According to Motorsport.com, the World Rally Championship is expanding to a massive 15 rounds for the upcoming 2027 schedule, marking the first time the calendar has grown that large since 2008 amid unprecedented demand. The FIA has officially released this heavy-hitting schedule for the championship's new Rally1 era, bringing back some legendary names and exploring fresh territory.
That means the United Kingdom is officially back on the map. Scotland has secured a three-year deal bringing the WRC back to UK gravel for the first time since 2019, scheduled for 30 September - 3 October. Right before that, the championship will finally make its eagerly anticipated return to the United States from 26-29 August. Based around Knoxville, Tennessee and taking in roads across both that state and Kentucky, this new gravel event targets a US market the series has long wanted to crack after last appearing in 1988.
Italy is also getting a proper shake-up. The Italian round shifts off Sardinia's gravel stages and onto mainland asphalt as the Rally di Roma Capitale graduates from the European Rally Championship. It lands on a summer date from 8-11 July rather than its previous October slot. Meanwhile, Safari Rally Kenya looked doomed with this year marking the end of its contract and government funding, but a last-minute deal has secured its March date, though exact financial details remain under wraps.
FIA road sport director Emilia Abel pointed to a massive collaborative push to save the Kenyan round. "I would say that Kenya is part of the calendar very much due to a big common effort from all sides, from the FIA, from the promoter, and the local ASN," Abel explained. "So how exactly the financial problem was faced, I believe these details are not important. I think what is important is that it was a common effort from all sides."
Not everyone survived the shuffle, as Portugal drops off the calendar for now, though a 2028 return remains a possibility. The 15-round journey kicks off in Monte Carlo, heads to Sweden for snow, and then stops in Kenya. A heavy block of asphalt follows with Croatia, the Canary Islands, and Japan, before Acropolis Rally Greece keeps its June gravel slot and Rome brings the final tarmac action of the year.
The season then closes out with an intense run of seven straight gravel rallies. Estonia and Finland kick off that punishing stretch, followed by the USA, Scotland, Paraguay, Chile, and the season finale in Saudi Arabia from 25-28 November. FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem hailed the momentum, while WRC Promoter CEO Éric Boullier emphasized that the 2027 calendar reflects a clear ambition to build a truly global championship alongside new technical regulations.
