not hosted a WRC round since the 1988 Olympus Rally in Washington, 38 years ago.

A candidate event is a comprehensive evaluation where FIA inspectors review routes, service zones, safety protocols, and logistical capacity before approving a country's entry into the official calendar. Delegates will also visit a round of the American Rally Association National Championship to understand the local rally structure. The comeback project has undergone two previous postponements, with announced plans for 2025 and then 2026 that did not materialize.

Mohammed Ben Sulayem, president of the FIA, stated that the United States represents one of the most important growth opportunities for the championship and expressed his commitment to strengthening the federation's presence in the country.

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Calendar Without Room for Growth

The WRC has remained stable at around 13-14 rounds in recent years without significant expansion. If the United States successfully passes the June candidate event and enters the 2027 calendar, it will likely mean an existing round will be dropped from the championship to make room for the American debut. The 2026 calendar includes 14 rounds spread across four continents.

Toyota and Hyundai Need Presence in Their Largest Market

A debut in 2027 would coincide with the introduction of the WRC27 regulations, which redesign the Rally1 cars to reduce operational costs. Toyota and Hyundai have been competing in the world championship for years without being able to showcase their rally programs in the United States, their most important commercial market where both brands manufacture locally. Akio Toyoda, chairman of Toyota, expressed this directly during Monte-Carlo 2026: the United States is at the heart of the automotive industry, and the absence of the WRC in that country seemed unfortunate for a championship that calls itself a world championship.

Marc de Jong, head of the Rally USA project at WRC Promoter, described the American market as important for the championship's partners and mentioned growth in fan interest in recent years. The 2026 WRC calendar has 14 rounds on four continents.