The W2RC announces its 2027 schedule with five events

The FIA-FIM World Rally-Raid Championship will maintain its five-round format in 2027. The main new feature is that the South African Safari Rally returns to the calendar and alternates its slot with the Desafío Ruta 40 in Argentina, the only official rotation contemplated by the W2RC. The organization announced a calendar that returns to a more classic order of dates and expands the intervals between races to reduce logistical costs for teams and manufacturers.

Photo By A.S.O

The Dakar will once again open the season from January 1 to 15 in Saudi Arabia. It will be the 49th edition and the eighth on Saudi soil, with a contract in place until 2029. The Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge will occupy the second slot of the year, from March 21 to 26. The geographical proximity of both events allows for efficient logistical transport by road and reduces costs, one of the promoter's priorities. The South African Safari Rally will take place from June 14 to 21, returning the championship to sub-Saharan Africa. South Africa was already on the 2025 calendar and returns for 2027, while Argentina will return in 2028. The bp Ultimate Rally-Raid Portugal is consolidated as the fourth round, from September 21 to 26, and the Rallye OLA Energie du Maroc will close the season from October 24 to 29. With South Africa and Morocco, Africa equals Asia with two rounds on each continent, while Portugal is cemented as the only European round on a calendar that expands the gaps between races: three months between South Africa and Portugal, four weeks between the European round and Morocco, and two full months between the season finale in October and the Dakar 2028. David Castera, Director of Motor Sports at ASO, stated that this new cadence will allow teams to integrate the W2RC into their sporting calendars and will help continue to increase entries, which had already been growing in previous seasons.

Photo By A.S.O

The first two rounds of the championship share a common risk factor. Saudi Arabia has been the target of missile and drone attacks within the framework of the regional conflict, and the United Arab Emirates are equally exposed to a crisis that already disrupted maritime traffic through the Persian Gulf during 2026, making transportation for teams more expensive and unpredictable. F1 canceled its Saudi Arabian Grand Prix for safety reasons, and the Gulf 12 Hours at Yas Marina was suspended for January 2027 due to the impossibility of guaranteeing the arrival of equipment. The WRC Rally Saudi Arabia, scheduled for November 2026, officially remains on the calendar, but the FIA has set mid-September as the deadline to decide whether it will be held or modified. That deadline reveals the magnitude of the problem: if by mid-September it is not known whether a rally can be run in November in the same country, with what certainty will it be possible to start the Dakar just two months later? The Dakar caravan is not assembled in a week. Teams ship vehicles, spare parts, and equipment weeks in advance, and any change of venue or cancellation requires a planning margin that the current calendar no longer offers. The Middle East conflict, which has already altered the 2026 calendars of F1, WEC, and MotoGP, for now looms only as a risk factor that ASO and the FIA say they are monitoring.

Photo By A.S.O

The publication of the 2027 calendar comes weeks before the current championship resumes with the Rallye OLA Energie du Maroc at the end of September, which will lead into the season finale at the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge from November 22 to 27. The W2RC has set its roadmap and trusts that the situation will not force it to change it, but the experience of other categories this year shows that dates in the region are subject to a conflict that organizers do not control. The Dakar is on the front line of that exposure, and time to clear up the uncertainty is running out.

W2RC 2027 Calendar

Date	Country	Event
Jan 1–15	Saudi Arabia	Rally Dakar
Mar 21–26	United Arab Emirates	Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge
Jun 14–19	South Africa	South African Safari Rally
Sep 21–26	Portugal	BP Ultimate Rally-Raid Portugal
Oct 24–29	Morocco	Rallye OLA Energy du Maroc