Here is a bitter pill for motorsport fans. According to Autosport, Portugal is going to be missing from the 2027 World Rally Championship calendar even though a date was already set for the event.
This is a brutal blow for a championship cornerstone. The gravel rally holds founding member status, having hosted a round ever since the inaugural season back in 1973. Throughout its long history, the event has only missed the schedule during a brief hiatus spanning from 2002 to 2006.
Only recently, in 2025, organizers secured a fresh three-year agreement guaranteeing the event a spot on the WRC calendar all the way through 2028. The rally was all set to run next year from 13-16 May with a brand new location base, and while the WRC has not yet published its full 2027 calendar, the Automovel Club de Portugal (ACP) dropped the bombshell announcement.
As the ACP explained in a statement, the schedule change was forced by the promoter on the final day of preparation in order to push for a more geographically diverse and intercontinental championship. Consequently, the Vodafone Rally Portugal took a hit.
Fortunately, it is not the absolute end of the road. Organizers have confirmed that talks are already underway to bring the Vodafone Rally de Portugal back into the World Rally fold by 2028. Meanwhile, the upcoming 2027 WRC calendar is approaching its final stages of confirmation, with rumors pointing to three new locations joining the mix: Rome, Scotland, and the USA.
