RIYADH — The Ministry of Sport, KSA revealed on Friday, Saudi Arabia will be the host of the World Rally Championship (WRC) for the first time, known as ‘Saudi Rally’, for over the next 10 years beginning 2025.
It is the event of Saudi Automobile and Motorcycle Federation (SAMF) and Saudi Motorsport Company (SMC) promoted by the Ministry of Sport with WRC supervision.
Although Saudi Arabia is participating in WRC for the first time, the country has already hosted a vast number of international sporting events such as the Dakar Rally, Formula 1, Football, and Golf.
HRH Prince Khalid Bin Sultan Al Abdullah Al-Faisal, Chairman of the Saudi Automobile and Motorcycle Federation and the Saudi Motorsport Company was delighted to welcome WRC to Saudi Arabia: “We will be very happy to welcome the FIA World Rally Championship for the first time for its event in 2025.”
The other racing series of a similar international league brings the realities of how Saudi Arabia has transfigured into a hub for motorsport.
From 2025, Formula 1 (,Formula E, Extreme E, Dakar Rally, WRC and Rally Saudi Arabia will be hosted in the Kingdom which is a great achievement.
Through expanding motorsport activities and enhancing even more the Kingdom’s engagements in big motorsport series like WRC, we are consistent to the ideas set in Vision 2030 where the organization, ultimately, seeks to make the lives of all Saudis better.
“We will employ all the lessons we have learnt from host so many other motorsport events to make the Saudi edition on the WRC calendar one of the most memorable events in the coming season in 2025.”
FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem added: “It is at this juncture that motorsport in the Middle East is singing for the loudest. Since then, year 2004 to be precise, we have not seen the FIA World Rally Championship in the region and trust me I know very well the circumstances that the drivers and co-drivers will encounter when Rally Saudi Arabia starts in the year 2025.”
‘This year will be the best chance for many national and regional nominees to prove themselves at a global level, and I am grateful to Prince Khalid bin Sultan Al-Faisal for not stopping and promoting our sport in Saudi Arabia. “
WRC Promoter Managing Director Jona Siebel was equally enthusiastic about the championship adding Saudi Arabia to its calendar: “We are looking forward to the likelihood of racing in the Middle East again and in a country which has great history of rally calling.
“Every day will present truly unique tests for the drivers and shed light on what Saudi Arabia has to give – from the cities to the dunes, mountains and sea.”
“Now we can be certain that we face a rally that will have its own specificity and add something to the championship.”
