The World Rally Championship is finally coming back to the United States next year, and according to Autosport, the host city has officially been revealed as Knoxville. That is right, America is getting its first WRC taste since the Olympus Rally back in 1988, and the championship is making sure everyone knows about it by making this event round 11 on the calendar, running from 26-29 August.
Organisers have laid out big plans for the gravel rally. The service park, known as the WRC Arena, alongside the team base and fan festival, will occupy the city's World's Fair Park and Convention Centre. Meanwhile, the ceremonial start is heading over to Nashville's Lower Broadway.
Fans are promised non-stop entertainment with live music and various activations. The rally itself will stretch across 15 counties spanning Tennessee and Kentucky, sending machines tearing through the Appalachian Mountains and the Cumberland Plateau. Those fast gravel roads, technical forest sections, and dramatic elevation changes are going to hand the WRC crews a completely fresh beast to conquer.
US Rally president Matt Crews made it clear what they are aiming for: “When the FIA and WRC Promoter put America back on the calendar, we set out to deliver far more than a race: an event experience, from Broadway to the Appalachian Mountains, that rivals any festival in the world and puts our state on a global stage like no other.” Tennessee Governor Bill Lee also shared his excitement about hosting this historic return for the first time in nearly 40 years.
This American adventure is the exact reason the WRC expanded its calendar to 15 rounds for next year. WRC Promoter CEO Eric Boullier pointed out that the United States has long been a priority target. FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem echoed that sentiment, emphasizing that the nation represents one of the most important growth opportunities for the championship and that rallying is set to become a defining pillar in a market with a rapidly growing appetite for global competition.
