WRC Schedule
Getting into the 2024 WRC Schedule
World Rally Championship (or WRC) is a yearly competition in rallying, which takes place over ten months, starting in January and with the final races traditionally scheduled in November. As such, the WRC takes place all year round in all temperate seasons, offering races in the snow, blazing heat, rain, and anything in between. Here is the WRC schedule for the 2024 season:
| Round | Event | Date | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Rallye Monte-Carlo | 25 – 28 January | Thierry Neuville |
| 2. | Rally Sweden | 15 – 18 February | Esapekka Lappi |
| 3. | Safari Rally Kenia | 28 – 31 March | Kalle Rovanpera |
| 4. | Croatia Rally | 18 – 21 April | Sébastien Ogier |
| 5. | Vodafone Rally de Portugal | 9 – 12 May | Sébastien Ogier |
| 6. | Rally Italia Sardegna | 30 May – 2 June | Ott Tänak |
| 7. | Orlen 80th Rally Poland | 27 – 30 June | – |
| 8. | TET Rally Latvia | 18 – 21 July | – |
| 9. | Secto Rally Finland | 1 – 4 August | – |
| 10. | EKO Acropolis Rally Greece | 5 – 8 September | – |
| 11. | Rally Chile Bio Bío | 26 – 29 September | – |
| 12. | Central Europe Rally | 31 October – 3 November | – |
| 13. | FORUM8 Rally Japan | 21 – 24 November | – |
Brief introduction to the WRC
The World Rally Championship (or WRC) is the top level of global rally competitions in rallying. It’s owned and governed by the FIA, and it is primarily known as one of the most exciting motorsports in the world.
The WRC is a yearly competition that traditionally starts in late January and concludes in November. Over the ten months, the WRC season features events taking place on all continents and various countries, from Sweden, Kenya, Italy, Spain, Australia, and Japan.
History of the WRC Schedule
The WRC started in 1973 with the inaugural season. Back then, the WRC looked much different to how it does today – the drivers were using different cars with vastly different technology. However, while a lot has changed over the years, the WRC schedule has remained mostly the same.
The inaugural season kicked off on January 19 with the Rallye Monte-Carlo and concluded on December 2 with the Tour de Corse. The next season, and a few since then, have used a slightly altered WRC rally calendar, seeing how the 1974 WRC season started in March and ended in December.
But despite occasional alterations to the WRC schedule, the season has traditionally started in January and concluded in late November.
Main Events on the WRC Schedule
Each year, the WRC introduces a different World Rally calendar for the following year, meaning no WRC season is the same. However, while the sports betting veterans have placed a wager on various tracks, a few stand out as the most prestigious, challenging, and exciting races on the WRC schedule.
Overall, these include the Rally Italy, Swedish Rally, Rally Finland, Tour de Corse (or French Rally), Wales Rally, and the Safari Rally.
Don’t forget to read our WRC betting guides.
How WRC Season Works
The FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) is an auto racing competition recognized by the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) as the top class of international rallying. The season welcomes teams and crews who compete in cars complying with Groups Rally 1 – Rally 5, differentiated by regulations, with the highest group featuring the fastest cars.
The season usually starts in January and concludes in November. The teams and drivers compete on rally tracks across all continents of the world, including Europe, Asia, and Australia, with races hosted by Sweden, Kenya, New Zealand, Japan, and many more countries.
The location and number of races differ from season to season, but the number is usually between 12 to 14 races. The events differ in the distance, the number of stages, and the surface – from gravel to snow, and tarmac, while others feature a mixed surface.
Drivers and teams score points based on their performance on each track of the season, which then count towards the World Rally Championships for Drivers, Co-drivers, Teams, and Manufacturers.
So even though rally is a unique motorsports competition, its season does not differ much from Formula One as far as scoring and the season format are concerned.
After Covid-19 Details
The COVID pandemic has affected WRC, but not as much as other sports, seeing how the WRC did not stop the competition in fear of COVID. However, it affected the spectators, who were not allowed to attend some of the events during the pandemic’s peak.
Nowadays, the effects are almost forgotten, seeing how WRC has again started to welcome viewers who now get to enjoy one of the most exciting yet also the most dangerous sports viewing experiences in the world. So while the effects of COVID are still lingering, mainly with certain restrictions on how many viewers are allowed at the races, the overall scene has, for the most part, returned to how it was in the pre-COVID era.
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The WRC season traditionally starts in January and concludes in late October or November. The dates have changed slightly over the years, but the start-end dates have remained mostly untouched for the past decade.
It depends on how many races the tournament organizers decide to include in a season. But generally, there are more than ten races, usually between 12-14 per season.
The most prestigious and most-watched races of the WRC season include Sweden Rally, Rally Italy, Finnish Rally, and the French Rally.
