Rally Chile Bio Bío reveals revamped route for 2026
Here is some incredible news for the calendar: Rally Chile Bio Bío has officially pulled back the curtain on a deeply revamped itinerary for its upcoming fixture, scheduled for 10 - 13 September. Marking Chile’s fifth appearance on the WRC calendar, the event is completely reshaping its layout, and the changes are wild.
The biggest surgery happens right on Friday, where the entire three-stage loop has been aggressively reworked compared with 2025. We are looking at Turquía measuring 22.94km, which draws heavily on roads previously used for San Rosendo but tackled in the absolute opposite direction alongside additional sections of road. Then comes Nuevo Rere at 10.76km reversing the direction of the former Rere test, and Hualqui at 16.69km beginning from what was previously the finish area of Pulpería. With each of these stages run twice, all six of Friday’s special stages take place on these completely revised roads.
Saturday keeps things a bit more familiar, relying on the established Pelún, Lota and María Las Cruces stages to form a repeated three-stage loop. But do not get too comfortable, because Sunday brings another massive twist for the finale. Carampangue, a 26.82km test which featured in May’s Rally de Arauco, makes its WRC debut in place of Laraquete and will be driven twice. Meanwhile, the spectacular 8.78km BioBío stage remains securely in place to host the rally-ending Wolf Power Stage.
Even the shakedown gets moved for 2026, with the new El Manzano-Miramar test located much closer to the Concepción service park than the routes used in previous years. Beyond the tarmac and gravel, the launch events also highlighted the rally's colossal impact on the region. A study presented in Concepción showed an incredible return of CLP 6.4 for every peso invested in the event, while tourism officials celebrated its massive international reach.
As Chile’s Undersecretary of Tourism María Paz Lagos put it: “Tourism and sports form a powerful duo that we believe must continue to be fostered in Chile.” She added that the rally is an opportunity to showcase the Biobío Region to thousands of people from all over the world, noting that the last edition connected with audiences in 150 countries and drew nearly 400,000 attendees.
That is not even the best part. Rally Chile Bio Bío will also host the season finale of the FIA Junior WRC, marking the absolute first time the category’s title will be decided outside of Europe. Home favourite Gerardo Rosselot will be among the seven Junior WRC crews competing in identical Ford Fiesta Rally3 cars as series frontrunners Calle Carlberg, Ali Türkkan and Gil Membrado head to Chile with the championship crown still completely up for grabs.